The United States Army is currently facing a public relations crisis after one of their most high-profile recruiters, actor Jonathan Majors, was recently arrested on charges of domestic assault. In response to the backlash and negative publicity, the Army is quickly planning new advertising strategies in order to restore their image and reassure the public of their commitment to responsible recruiting practices. This article will explore the aftermath of Majors’ arrest and the Army’s efforts to mitigate the damage done to their reputation.
The US Army is working to create new recruitment advertisements to air during the NCAA’s Final Four basketball games after being forced to pull commercials featuring actor Jonathan Majors. The Army had expected Majors to be a key part of its new recruitment campaign, aimed at improving the service’s struggling recruitment numbers after it fell short of reaching its 60,000 enlistment goal last year. With recent successes in films including Creed III and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, the Army was hoping to target the youth audience. The campaign had a total cost of $117m, with a $70m advertising buy deal for the multi-platform rollout of ads on television, online and on physical/digital billboards.
However, the Army was forced to pull the ads off the air when Majors was arrested in New York last Saturday on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment. Despite being excited to feature Majors in their campaign, the Army made the decision to pull the ads immediately after the actor’s arrest. However, Majors’ lawyer Priya Chaudhry has said there is evidence clearing him and that he is “probably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.”
Maj. Gen. Alex Fink, head of Army marketing, told The Associated Press on 30 March that in the past week the Army had been able to avoid any loss of the planned $70m advertising buy, either by postponing ads or replacing them with other pre-existing commercials that were quickly updated. The Army gathered “an enormous amount” of content and footage for the two commercials that featured Majors as the narrator, titled “Overcoming Obstacles” and “Pushing Tomorrow.” However, a majority of the content did not contain their main narrator, giving them plenty of material to create new commercials or ads, if necessary.
The Army launched a new ad campaign earlier this month with a big event at the National Press Club. The event was part of the Army’s plan to revive its popular slogan, “Be All You Can Be,” which dominated its recruitment ads for two decades starting in 1981. The two new ads highlighted the history of the Army and some of the many professions that recruits could pursue, with the commercials airing from March 12 up until 25th March when they were pulled from the air following Majors’ arrest.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday expressed their concerns over the Army’s recruitment issues and questioned Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Gen. James McConville, the Army’s chief of staff, on how the service intends to fix this problem. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, acknowledged the Army’s recent “bad luck” with its “Be All You Can Be” commercial and asked how quickly the Army would be cutting a new commercial and getting it online.
Wormuth said the Army has a number of new programs in place, including new bonuses, referral initiatives and a future soldier prep course, which offers underperforming recruits a chance to take academic or fitness courses to try and meet enlistment standards. The Army is committed to solving the recruitment issue because, as Wormuth explained, it is “a fundamental thing that the Army has got to solve if we’re going to continue to be the world’s greatest army.”
In conclusion, the Army will be providing new content and footage to create additional recruitment advertisements for its multi-platform rollout of ads to air during the NCAA’s Final Four basketball games. This comes after the Army’s initial two commercials, featuring actor Jonathan Majors, were pulled off the air following his arrest last Saturday on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment. Despite this setback, the Army remains committed to reviving its recruitment numbers and has introduced new bonus programs, referral initiatives and a future soldier prep course to improve the enlisted quality.
In a surprising turn of events, the U.S. Army was forced to quickly pivot their advertising plans after the arrest of actor Jonathan Majors, who had been slated to star in their upcoming campaign. While the situation may have caught them off guard, the Army’s swift response demonstrates their ability to adapt and overcome challenges. As they move forward with new ads that will showcase the many opportunities and benefits that come with serving in the Army, one thing is clear: they remain committed to inspiring the next generation of soldiers and shaping the future of our nation’s military.
