Selfie fans and snowflakes targeted in Army recruitment push

The British Army has launched a new advertising campaign aimed at so-called Generation Z youngsters in a bid to tackle a recruitment crisis.

The “bizarre” recruitment drive centres around a series of TV, internet and billboard advertisements calling for “snowflakes, selfie addicts, class clowns, phone zombies, and me, me, millennials” to sign up for the Armed Forces, says the Daily Express.

The campaign includes messages that the Army could use the “compassion” of “snowflakes”, the “self-belief” of millennials, the “confidence” of selfie takers, and the “focus” of phone zombies.

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Emulating First World War recruitment posters featuring then-war minister Lord Kitchener, the ads are intended to recognise young people’s “need for a bigger sense of purpose”, according to British Army Major General Paul Nanson.

“The Army sees people differently and we are proud to look beyond the stereotypes and spot the potential in young people, from compassion to self-belief,” he said.

Metro reports that the adverts initially feature would-be recruits at home or in civilian jobs, before the scene changes “to show them in the Army roles including as soldiers assisting on humanitarian missions in war-torn villages and supporting on a hurricane relief effort”.

In one ad, a young man is see playing computer games, to the derision of his family, but his interest in technology is then shown “to be a skill sought after by the military”, says The Daily Telegraph.

“In another, a supermarket trolley stacker is seen being ridiculed by her colleagues for being slow, before she is then shown in a combat situation where patience and attention to detail are critical,” the newspaper adds.

Praising the new recruitment tactics, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “People are fundamental to the Army. The ‘Your Army Needs You’ campaign is a powerful call to action that appeals to those seeking to make a difference as part of an innovative and inclusive team.

“It shows that time spent in the Army equips people with skills for life and provides comradeship, adventure and opportunity like no other job does. Now all jobs in the Army are open to men and women. The best just got better.”

The new campaign comes amid an ongoing recruitment crisis in the Armed Forces that has led to a shortfall of about 5,000 personnel from an 82,000 target, The Times reports. The Army has failed to hit recruitment targets every year since 2012.