Most of my readers will have already seen news of the Army’s new Advertising, Publicity, and Recruitment Campaign, Army Strong. Here’s the Internet press kit.

The U.S. Army kicked off its new Army Strong advertising last night (November 9^th).

Three TV spots will define the unique brand of strength the U.S. Army finds and forges in its Soldiers. They are as follows:

"Army Strong," 30- and a 60-second spots, showcases powerful images from the life of U.S. Army Soldiers.

"Interview," a 30-second English-language spot and "Entrevista," a 30-second Spanish-language spot, feature the story and transformation of a U.S. Army Soldier through his and his parents' own words.

Here’s the press release:

NEW 'Army Strong' ADVERTISING BREAKS ON NETWORK TELEVISION
Ads offer Army Strong call to the next generation of U.S. Army Soldier
November 9, 2006
Today, the U.S. Army launched its new Army Strong advertising campaign on network television nationwide. The three television ads powerfully communicate the character of the U.S. Army Soldier and the unique and transformative power of the US Army.

"Army Strong advertising was inspired by the experiences and defining character of the U.S. Army Soldier," said Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp, commander of U.S. Army Accessions Command. "These ads have been created with the singular aim of helping us succeed in our mission to recruit the next generation of Soldiers and build a highly capable force sufficient to meet the needs of the Nation."

The three ads will further define to the Nation the unique brand of strength the U.S. Army finds and forges in its Soldiers. "Army Strong," a 30- and 60-second spot, showcases powerful images from the lives of U.S. Army Soldiers. "Interview," a 30-second English-language spot and "Entrevista," a 30-second Spanish-language spot, feature the story and transformation of a U.S. Army Soldier through his and his parents' own words.

The Army Strong advertising campaign features actual U.S. Army Soldiers and actual parents of Soldiers. The ads will show that service in the Army makes young men and women stronger - mentally, emotionally and physically - a strength they carry into successful futures.

Additionally, the Army is working to expand its recruiting efforts by using Web-based technology. The Army will reach out to recruits through the Web, text messaging, an increased presence on popular search engines like Google and Yahoo and video partnership using YouTube.com. Further, the U.S. Army is taking "America's Army: The Official U.S. Army Game" into the Global Gaming League, an online gaming league and social network that sponsors and covers video game tournaments.

"While the U.S. Army met its recruiting goal of 80,000 in 2006, we must continue to make the Army message distinctive and powerful - and then deliver that message in ways that reach eligible recruits and those who care about them," added Van Antwerp. "That's exactly what we are doing with our new media recruiting efforts. We're reaching out to prospects and giving them the information they need where they are and on their terms."

The ads will debut today starting at 8 p.m. EST on The CW; CMT; Court TV; Discovery; Food; Fuse; G4; Hallmark; HGTV; History Channel; Lifetime; MTV; MTV2; MTVU; Sci Fi; Soap; Spike; TNT; TVLand; USA.

I have to say, the 30 and 60 second ads are powerful, engaging, compelling. Well done, although I think the 30 second is better for being more concise, which at 60 seconds seems to drag. (I wonder if the 30 second was done first, the 60 adding extra footage, speakovers.

I never liked the Army of One, which made no sense anyway. Be all that you can be as somewhat better, but never made a good or clear tie in to how that happened in relation to the Army.