The U.S. Army is working on a new recruitment slogan that will be as powerful, if not more so, than the current “Army Strong” slogan.
The branch is hoping it will be as successful as the 20th Century slogan, “Be All You Can Be.”
“Be All You Can Be” was the recruiting slogan from 1980 to 2001, for 21 years.
From 2001 to 2006, the short-lived recruiting slogan was “Army of One.”
“Army Strong” has been the slogan since 2006, about 12 years.
From 1971 to 1980, the Army recruitment slogan was “Today’s Army Wants to Join You.”
This was for the 1971 Volunteer Army campaign, also known as Project VOLAR, which was introduced as the U.S. prepared to transition to an all-volunteer military.
Prior to that, during the 1950s and 1960s, “Look Sharp, Be Sharp, Go Army!” was the recruiting slogan.
The recruiting slogan was advertised in the movies, in public announcements on TV and on highway road signs during the time of the national draft of men ages 18 to 34. The advantage of volunteering for military service rather than being drafted was that you could select what career field you wanted to serve in, along with your first unit and/or location of assignment.
During World War I, the iconic “I Want YOU for US Army” poster featured Uncle Sam and was painted by James Montgomery Flagg.
“Army Strong,” which was introduced in 2006, has been successful, but the branch wants its recruitment slogan to be reflective of the 21st Century and tell the whole story of the soldier.
Sg. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey said: “I think we have to change our marketing strategy as an Army, and we are looking at that right now,” Military.com reported.
“One of the major responses we get when we survey folks who don’t have experience with military service is strength, so we know the ‘Army Strong’ resonates… But I don’t think it tells the story, the full story of being a soldier,” Dailey said.
Dailey said “Be All You Can Be” served as the Army slogan from 1980 to 2001 and was “one of the most successful advertising campaigns ever.”
The target audience for the new slogan is two groups of people: 18- to 24-year-olds, and those who have influenced their lives such as parents and older relatives.
“We do very well when that influencer has served. It’s a very big audience, and when the influencer has some knowledge of military service, they are very good at communicating the entire spectrum of what we do,” Dailey pointed out.
