This is My Rifle

In today's climate, selling a career in the military to young men and women has to be a tough job. But the USMC has put together a very elaborate (and effective?) campaign featuring the "Silent Drill Platoon."

This is the same commercial production that caused a stir in San Francisco last November when city officials refused the Marines access to the Golden Gate Bridge. It started airing late last month. I couldn't find any agency related to it, but MTLB thinks JWT had a hand in this.

Unlike the usual military recruitment ads, this one has no scenes of combat training, no one in battle dress uniform yelling orders to warriors with painted faces, no screeching planes or helicopters. Starting in Rhode Island, we see scenes of America in a veritable sea to shining sea depiction of amber waves of grain, alabaster cities gleaming and purple mountain majesty, with this silent drill team showcasing their precision skills, culminating in a nice shot of the very bridge they were denied access to.

Here's the "official extended version."



They've also put together a bunch of "on location" videos of the various shoots.

Times Square, Kentucky, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountains, San Francisco, Rhode Island

And of course, there's a companion website.

Will this increase recruitment? I don't know. But it sure is pretty. And I think even the most dyed-in-the-wool San Francisco pacifist can appreciate good film-making, even if you deem that film propaganda. You might even feel a slight hint of patriotism stirring in your cynical heart.

Previously in Military Recruitment:

(Holland) Wars and Rumors of Wars
(Georgia) Georgia on My Mind
(England) Breadfruit, Rum and Scurvy
(Czech Republic and United States) Czechs Kick Our Cinematic Butts
(Russia) Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
(Australia) Throw Another Shrimp on the Barbed Wire
(Japan) Adventure's Waitin' Just Ahead

Wars and Rumors of Wars

Most military recruitment ads follow some variation of the formula Slow Motion + Rain + Dramatic Music + Closeup Hero Shots + Gritted teeth = Boys Will Sign Up. The Dutch Royal Marines add another element: selectivity. The US Marines strongly hint at it in their ads, but it's well depicted here in this ad from the Netherlands.



Previously in Military Recruitment:

(Georgia) Georgia on My Mind
(England) Breadfruit, Rum and Scurvy
(Czech Republic and United States) Czechs Kick Our Cinematic Butts
(Russia) Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
(Australia) Throw Another Shrimp on the Barbed Wire
(Japan) Adventure's Waitin' Just Ahead

Georgia On My Mind

Not that Georgia, the Republic of Georgia, north of Turkey, mainly because in his remarks to Congress earlier this week, General Petraeus mentioned how this "coaltion partner" was helping secure areas of Iraq. So let's look at their recruiting efforts.



Hmmm, lots of soldiering going on here, with recurring marching and firing of weapons themes. There's very little of the lighter side of military service seen in the recruitment spots of other countries. You know, meeting friends, seeing the world, playing rugby, hanging out on the beach, indulging in casual sex with strangers in exotic ports of call. An ominous music score sells danger and threats from Russia. These Georgians are serious.

Previously in Military Recruitment:

(England) Breadfruit, Rum and Scurvy
(Czech Republic and United States) Czechs Kick Our Cinematic Butts
(Russia) Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
(Australia) Throw Another Shrimp on the Barbed Wire
(Japan) Adventure's Waitin' Just Ahead

Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin

As the world mourns the passing of Russia's drunk but beloved Boris Yeltsin (and one wonders what this Springfield, Missouri based band will now call themselves) I thought it would be fun to see how Russia recruits for its Army.

Here we see young Aleksi, packing up and leaving mama and the squalid tenements of his hometown. What awaits him behind the drab frontage of the government office building? Why, of course, it is...Love.



Australian Army Ad

Czech Army Ad