Sell, Sell, Sell…
“More smoke, darling. Oh lovely. So dramatic. And, action!”
Your Soul to the Devil.
Touting yet another incarnation of “the truth of what it means to be a soldier” I doubt the new US Army infomercials, excuse me, “realty show” barrage, will be showing the dismembered bodies, the mutilated people in the conflict zones, the childrens’ corpses, the wheelchairs, the prosthetic limbs or the Nuremberg Statutes, etc.
I considered blowing right by this NY Times ode to the misanthropic marketing efforts of militarism, but then again, one cannot escape his nature.
“Program-length commercials are becoming more popular as part of a trend known as content marketing, sponsored content or branded entertainment. The trend is meant to counter the growing habit — particularly among younger consumers, like the target audience for the Army, ages 18 to 24 — of ignoring traditional forms of advertising.”
Young man:
You’re an idiot, a dupe, and a demographic to be sold a lifestyle of so-called “service.” That is the job of the ad men of Madison Avenue who relish the opportunity to sell you this vision of the future. And a number of your brethren will sign on the dotted line, not in blood, but it should be.
“The Army’s advertising agency, the McCann Worldgroup, also part of Interpublic, will undertake a promotional campaign for “Starting Strong” in realms like social media”
…We have to innovate to engage the audience,” Mr. Davis said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Well, if that’s what you’re paid to do, then I guess you “have to.”
“Joining the Army is kind of like dating somebody; you don’t marry them on the first date,” Mr. Davis said. “It’s a decision. It’s a long conversation.”
…The idea to try content marketing came after two “Starting Strong” pilot episodes “did extremely well in testing,” Mr. Davis said.
It’s a long, fucking sales pitch, and you don’t really get a guarantee on the product. In fact, you’re the product. They won’t tell you that. But, you’re harvested. Your body, mind and soul become the exclusive property of the United States Military Industrial Complex. That’s the deal. They offer promises of future money and education, much of the time promises not kept. Injured soldiers find themselves kicked out on their asses with substandard medical care from the perpetually underfunded Veteran’s Administration.
And after you help out with “the mission” and go to war somewhere, for who the fuck knows what in a place you’ve never heard of, and the bodies pile up, the army doesn’t quite give a shit about your concerns. And if you blow your brains all over the bedroom wall from the guilt of what you have done to innocents half a world away, well the Army and the Madison Avenue clowns contracted by them don’t care about that either. Nor if you beat your family to death, become a zombie, drug addled spree shooter or whatever. It’s really not relevant to the mission … of world domination and threat of good old American force against those arrogant little brown bastards who don’t take orders from Washington.
So have fun. Have a nice fucking life.
“Based on testing, we’re fairly optimistic this will gain the traction we need…”
Coca Cola, Cars, Beer, Smart Phones, Exercise, Joining a Killing Machine, World Domination, Whatever. Sell, Sell, Sell.
