Meeting Recruitment Goals

Because of such high recruitment numbers, the Marine Corps will be changing its advertising campaign. Previously the commercials that aired were a bit more reserved, and highlighted the aspect of the honor of being a marine. However, the new set of ads that will air tomorrow will be, as an article in The New York Times stated, much more "in your face". The result in this high number of recruits? The poor state of the economy.


Here's a comparison of a commercial from 2008, and the commercial that will be aired tomorrow:


New Marine Commercial

2008 Marine Commercial

I think it's good that they show some of the more difficult aspects of being a marine. It's not easy to go into any branch of the military, but the training that a marine must go through has a reputation for being one of the toughest out there. And while they didn't completely focus on the honorable image of marines on the coast, it is still a part of the end of the commercial, and I appreciate that they tied the two campaigns together; especially since they had such a great success with the last ad campaign. 

Head of the Marine Corps Recruiting Command Maj. Gen. Robert E. Milstead Jr. stated that this campaign is a prequel to the previous one, because it shows what new recruits must go through in order to become a marine; how they are "transformed". Milstead said that because they have such a large number of recruits, they now feel they can be more selective in who they are recruiting. They want the best of the best, just as every other branch of the military does.

The article also states that all branches of the military have grown in numbers, to include the Army, which has also grown as a result of the economy falling farther into the red zone. The most promising thing for the Army being that we're seeing one of the largest surges in recruitment numbers since the beginning of the Iraq War.

I can only hope that these numbers keep growing. We need the support in this dire time, and if this new ad campaign helps bring in more recruits for the Marine Corps, then maybe the other branches should think about switching up their game plans too. Not that, like I said, we aren't currently getting a large number of recruits in, but maybe the Marines have a point: We now have the opportunity to be a bit more selective in who we're taking.

Here's a link to The New York Times article referenced: With Recruiting Goals Exceeded, Marines Toughen Their Ad Pitch