This emphasis on acceptance lacks the transformative appeal and exclusivity of proven recruiting methodologies.
The commercial opens innocently enough with a montage of young, diverse Gen Zers, going about their morning routines as they prepare to start the day. The scenes are marked by a nervous energy which implies this is not a normal day; the haste demonstrated by the actors conveys an air of foreboding. As they say goodbye to their families, in the background a stylized marching cadence grows louder. The young men and women each make their way down a bus aisle, take their seats, and exchange a brief, albeit slightly apprehensive, smile. As the bus nears its destination, soldiers marching in formation are seen through the window. Text makes clear the desired takeaway: “You never know what you’re capable of until you take that first step.” It ends with the widely celebrated tagline “Be All You Can Be” superimposed over soldiers climbing ropes.
The commercial, titled “First Arrival,” is part of the U.S. Army’s rebranded marketing campaign designed to target Gen Z by reinventing the classic 1980’s recruiting slogan “to reflect today’s Army and country accurately and authentically.” The campaign, which debuted in March 2023, is a key component of the Army’s larger effort to address a decline in recruiting in which it failed to meet its goals for two consecutive years, falling short by 25% in fiscal year (FY) 2022 and nearly 20% in FY2023. Unfortunately, the rebrand is failing to attract the number of recruits the Army needs largely due to how it depicts soldiers in its advertisements. The most striking feature of “First Arrival” and the other commercials in the series is the unremarkable nature of the actors portraying soldiers on screen; they genuinely appear as physically immature and forgivably naïve 18- to 20-year-olds–they are your average high school seniors. Instead of portraying a soldierly archetype that offers a model to aspire towards, the campaign presents its target, Gen Z, with a mirror image of themselves, as they are, and without much of a demand to change. This emphasis on acceptance lacks the transformative appeal and exclusivity of proven recruiting methodologies. The associated effort to blur the cultural distinction between society and the military undermines the importance of the Army as a subculture. Instead of catering to popular norms that promote inclusivity, Army marketing should embrace the unique attributes that make serving in an all-volunteer force exclusive and transformative. While the implicit focus on inclusivity and acceptance is noticeable in the “Be All You Can Be” advertisements, correcting it requires a careful understanding of the marketing strategy behind it.
The Problem
In a pamphlet (GPO 2023-771-642) distributed at the October 2023 Association of the United States Army conference, the Army Enterprise Marketing Office outlined the strategy behind the “Be All You Can Be” brand refresh. Although not couched in a traditional “ends-ways-means” construct, this framework offers a useful heuristic for identifying some of the strategy’s more problematic elements, chiefly its ways and means. The campaign’s end, or objective, is best described as “engaging Gen Z audiences with an aspirational focus on all the ‘Possibilities’ the Army can help actualize.” It is important to note the aspirational focus is on the “possibilities” the Army can provide to the individual, not on the intrinsic value of service to country or the transformative potential this service may offer through the sacrifices it requires. This places Army marketing in competition with private sector campaigns by ceding the moral distinction and inherent exclusivity associated with service in an all-volunteer force for the tangible benefits available from this service. This alone does not negate the strategy’s effectiveness; it simply acknowledges its general approach and position in the market.
The strategy’s “way,” or method, centers on “reinventing it [Be All You Can Be] to reflect today’s Army and country accurately and authentically.” This is manifest in a dedicated effort to blur the distinction between the Army and society, with the governing assumption that the Army should mirror society. Expressed as a culture gap, the strategy identifies certain elements of military service as “out of step with modern culture” and seeks to remedy them by demonstrating that life as a soldier is not all that different from life as a civilian. Unfortunately, those seeking a stimulus for personal change or the opportunity to serve in a unique organization may not find the Army very attractive when what and who they see on screen looks an awful lot like their current environs. Not only is this unappealing, but it betrays a woeful ignorance of the importance of the Army as a subculture.
The culture gap “Be All You Can Be” is attempting to bridge is a purpose-built element of the Army’s identity that distinguishes it from society and enables it to perform its expeditionary warfighting mission. Sanctioned to commit taboo acts–the killing of other humans–the Army is a subculture governed by a unique set of norms, values, traditions, and laws that may seem arcane or even oppressive to outsiders. However, these exist for a reason, as they form the guardrails for an organization trusted with carrying out violence on behalf of the nation. They instill, preserve, and indicate the good order and discipline necessary to prevent excess and to ensure soldiers act in accordance with lawful orders and regulations when operating under duress. As such, soldiers are conditioned to deny a degree of self-expression and embrace uniformity as a method for bringing order to chaos and preventing personal passions from coloring behavior on the battlefield. We have funny haircuts, do not grow beards, wear a uniform, and abstain from certain forms of political expression to name but a few. As unpopular as this might be, it is born out of selflessness and a recognition that our profession requires a degree of self-denial incongruent with the liberties celebrated in the dominant culture. Instead of running from this, Army marketing would be better positioned by embracing the norms, values, and traditions that distinguish the Army from society.
Although not a “means” in the conventional sense, the Army marketing team established two pillars to focus its messaging to “connect with the goals that matter to Gen Z.” The first pillar, “Purpose & Passion,” captures the spirit of the original “Be All You Can Be” campaign by showcasing the Army as a vehicle for finding purpose in life and becoming the best one can be. However, the second pillar, “Community & Connection,” is plagued by an effort to portray the Army as “a place where you are welcomed, understood, and accepted.” Achieving this requires inclusive advertising that dispels the notion of a soldierly archetype by ensuring the actors portraying soldiers on screen and in print are largely unremarkable and indistinguishable from individuals found in an average high school classroom. While unremarkable, they are not uniform, and they retain a degree of individualism to emphasize that everyone is understood and accepted.
Instead of this uninspiring approach, Army marketing should take a careful look at how it can integrate proven elements from other recruiting campaigns to attract the numbers it so desperately needs.
The problem with this is twofold. First, its uninspiring portrayal implies a low bar to entry that lacks the exclusivity many people desire in organizations associated with their identity. People are naturally drawn to special, elite, or exclusive organizations. For example, most high schoolers strive to make the varsity or competitive club team and are proud when they do. Second, the use of the past participle “accepted”–that one is already understood and accepted–negates the transformative appeal of joining the Army to forge a new identity superior to the current one. It dismisses the notion that acceptance is contingent on a transformative crucible or rite of passage and works to convince its target demographic that service neither requires nor inspires change beyond that which is comfortable and agreeable. Instead of this uninspiring approach, Army marketing should take a careful look at how it can integrate proven elements from other recruiting campaigns to attract the numbers it so desperately needs.
Exclusivity Sells
Only two services met their recruiting goals in FY2023: the Space Force and the Marine Corps. The Space Force, the newest and smallest military service, is an outlier, with an overabundance of applicants vying for the branch’s few, highly technical billets–a form of exclusivity in and of itself. The Marine Corps, an established service without the futuristic intrigue associated with cyber and space warfare, had no problem meeting its recruiting target in FY2023. Although many are quick to point to the Marine Corps’ comparatively small size and lower recruiting quotas as the reason for its success, this fails to account for the relatively fewer resources that service receives as compared to the Army. For example, in FY2024, the Army seeks to recruit 55,000 active duty soldiers on a recruiting and advertising budget of approximately $680 million, while the Marine Corps aims to recruit 33,000 on only $246 million. This equates to a cost of approximately $12,363 per potential recruit for the Army and only $7,545 for the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps’ success cannot be dismissed because of its size and must instead be the result of a different marketing approach.
Marine Corps marketing is premised almost entirely on exclusivity, elitism, and the honor associated with earning the title Marine. Potential recruits are not welcomed, understood, and accepted until they prove their mettle and earn that acceptance. Furthermore, instead of downplaying the differences between society and the Marine Corps, recruiters emphasize the service’s mystique and are quick to point out that its unique culture is not for everyone. This overt elitism is the central theme of the recruiting slogan, “The Few. The Proud. The Marines.” It carries through in commercials that highlight the challenges inherent to service and the selfless motives behind the decision to serve. Although extreme, the exclusivity and elitism so prominent in Marine Corps advertising are key features of a successful military recruiting strategy that are woefully absent from the Army’s “Be All You Can Be” campaign.
Similar success stories have emerged not from the services, but from Hollywood. The 1986 film Top Gun boosted Navy recruiting by depicting the Navy’s best pilots, their competitiveness, and the harrowing nature of naval aviation. The film’s success is one reason why the Navy maintains an office dedicated to cooperating with Hollywood on films that serve both their interests. The Army has even gotten in on the action, with films like Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan highlighting unique aspects of military subculture that inspired some to join. The success of these ventures, their willingness to show the military in stark contrast to civilian culture, and the exclusivity this conveys are all factors that Army marketing should consider when evaluating alternatives or modifications to the “Be All You Can Be” campaign. While Army marketing must undoubtedly cast a wide net in its effort to attract a broad cross-section of the country to fill its ranks, it should do so by portraying the Army as the unique institution it is and showcasing the best in its ranks. It should show potential recruits not what they are, but what they can become by featuring sergeants and lieutenants in their prime, leading teams and platoons, training in adverse conditions, winning grueling military competitions, and deploying on behalf of the nation’s interests. It should adjust its strategy to show that while all are welcome, it takes sacrifice, selflessness, and teamwork to earn acceptance. It should take a page from the recruiting efforts of some elite Army units by introducing the exclusivity or intrigue that that naturally appeals to the human psyche. Finally, it should use caution when attempting to depict the Army and society as culturally one and the same. Not only does this lack appeal, but it is also false advertising. If Army marketing is unable to make these adjustments within the thematic confines of “Be All You Can Be,” then it may need a new slogan; one less focused on the individual and better situated to convey the Army ethos and camaraderie that cannot be separated from it: “This We’ll Defend.”
Christopher Parker is an Army strategist and lieutenant colonel currently serving as a strategic planner on the Joint Staff, J-5. He holds a BA from Kansas State University, an MA in History from Georgia Southern University, and is a Ph.D. student in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Gratz College. He has served combat tours in Iraq.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army, the Joint Staff or the Department of Defense.
Photo Description: Screen capture from You Tube video What Is Day 1 of Basic Training Like? | GOARMY
Photo Credit: U.S. Army Recruiting