New Navy Commercial

I just saw this on the Navy Times Website--news of a new Navy commercial soon to replace the "Accelerate Your Life" campaign. Obviously aimed at the demographic groups most likely to enlist, the commercial features lots of pictures of Seals and inshore types, some ships, some airplanes, and some footage of WWII sailors doing the things they did. (Here is the commercial)

I've had conversations many times with Peter Swartz of the Center for Naval Analyses, a brilliant man, a great American, and one of the godfathers of the 1980's Maritime Strategy. He was particularly helpful to me and the strategy team as we conducted our deliberations, serving as a sounding board for many ideas and putting together extraordinarily helpful workshops that prodded our thinking along. Peter does a wonderful job of sending stuff to me that shows the CNO or other officials making references to the Maritime Strategy--mostly I think to show me that it is still being talked about. Just the other night, he and I discussed the very consistent messaging the Navy is doing with respect to CS21. At the end of the conversation, I repeated something I've said since the document came out--until it moves money, the Maritime Strategy is just good birdcage carpeting.

That said--this commercial is clearly derivative of the Maritime Strategy---especially the key message "A Global Force For Good". The very last paragraph of the Strategy says, "United States seapower is a force for good, protecting the Nation's vital interests even as it joins with others to promote security and prosperity across the globe". Whatever advertising agency the Navy is using has clearly determined that young people with a propensity to join the Navy increasingly see themselves as connected with the rest of the world--in a global system, if you will. Cribbing this theme from the Maritime Strategy is a wise play, and I think it serves as an effective theme for the campaign.

By the way--we stole the "force for good" thing from a Royal Navy strategy document I read. Always thought it was a great way to sum things up.

Bryan McGrath