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Army of One

“Who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?” Campaign Award

An Army of One – U.S. Army

“Sarge, I’d love to follow your orders, but I’m an ARMY OF ONE!”

6 Comments

  1. Tuesday

    I always thought: if it’s only an Army of one, that doesn’t make it a very effective Army. Maybe they should try adding a few more to that Army.

  2. Phillip Harrington

    I know they didn’t mean it this way, but I like to think of it as, “An Army Of One…” Nation – One Union – One Unified Front. I realize we’re hardly unified, but the army is as diverse as the population. And yet, it’s one army. One face to the enemy if you will. Or how about, “the one army”..? I don’t know… I’m trying to pull something good out of it 🙂

  3. Tomiwa

    Actually, I think its an amazingly effective and well thought out campaign. While I might disagree with the current uses of the US Army, the campaign effectively recognizes and addresses the driving forces that make the Army appealing. Aside of training and the chance to be a part of the most finely tuned fighting machine ever assembled, it recognizes the fact that without the individual the army is nothing. A very flattering proposal to people who want to be part of a team without losing their individuality. Care to elaborate on your reaons for disapproval?

  4. Adam

    Tomiwa: Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of the military. But I think most would agree that one of the driving forces of any military is that the individual serves the group. Individuality is not the guiding force of such a regimented, stratified system. It seems to me that basic training is designed to take away your individuality, and ensure your willingness to follow and support your group.

    I’m not saying this is a bad thing – it’s probably necessary for a smoothly-functioning military. But selling military service as a way to express your individuality seems to me to be laughably hypocritical.

  5. Tomiwa

    The individual does serve the group, good point there. And definitely, people who consider themselves individuals hardly ever jump to the call to service. But for those who do consider the army an option for them, the idea that each individual holds a certain amount of power is a more than necessary conceit. Also Hollywood has done such a great job of depicting the military as dehumanizing (which is probably true but irrelevant to this discussion) that it is essential for any ads for the army to reverse that to some extent. I consider the army a necessary evil but actually have a great deal of admiration for the campaign. You are not the target audience for it which might explain your disdain but I believe it has actually been quite effective in raising enrollment rates for the army. And this is even when the effects of Sept. 11 are considered as well.

  6. Arthur

    I was in a CompUSA a few weeks ago – before I fled the United States for the relatively sane politics of Italy. I noticed a DVD on sale from the early 1990s – Army Of One, starring Dolph Lundgren.

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