Army ad strong-if you totally forget we're at war.

Advertising Age, November, 2006 by Garfield, Bob

Byline: Bob Garfield

Well, it's better than "Army Dead.''

The U.S. Army and McCann Erickson Worldgroup, New York, have finally unveiled the new recruiting slogan, replacing Leo Burnett's self-contradictory "Army of One,'' and there's not a whole lot to find fault with. In the midst of a catastrophic war claiming tens of thousands of U.S. casualties, the brief was probably pretty simple:

Come up with a plausible reason for kids to risk getting themselves blown up, but try not to actually lie.

The problem with the "Army of One'' tagline was the lying part, namely positioning military life as a means of individual self-expression. Many of the ads themselves were actually quite brilliant, but the central premise was classic bait and...

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