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National Guard Warrior

Sun, 09/14/2008 - 11:19pm — Bert

I saw this at the movie theater in Lacey:

National Guard Warrior

Join the National Guard - it's practically like being a race car driver or a rock star.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it right there!

- Actually, when you join the military, you will be trained to kill human beings.

While there are some similarities with race car driving, the truth is that it's very, very different.

Comments

Mon, 09/15/2008 - 2:49am — Mariner719

You're serious, right?

I get so tired of this specious John Lennon-esque "war is over if we want it" stuff. Political reality is that we have a military, we have always had one (with the exception of the period of the Articles of Confederation) and we will always have one. I admit, the not-very-subtle subliminal message in this advertisement is ALSO a load of nonsense (Be a rock star! Be a race car driver!) but they're doing just what every other advertiser does, playing to the lowest common mental denominator...rather like liberal Democrats who parrot the latest party line: "Jesus was a community organizer! Pontius Pilate was a governor!"
Mon, 09/15/2008 - 7:25am — Rick

Yeah...

...you couldn't get any lower than that. I mean, the candidate with 9 houses saying that the candidate raised by a single mother who received food stamps is "elite" and "a celebrity," that's not playing to the lowest common mental denominator. Oh, wait. It's just straight up lying.


Beware the terrible simplifiers.
Jacob Burckhardt
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Beware the terrible simplifiers.
Jacob Burckhardt
Fri, 09/26/2008 - 8:04am — Mariner719

I'm not following your string of reason...

Tsk, tsk, how nearly ad hominem. I mentioned neither John McCain nor Barak Obama, nor any of the mud either has slung at the other. When did this move from base-model advertising strategy to McCain being a liar, or attacking Barak Obama? McCain and Obama are politicians, so if their lips are moving and they're not eating something, they're lying. It goes without saying. We can always bring back the old 'reality check' advertisement, if it will make you feel better: "Join the Army! Travel to distant lands! See majestic new vistas! Meet interesting foreign people and kill them!" Of course, I doubt whether that will draw a string of recruits to the nearest induction center.
Mon, 09/15/2008 - 3:02pm — The Fire Inside

I agree...

I admit, the not-very-subtle subliminal message in this advertisement is ALSO a load of nonsense (Be a rock star! Be a race car driver!) but they're doing just what every other advertiser does

That this advertisement is attempting to make a stint with the National Guard exciting (and who knows? Maybe it is? The idea of only playing Army once a month, two weeks a year sounds pretty kush, unlike showing up to formation every morning).

But the advertisement is at a movie theater, so I think it serves its purpose and at least might get people interested or curious about the National Guard.

As far as commercials go, the Marine Corps has the best:

The Army does have some more "realistic" commercials, though:

Granted, the Army commercial shown is a Special Forces advertisement, but the point remains the same.

Mon, 09/15/2008 - 11:06am — Common Sense

Beware the terrible simplifiers, indeed

http://www.army.mil/Katrina/imagery.html
Mon, 09/15/2008 - 5:26pm — Rick

And how are pics of the army...

...performing various duties during Katrina relevant to false advertising, democratic hyperbole, or McCain lying? I'm just trying to track the conversation here.


Beware the terrible simplifiers.
Jacob Burckhardt
—

Beware the terrible simplifiers.
Jacob Burckhardt
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 1:45am — The Fire Inside

I think...

Common Sense is trying to say that it's simplistic to say the National Guard only does humanitarian missions.

That's my guess, anyway. It's definitely not false advertising to show the National Guard conducting relief missions, though. Aside from deploying, it's the primary purpose of the organization (the National Guard).

Join the National Guard - it's practically like being a race car driver or a rock star.

If you signed up thinking this, Basic Training will pretty much dissolve that notion. Army advertising is terrible, though. They're begging people to join. The Marine Corps does a good job by using the angle of "We don't need you, you need us."

Mon, 09/15/2008 - 9:30pm — a.future.with.n...

I fully agree with Mariner719

The army and national guard are just a business. What would you prefer to see, a different advertisement for the same product. The problem, if you ask me, isn't how the military advertises, its the fact it exists.

You don't have to agree with that, but maybe we can agree that huffy indignation over a poster is a losing battle, as well as kind of lame.

also the liberal/conservative dichotomy is a smokescreen Mariner719. You seem like a critical minded person. don't buy into it. they're all the same.

Tue, 09/16/2008 - 2:27pm — Bert

Bill Moyers | National Guard Resource Map

National Guard Resource Map

As our recent story on the deployment of the New Jersey National Guard illustrated, when weekend warriors are deployed for long tours their families and employers are left with a multitude of problems — logistical and emotional... [read more linked above]



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Thu, 10/09/2008 - 1:38pm — The Fire Inside

I saw the sign...

First-hand and don't think it's a big deal. Before Blindness there was a Kid Rock music video about the National Guard. This is more than likely played before every movie, since it's part of the loop ("The 20") played twenty minutes before a movie starts.

Here's the video:

A number of the words on the screen and lyrics come from The Soldier's Creed.

But once again, the Marine Corps has the best commercials around: