Military recruitment, beach party-style

By JUSTIN BERGMAN, Associated Press (ASAP)

© November 29, 2006

Last updated: 5:17 PM

It certainly looks like a rockin' party.

Tan and lean, six college-aged kids dressed in bikinis and muscle shirts dance on a beach, huge smiles plastered across their faces. The sun is setting and they have their arms wrapped around each other. They don't seem to have a care in the world.

It could be an ad for any number of beer or soda companies. But accompanying this photo is a different sort of message: ''Freedom Rocks. Nothing rocks a party like the freedom to have it.''

The ad is part of a new campaign developed last year by the U.S. Army National Guard to boost recruitment numbers among its target demographic -- college students.

With no immediate end in sight to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the demand for new recruits remains high and the country's armed services have had to rely on increasingly inventive recruiting strategies to meet their annual quotas. As part of that effort, the National Guard is trying to present a less stodgy image that would be attractive to young people, particularly at sports venues, said Lt. Col. Mike Jones, head of Army National Guard recruiting.

The ''Freedom Rocks'' ad was plastered on walls at Yankee Stadium this summer; the Guard is also stepping up its advertising at NASCAR races and football games.

''The National Guard, they are civilian soldiers ... and most of them are in college, not in Iraq,'' Jones said in a telephone interview from Arlington, Va. ''Being a soldier is a young men's and women's game now and we have to make sure that the college market is reached (in our campaigns).''

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THE IMPACT

This specific campaign appears to be working. Jones said the ''Freedom Rocks'' ad brought in about 6,000 recruits in the last year, about a third of the Guard's total increase. The campaign is running in New York and about 10 other states, he said.

But some critics question whether the ad, and others like it, purposely misrepresent the armed forces in order to bring in new recruits.

''There are a whole range of techniques used to blunt what the reality of war is,'' said Judith Siers-Poisson, associate director of the Center for Media and Democracy, a media and advertising watchdog group.

''I think that to emphasize anything but the fact there's a good chance they'll be sent to Iraq ... is somewhat disingenuous,'' she said.

''If you can put an overlay of fun and adventure (on the advertising message), tying it to the idea of a party, it's certainly going to help get your message across. It certainly wouldn't be the same if there was a billboard with a flag-draped coffin on it.''

Jones sees it differently. He said there is nothing wrong with appealing to the lighter side of young people's lives in order to stress the importance of the freedoms they enjoy.

''We live real lives outside of being a soldier. We go to school, we enjoy life. Why not show that just because you are a soldier, it doesn't give up who you are and your desire to have fun, living life?'' he said. ''Having fun is part of being a soldier. I wouldn't want someone to depict my life as boring and stoic so people think I don't know how to have a good time.''

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THE REACTIONS

Some young people seem to be comfortable with the imagery in the poster. Andre Stringer, 24, a student at the College of Staten Island, said he wasn't offended by the depiction of young people partying on the beach.

''It reminded me of the Bud Light ad on the subway,'' he said. ''It made the National Guard look more enticing, more relaxed. It didn't look like you were marching to your death with face-paint on.''

Jones said this was the point of the campaign -- to show a different side to the stiff-jawed recruits the National Guard has used in its advertising for years. He said the concept for the ''Freedom Rocks'' ad came from young soldiers who had just returned from Iraq and had been hired as recruiters.

''We poll our recruiters pretty extensively. They are the ones in the schools, in the communities, talking to kids and parents,'' he said. ''We could spend a lot of money on focus groups, but we really believe if we have a 24-year-old recruiter back from overseas ... that is probably my best source of information about what the market would like to see.''

Jones said the Guard tries to strike a balance in all of its recruiting materials.

''If we do a serious message, some people would say you need to loosen up; if we do something less serious, people would say you need to tighten up,'' he said. ''We are constantly making sure it's appropriate and tasteful, no matter what we do.''

Still, some are uncomfortable with the approach of the recruiting campaign. Beck Feibelman, 33, a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, compared the poster to a cigarette advertisement that doesn't show people actually using the product, just having a good time.

Feibelman agreed with Siers-Poisson that the ''Freedom Rocks'' ad doesn't give a fair depiction of what life in the Guard could entail.

''If you listen to news reports on the (Iraq) war, there doesn't seem to be a lot of dancing on the beach going on,'' he said. ''I think it's irresponsible at best, nefarious at worst.''

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Justin Bergman is an editor on the AP International Desk, based in New York.

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