A new report claims the U.S. Army’s $11 million marketing partnership with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and the United Football League failed to help the Army gain new recruits and may have had a negative impact on attracting new enlistments.
Military.com reported that based on internal documents and emails reviewed by the outlet, the $11 million marketing campaign and partnership with Johnson and the United Football league likely did not lead to any new Army recruits, leading the Army to consider the possibility of getting back some of the money the military branch spent on the recruitment effort.
According to Military.com, the Army finalized the marketing deal with the United Football League earlier this year as the league kicked off its first season. The deal involved Army branding being heavily featured during United Football League games. The players’ uniforms also featured the Army’s logo as part of the deal.
Military.com noted that Johnson, who is a top Hollywood celebrity and is the owner of the United Football League, was also supposed to be a brand ambassador for the Army. However, the Army has indicated that Johnson did not uphold his end of the marketing deal by failing to upload a set number of posts on social media.
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According to Military.com, the Army valued Johnson’s Instagram posts at $1 million each and was expecting the Hollywood celebrity to make five posts; however, he only uploaded two posts. One of the posts included pictures of Johnson with Army generals and the other post featured a video of Johnson visiting the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
An internal review of the Army’s marketing plan revealed that 38 enlistments were projected to be lost under the Army’s deal with the United Football League. As a result, documents obtained by Military.com suggested that the Army is looking to regain $6 million from the deal with Johnson and the United Football League.
“We are in the process of working with the UFL to determine the final cost,” Laura DeFrancisco, a spokesperson for the Army’s marketing team, told Military.com.
Military.com reported that Army staff members had warned against the deal with Johnson and the United Football League; however, Gen. Randy George, the Army’s chief of staff, pushed the deal through.
In a statement to Military.com, Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for George, said, “In terms of The Rock, it’s unfortunate he was pulled away at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels.”
