Marketing the Army
We’ve been having a good discussion about marketing and the consumer’s recent resistance to TV ads. One major ad buyer is desperately trying to up the response rate to its marketing pitch–The U.S. Army. Their solution, open a $13 million video arcade in an urban shopping mall.
The Army Experience Center is a fitting counterpart to the retail experience: 14,500 square feet of mostly shoot-’em-up video games and three full-scale simulators, including an AH-64 Apache Longbow helicopter, an armed Humvee and a Black Hawk copter with M4 carbine assault rifles. For those who want to take the experience deeper, the center has 22 recruiters.
I guess they figure that once they get a young man’s adrenaline flowing from the simulation of shooting Taliban from a Black Hawk copter, you can just whisk him over to the recruiting Sargent and sign him up. Just don’t tell him there is no reset button in Afghanistan.
Let’s see, at $13 million a pop, it’s only $200 million to cover half the country with these “Army Experience Centers.” Of course with all the retail closings in the next couple of months, the rents might come down.
Many years ago I worked in Santa Monica for the first company to license the UNIX operating system from AT&T Bell Labs for development into and sale as a commercial product. Each of us had access to the Internet as it existed then and, given my interest in flying, I watched and participated in the discussion on the various aviation-related bulletin boards. These were the days of Ronald Raygun, Top Dung, Iron Eagle, massive buildups in the military, and the infancy of computer-based arcade games. At the time I was enamored of anything related to flight, including airshows, most of which presented a healthy display of military hardware in the mix,
and the Star-Wars-like arcade games down on
the Santa Monica Pier. At some point, during an aviation bulletin board discussion relating to air shows (I’d just been to one at Pt Mugu NAS), the eventual intersection of these as a recruiting tool and “combat flying” arcade games as insidious military pre-enlistment recruiting and training tools became apparent to me. I had no idea just how sophisticated these would become, but saw the possibilities in a demonstration of an F16 simulator at Silicon Graphics shortly after that. Years later, as the armed services employes the virtual reality descendants of the games I once played, and having seen just how much more dominant the military-industrial complex has become since the 1980s, that small feeling of dread at my earlier realization has mushroomed. It’s not so much that these things aren’t neat/cool and probably really fun (like those old arcade games I once played) to the young person of today – it’s that 20-some-odd years later, nothing has really changed: there are still those who would see technological advances only in the light of its use to subjugate and dominate and who would misuse it to tempt those easily persuaded to do the bidding of powerful corporate, military, and ideological interests.
Many years ago I worked in Santa Monica for the first company to license the UNIX operating system from AT&T Bell Labs for development into and sale as a commercial product. Each of us had access to the Internet as it existed then and, given my interest in flying, I watched and participated in the discussion on the various aviation-related bulletin boards. These were the days of Ronald Raygun, Top Dung, Iron Eagle, massive buildups in the military, and the infancy of computer-based arcade games. At the time I was enamored of anything related to flight, including airshows, most of which presented a healthy display of military hardware in the mix,
and the Star-Wars-like arcade games down on
the Santa Monica Pier. At some point, during an aviation bulletin board discussion relating to air shows (I’d just been to one at Pt Mugu NAS), the eventual intersection of these as a recruiting tool and “combat flying” arcade games as insidious military pre-enlistment recruiting and training tools became apparent to me. I had no idea just how sophisticated these would become, but saw the possibilities in a demonstration of an F16 simulator at Silicon Graphics shortly after that. Years later, as the armed services employes the virtual reality descendants of the games I once played, and having seen just how much more dominant the military-industrial complex has become since the 1980s, that small feeling of dread at my earlier realization has mushroomed. It’s not so much that these things aren’t neat/cool and probably really fun (like those old arcade games I once played) to the young person of today – it’s that 20-some-odd years later, nothing has really changed: there are still those who would see technological advances only in the light of its use to subjugate and dominate and who would misuse it to tempt those easily persuaded to do the bidding of powerful corporate, military, and ideological interests.
I read once that, of all the American soldiers in WWII, only 10% ever fired a weapon at an enemy. In Vietnam, 90% did. One of the key reasons for this (among others) was that they figured out that, during training, you have to use human-shaped silhouettes instead of bullseyes to get recruits used to the idea of aiming at and shooting human beings.
Recently I played the latest version of “Call of Duty,” and now when you hit somebody, chances are that part of their body, like a forearm, will fly off, there will be a spray of blood, and the body will crumple in a disturbingly realistic way. When I saw this level of realism in “Saving Private Ryan” it gave me a bad case of the shakes. Now it’s just the next step up from “Super Mario Brothers.”
So they’re aiming for 99.99%, I think.
I admit that in my shallow opinion, these games can be a lot of fun to play (the hyperrealistic gore I can do without), but I really worry about how many young men they’re training to believe that killing people for real would be wicked cool.
I read once that, of all the American soldiers in WWII, only 10% ever fired a weapon at an enemy. In Vietnam, 90% did. One of the key reasons for this (among others) was that they figured out that, during training, you have to use human-shaped silhouettes instead of bullseyes to get recruits used to the idea of aiming at and shooting human beings.
Recently I played the latest version of “Call of Duty,” and now when you hit somebody, chances are that part of their body, like a forearm, will fly off, there will be a spray of blood, and the body will crumple in a disturbingly realistic way. When I saw this level of realism in “Saving Private Ryan” it gave me a bad case of the shakes. Now it’s just the next step up from “Super Mario Brothers.”
So they’re aiming for 99.99%, I think.
I admit that in my shallow opinion, these games can be a lot of fun to play (the hyperrealistic gore I can do without), but I really worry about how many young men they’re training to believe that killing people for real would be wicked cool.
ADF here is a major spender on TV ads trying to recruit talented youth with little success. Employment is good here and there are other good paths to follow. Another reason is the bad track record of the military. Competent youth do not want to be involved in a shady place.
The danger starts when you have a lot of angry unemployed youth on the streets. It may happen. Governments are too willing to turn a blind eye to the cynical tactics of the military. Military should be places of honorable employment, but instead they have been turned into hiding places for the incompetent. Many good soldiers are unhappy with the situation.
ADF here is a major spender on TV ads trying to recruit talented youth with little success. Employment is good here and there are other good paths to follow. Another reason is the bad track record of the military. Competent youth do not want to be involved in a shady place.
The danger starts when you have a lot of angry unemployed youth on the streets. It may happen. Governments are too willing to turn a blind eye to the cynical tactics of the military. Military should be places of honorable employment, but instead they have been turned into hiding places for the incompetent. Many good soldiers are unhappy with the situation.
Like Ronnie Reagan said when braced about the amount of time and energy being wasted by young males on video war games, “Well, at least we’ll be having a great new generation of fighter pilots with really fast reflexes!”
Like Ronnie Reagan said when braced about the amount of time and energy being wasted by young males on video war games, “Well, at least we’ll be having a great new generation of fighter pilots with really fast reflexes!”
So with military contractors spending millions on lobbying buying votes in every state of the union and D.C., and providing major sources of employment in every state in the US, and the defense department getting the lion’s share of the US budget expenditure, how does any of this change?
I used to think education and democracy were the answers, but neither seem to be working.
So with military contractors spending millions on lobbying buying votes in every state of the union and D.C., and providing major sources of employment in every state in the US, and the defense department getting the lion’s share of the US budget expenditure, how does any of this change?
I used to think education and democracy were the answers, but neither seem to be working.
JT-Who says we have an educated democracy?
JT-Who says we have an educated democracy?
Why do you think education, especially in the critical thought department, has been dumbed down? I really think it’s to have a pliable public of consumers who are just scared enough to keep voting for protection. The US government has been in the protection racket for quite a few years now. They’re just like the mob, but use foreign threats rather than Guido breaking thumbs.
Why do you think education, especially in the critical thought department, has been dumbed down? I really think it’s to have a pliable public of consumers who are just scared enough to keep voting for protection. The US government has been in the protection racket for quite a few years now. They’re just like the mob, but use foreign threats rather than Guido breaking thumbs.
“ADF here is a major spender on TV ads trying to recruit talented youth with little success. Employment is good here and there are other good paths to follow. Another reason is the bad track record of the military. Competent youth do not want to be involved in a shady place.”
Actually Akira if Rupert’s minions are to be believed the Australian Defence Force has experienced a 20% rise in applications for the three months to December. Scary stuff.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24877780-601,00.html
“The military traditionally recruits strongly during economic downturns, and with economists predicting unemployment could rise through this year from its current 4.4 per cent towards 8per cent, the ADF will be seen by many as an employment safe haven.”
“ADF here is a major spender on TV ads trying to recruit talented youth with little success. Employment is good here and there are other good paths to follow. Another reason is the bad track record of the military. Competent youth do not want to be involved in a shady place.”
Actually Akira if Rupert’s minions are to be believed the Australian Defence Force has experienced a 20% rise in applications for the three months to December. Scary stuff.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24877780-601,00.html
“The military traditionally recruits strongly during economic downturns, and with economists predicting unemployment could rise through this year from its current 4.4 per cent towards 8per cent, the ADF will be seen by many as an employment safe haven.”
Rick Turner: My thoughts exactly. I don’t know enough to say that the dumbing down of America
in the critical thinking department is the direct, intentional result of some malicious plan, but one has to wonder.
Rick Turner: My thoughts exactly. I don’t know enough to say that the dumbing down of America
in the critical thinking department is the direct, intentional result of some malicious plan, but one has to wonder.
I don’t think there’s that much difference between the “dumbness” of democracies now and those of a century ago. Remember “Remember the Maine”? It was the WMD of its day. William Randolph Hearst ran a newspaper empire that was the equivalent of Murdoch’s Faux News.
The period marked the beginning of a massive expansion in the US Navy and the Marine Corps, and the move to a more expansionist, imperialist foreign policy.
Then, as now, unemployment was high, and there was a large underclass to distract with tales of military adventurism.
Let’s not pretend this is all a recent decline in standards. It’s been going on for more than a century now. Politicians have looked to war as a distraction from other issues for a very long time, and the media have been very happy to aid and abet them because it sells newspapers/television etc.
I don’t think there’s that much difference between the “dumbness” of democracies now and those of a century ago. Remember “Remember the Maine”? It was the WMD of its day. William Randolph Hearst ran a newspaper empire that was the equivalent of Murdoch’s Faux News.
The period marked the beginning of a massive expansion in the US Navy and the Marine Corps, and the move to a more expansionist, imperialist foreign policy.
Then, as now, unemployment was high, and there was a large underclass to distract with tales of military adventurism.
Let’s not pretend this is all a recent decline in standards. It’s been going on for more than a century now. Politicians have looked to war as a distraction from other issues for a very long time, and the media have been very happy to aid and abet them because it sells newspapers/television etc.
Espenia; Thanks for the link. So the rot may have already started here.
Espenia; Thanks for the link. So the rot may have already started here.
While we’re at it, let’s create virtual Mommies and Daddies while they’re away at war.
While we’re at it, let’s create virtual Mommies and Daddies while they’re away at war.
Jeffwi, maybe the plan wasn’t totally conscious (maybe it’s part of that species death wish thing I keep ragging about.) But that notwithstanding, the Heritage Foundation-neocon-what-evers have done everything they can in the years they have had to poison the public mind. I don’t have the time or the smarts to do like some of the Kossaks do, and track every painful appointment and the antecedents of the “crammee,” but am I the only person who has noticed subtle and not-so-subtle biases infecting ALL the programming on Public Radio and Public Television? You name it, any “story” I listen to has one little subtlety after another that by polluting the discourse from what once was a relatively independent and somewhat authoritative source, has no doubt (in my mind, anyway) influenced the way a lot of people think, making them lean slowly, like the Tower of Pisa, a little more every year to the Right (or whatever a more accurate name for the people who have brought us to the present conditions should be called — any suggestions?)
The painful part is that it is all so subtle and slippery that my little pea brain, ever less retentive and pounded by so many other inputs, can’t hold on to really trenchant examples.
Maybe you have to be a Canadian to see things more clearly:
http://www.friends.ca/news-item/3420
I did the following Google search: PBS NPR new president — and the third item down looked to be right on point about how the Bush league appointees have scrubbed the brains of NPR and PBS, to ensure they in all their subtlety keep things moving in the Right direction (if they want to keep their jobs.)
I hope the New Everything team has on its to-do list an early replacement of the SOBs who have been coloring public media Red for at least five years.
Anybody know off the top of the head where the rocks that Pat Mitchell, president and CEO of PBS, and Kevin Klose, president and CEO of NPR, crawled out frim under are located? So they can go find some other damage to do?
Jeffwi, maybe the plan wasn’t totally conscious (maybe it’s part of that species death wish thing I keep ragging about.) But that notwithstanding, the Heritage Foundation-neocon-what-evers have done everything they can in the years they have had to poison the public mind. I don’t have the time or the smarts to do like some of the Kossaks do, and track every painful appointment and the antecedents of the “crammee,” but am I the only person who has noticed subtle and not-so-subtle biases infecting ALL the programming on Public Radio and Public Television? You name it, any “story” I listen to has one little subtlety after another that by polluting the discourse from what once was a relatively independent and somewhat authoritative source, has no doubt (in my mind, anyway) influenced the way a lot of people think, making them lean slowly, like the Tower of Pisa, a little more every year to the Right (or whatever a more accurate name for the people who have brought us to the present conditions should be called — any suggestions?)
The painful part is that it is all so subtle and slippery that my little pea brain, ever less retentive and pounded by so many other inputs, can’t hold on to really trenchant examples.
Maybe you have to be a Canadian to see things more clearly:
http://www.friends.ca/news-item/3420
I did the following Google search: PBS NPR new president — and the third item down looked to be right on point about how the Bush league appointees have scrubbed the brains of NPR and PBS, to ensure they in all their subtlety keep things moving in the Right direction (if they want to keep their jobs.)
I hope the New Everything team has on its to-do list an early replacement of the SOBs who have been coloring public media Red for at least five years.
Anybody know off the top of the head where the rocks that Pat Mitchell, president and CEO of PBS, and Kevin Klose, president and CEO of NPR, crawled out frim under are located? So they can go find some other damage to do?