I for one am rather pissed at the Army's new advertising guy who feels that it is his job to make army recruiting methods sink even lower than they were before. Back in the day their commercials were like "Hey guys look at these super-trained Delta Twelve [Black] Gamma Super Marines (X) that are parachuting from a missle-laden blackhawk helicopter onto a carrier in the middle of the night! Don't they look like the coolest mother-fuckers ever? Don't you want to be like them? Cue some fucking rock music my friend let's go pop some ragheads! Yah!" Of course, it was really just hiding the under-lying message of "Don't you wish that you weren't poor as fuck? Sign up and take advantage of our life-insurance policy!" They were actually a lot of fun to watch, and signed some good artists so they had some good music that was at least entertaining.
But just a month or so ago a bunch of new commercials started airing that were just BLATANT about it. They start off by showing some awkward looking kid standing around waiting for their dad / mom / uncle / OMGIMPORTANTPERSON to show up. And once they get there an even more awkward silence ensues. Finally the important person is like "Wow, looks like the ARMY made you a better person, good thing too because I thought you were a worthless piece of shit. I think I could almost get near you now. Thanks Army. Other people ought to join too because God knows that they will treat you better then Uncle Meany." Or else the important figure is just super sketched out by the Army, and it is the poor patriotic kid who has to convince their ugly commie dad that it is okay to join up, after which point they are treated like an adult forever and everyone lives happily ever after.
What the fuck Army? When did it become okay to change your logo to "Hate yourself? Join up!"? How the fuck is the Army of all things going to help your self-esteem? Excuse me, but I've taken a psychology class, and being yelled at day and night for weeks on end wasn't part of the self-improvement regime. Isn't there some kind of forgotten ethics alarm that goes off when a government organization has to start lying to folks in order to convince them of things? What's next Army? The "Are you retarded, join the Army because we need SCIENTISTS!" campaign? How about paraplegic special operatives? Or maybe blind fighter pilots? Should we put out ads for THEM? NO! We shouldn't!
That said, they are some pretty compelling commercials. I could easily see them making me put my boots on if I lived in one of those families where you refer to your dad as "sir" and live in fear of dying without "making your father proud".
