The above advertisement is from the army.
Recently, on the way back from school I happened to notice the change of a very familiar camouflage print. The uniform that got me through my two years of sweat and blood in national service has finally been "upgraded" to the third generation. This brought back some fond memories, but more importantly after starting my advertising module it made this advertisement come to mind.
Having served in the infantry, the advertisement for the army and tag line "The Steel Within" was meant to represent what I did during national service. Those three words in the advertisement made us sound macho and respectable. The advertisement did resonate with me when I was doing my stint in the army, but after regaining my civilian status, I felt that trudging through the forest and storming buildings wasn't cool anymore. Not too long ago, I asked a friend who was about to enlist about his reaction when seeing this advertisement and I was surprised by his reaction! The poor sob was in fear! He was intimidated by the whole image that the army was presenting to the public via this advertisement. Apparently, this worry was shared by friends from his cohort as well. Notice the contrast of a person's reaction of one who has gone through the army and another who hasn't after viewing the same advertisement.
As I tried to calm him down and give a more accurate and less daunting description of what he should expect, this made me stop to ponder on what had happened. Wasn't the advertisement meant to inspire people to sign up with the army as a career? Granted, the advertisement gave me a sense of connection, but I probably wasn't the only target audience. If I looked at it from an objective view, perhaps only your active athletic male will be interested in this career opportunity. For the rest of the Singaporean male population that is about to be drafted, this image has a higher chance of intimidating someone rather than inspiring him. This reaction also shouldn't be scorned at, as the standard of living in Singapore has generally become better over the years and males may have become more tame. As my sergeant used to tell me in basic military school, each new batch is "nua" or "softer".
I think that it is commendable that the army is taking an active effort to reinvent themselves and live up to its name of being called a "3G" (Third Generation) army. The advertisement gave a quick teaser to what sub division is within the organisation (Armour, Infantry, etc.) and to showcase what equipment we have at our disposal. It was informative and true in its delivery to the audience. However, perhaps for the next advertisement the organisation may consider a softer approach like showing how is training like and the kind of bonds one forges in the army. I have made some good friends that I would trust my life with doing my service days and we still talk about the tough times or silly things we have been through.
Hence, I hope this entry has given you my insight on this advertisement and my personal experience. If you have any interesting stories to share or comments about the advertisement, don't hesitate to contact me! Mr. Potato signing off!
