I know we've been asking for more advertising of the Canadian Forces...

[ThatsLife]

But now it's just getting ridiculous.

Alright, we've all seen the governments attempt to rake in the recruits with their, dare I say, "eye-catching" commericial. But today, my heart tore in two as my ears were filled with utter crap; my eyes began to bleed due to the incredible amount of embarassment I was witnessing.

As I sat in my car waiting for my Iced Cap and Canadian Maple I faintly heard "Canadian forces" on the radio, so I turned up the volume and this is what I heard:

Girl: "Hey there, have you heard about the super cool canadian forces!"
Guy:" No way, tell me more about it!"
Girl: " Ok well, the canadian forces will pay for your education and the pay is pretty good."
Guy:" No way! Radical!"

Be strong. Proud. Todays Canadian Forces.


W-what is this!? Are we promoting a cupcake sale for senior prom!?  I mean don't get me wrong, I admire our government for actually doing something but couldn't we atleast put some effort into it?

How about something that won't make us feel like smashing the radio using the nearest coffee mug in your car?

These are alot of questions i'm asking, but damn...

Give me a few hours with a decent quality microphone, a computer and "300+ sound effects" CD and i'll make something half as decent as what's been played all over the radio atleast six times a day (i've counted six so far).

I'm sorry but this is more of a rant than anything, but if anyone shares the same view as me or has even heard this advertisement and you have a different opinion than me, then please share.

 

[IamCanadian]

I've heard that commercial many times and I agree that it's terrible. If they advertise like that then they will have people joining for the wrong reasons, so they can get a free education.   

 

[The Gues-|-]

If anything, I'm sure it will be counter-productive by the sounds of it.  Christ! who talks like that?? Are you sure they say "radical"?

 

[Michael OLeary]

Perhaps you might get your point across with a polite and detailed message to the Public Affairs General Inquiry Office.  I would suggest carefully explaining what is wrong with the commercial, give them your age and personal situation (school, etc.) to allow them to see that you are talking from within the target audience group.  Tell them what terms are out of date and why the commercial isn't going to connect.  I have no doubt there are PA types reading these forums, but how much they take back with them is another question.

Media Contacts - DND/CF Public Affairs Contacts
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/contact_pa_e.asp

GENERAL INQUIRY OFFICE
Assistant Deputy Minister (Public Affairs) / ADM (PA)
National Defence Headquarters
MGen George R. Pearkes Bldg, 15NT
101 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, ON K1A 0K2

information@forces.gc.ca

 

[GINge!]

Good lord, that is horrible.

<--- Joined up because he saw the "There's no life like it!" Barrrrrump-bump commercial

 

[GAP]

I agree they are pretty horrible, and sometimes misdirected, but give some thought to who is reading/hearing them. Most civilians vision of the forces are Hollywood images..they have no real clue. There is no life like it, so there is nothing for them to relate to other than the movie junk.  A good example is some of the recuitment questions I see in this forum, and those are from people who have a glimmer of what it's like.

A suggestion might be to talk to some young civilians and see how they view the ads. Might be an interesting exercise. Remember you are viewing it from a bias background.

 

[DG-41]

Jumpin' Jimminy Cricket on a stick, "radical" was getting a little dated when *I* was a teenager.

What's next?

"Hey, have you heard about the ace Canadian Forces? They're the cat's pyjamas!"

:

DG

 

[The Gues-|-]

Perhaps you might get your point across with a polite and detailed message to the Public Affairs General Inquiry Office.  I would suggest carefully explaining what is wrong with the commercial, give them your age and personal situation (school, etc.) to allow them to see that you are talking from within the target audience group.  Tell them what terms are out of date and why the commercial isn't going to connect.  I have no doubt there are PA types reading these forums, but how much they take back with them is another question.

Media Contacts - DND/CF Public Affairs Contacts
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/contact_pa_e.asp

Sent!  Thanks for the link O'Leary

 

[Journeyman]

I've heard that commercial many times and I agree that it's terrible. If they advertise like that then they will have people joining for the wrong reasons, so they can get a free education.     

Re: Civie career after RMC?
« Reply #9 on: Yesterday at 21:14:49 »

A lot of the people I know at RMC are there for the degree and expressed no intention of staying for a long-term career in the CF. It's that easy there.

Although I agree it's a quite lame commercial, people going to RMC for the "wrong" reason is hardly a new problem.

 

[Wookilar]

All of the radio spots are terrible. We all know how cheesy (but flashy) the video pieces are, but the radio campaign takes the cake.

My question is, would it be Public Affiars or CFRG that should be contacted? If anyone knows who is actually in charge of the recruiting campaign, could they post it?

AND, do you think that comments from serving members be really taken into acount? Afterall, I'm not exactly in the target demographic anymore.

 

[The Gues-|-]

Re: Civie career after RMC?
« Reply #9 on: Yesterday at 21:14:49 »
Although I agree it's a quite lame commercial, people going to RMC for the "wrong" reason is hardly a new problem.

That's what I'm saying!  If they spent less time on the financial benefits of joining the CF and more time on what life could be like.. jumping out of plains, shooting rifles and pistols, PT and all that jazz we'd get the people who want a challenge, not the people who want to be debt free... aaaannyyywwaayys we've been through that and that's pretty much what I summed up in the letter... waiting for a response.

 

[Journeyman]

My question is, would it be Public Affiars or CFRG that should be contacted?

As with all things recruiting-related on this site, refer to Kincanucks...

The ads are his fault - - spam him!  >

(Sorry S, couldn't help myself    )

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Jumpin' Jimminy Cricket on a stick, "radical" was getting a little dated when *I* was a teenager.

What's next?

"Hey, have you heard about the ace Canadian Forces? They're the cat's pyjamas!"

:

DG

23 Skidoo!

 

[Michael Dorosh]

AND, do you think that comments from serving members be really taken into acount? Afterall, I'm not exactly in the target demographic anymore.

Anyone IN the CF is no longer part of the 'target group'....right?

I mean, if they were, the ads would be like

Boy: Hey, I just got TOS in the CF!
Girl: Kewl! I'm on BMQ 0604 in July!
Boy: I can't wait to get OJT with the SRAAW, I might even by BIQ by December!

To which the average listener would be all....huh? ??? ??? ???

 

[elminister]

Even thou members of the CF are no longer in the "target group" they might get some pretty good suggestions from us.

 

[monika]

Civi opinion? The ads are out dated. Talking like that was out the window in 1985!

Don't promote too many freebies because you'll end up with those who want a free rider on the gravy train. Show it for what it is and you get the people you need, who want to be there.

That said, there's a billboard ad for the CF right by my work, across from Woodbine racetrack. Nothing wrong with it, other than the fact it is located in a cemetary. Someone should look into that...

 

[bgc_fan]

Not to be overly negative, but while promoting all the "fun" stuff might make a more attractive ad, the guys in the office couldn't help but chuckle with the current commercials. Imagine that you did join because of the chance to jump out of planes, fire weapons, etc. The problem is how often do you actually do these sort of things on a regular basis? I'm sure there are those who are sitting on PAT platoon who are a bit jaded by the recruitment message regarding challenges while they sit around waiting for a course because they're still not out of the training system yet, i.e. no OJT option was offered.

I could see people enlisting and then not bothering renewing their contracts if they feel disillusioned by what they were promised.

I hope this made a bit of sense, my mind's a little flightly at the moment... thinking about the fact that most of the "fun" stuff is actually during training and that afterwards it seems a lot more admin work in the case of officers.

 

[armyrules]

Awww that commercial is .... baaad!! They should use some of the videos that the boys from army.ca have made up. Some of them are better than the recruiting videos that you see on television!!

 

[Forgotten_Hero]

I could see people enlisting and then not bothering renewing their contracts if they feel disillusioned by what they were promised.

I dont see that as a likely problem. The ads are what need to attract people to think about the military, they're not what convinces them about it. If they dont renew their contracts, its because they didnt enjoy their time in the military, or dont need to be in it anymore. Whether they joined because they needed to, or because they wanted to do all the cool stuff promised on the ad which they didnt get to do, its not the ad that makes them  not renew their contracts.

 

[couchcommander]

I thought the old ad ("theres no life like it", with the frigates, helicopters, etc.) was well done, interesting, and got the point across.... but it's how many years old? You just can't keep playing the same thing over and over and over again... use the same format if you want, but change it up a little.

Further, one of the reasons that ad was sucessful was due to it's well produced looking nature.... these new radio ads just don't have that professional sound to them IMO (like some guys with a CD of military marches and a mic hooked up to their home PC).