Army Seeks Recruits in Social Media

WHEN ads for the Army used the theme “Today’s Army wants to join you,” a joker rewrote it this way: “Today’s Army wants to join you. At your place.” These days, the Army is getting social — if not quite that sociable — as potential recruits increasingly spend time with social media like Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube.

The next phase of the Army’s recruitment ad campaign keeps a theme, “Army strong,” that was introduced in 2006 and adds a focus on the Army uniform as a “symbol of strength” as well as symbolic of qualities like commitment, achievement and leadership.

The direction of the campaign is typified in a line recited in commercials by the voice-over announcer, the actor Gary Sinise, who talks about the significance of the uniform before concluding, “Try it on at goarmy.com.”

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The recital of the Web address underlines the concentration on digital media for the campaign, although there are traditional elements like television spots.

“We’re working hard to increase our social media,” said Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, because “we fully recognize that young people TiVo over commercials or are multitasking on their smartphones when the commercials come on.” General Freakley is commanding general of both the Army Accessions Command, which oversees recruitment, and Fort Knox, Ky.

“Since the late ’80s, 9 percent of the population is propensed toward military service,” General Freakley said, compared with about a third in the 1970s. As a result, he added, “we have to reach out in forms like we’re discussing to get them to want to know more, to join us in social media and extend the dialog.”