A vintage advertising slogan for the U.S. Army is due to make a comeback in March. With it, the Army hopes to attract young recruits to the service.
According to a Stars & Stripes report, “Be all you can be,” a slogan that the Army used from 1981 through 2001, is coming back in TV advertisements and other promotional materials.
“We’re not returning to ‘Be all you can be’ for nostalgia or old times’ sake or because we think retro is trendy and cool,” explained Maj.
Gen. Alex Fink, chief of Army enterprise marketing, according to the outlet. “We’re really reinventing it to reposition the Army and to inspire the next generation soldiers.”
When the slogan was initially used, the advertising campaign focused on pride, according to Stars & Stripes. It first appeared during college football games.
“It was the first time the all-volunteer Army had been sold to the public in the same way that advertising agencies sold toothpaste or soda,” said Stars & Stripes. Advertising Age magazine even ranked “Be all you can be” as No. 18 in the top 100 campaigns of the 20th century.
For fiscal year 2022, the service failed to meet its recruiting goal by about 15,000 soldiers. When the Army started its “be all you can be” campaign, it was also in a recruiting slump. However, the Army faces new challenges today.
Survey results released late last year found that younger Americans are indifferent to the U.S. flag and less than half of parents said their children felt pride when looking at it. An Army press release from last June said a different survey also found that many Gen Z respondents had misconceptions about Army life.
Audience research and of over 200 taglines revealed that “Be all you can be” was a message that resonated across generations, said Fink. Stars & Stripes said that senior Army leaders have already approved the slogan’s return ahead of its expected March rollout. Fink did not reveal a timeline for TV ads with the phrase.
This is isn’t the first time that the Army has looked back at the tagline. In 2018, Military.com reported that “the U.S. Army is trying to dream up a replacement for its recruiting slogan ‘Army Strong’ with one that's as successful as ‘Be All You Can Be’ was at the end of the 20th Century.”
“Army strong” debuted in 2006.
“One of the major responses we get when we survey folks who don’t have experience with military service is strength, so we know the ‘Army Strong’ resonates… but I don't think it tells the story, the full story of being a soldier,” said Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel Dailey at the time.
Fink said the new “Be all you can be” branding concept is meant to stress the possibility and opportunity that’s available to those who enlist in the army, whether they choose to have a full military career or leave to go to college and embark on a civilian career.
Current advertisements often feature montages of combat, said Stars & Stripes.
“We already get credit for all that stuff through the media through movie franchises,” Fink said. “Let’s lean into things that they don't know.”
He also said that the branch is looking to refresh its brand in a way that will last a long time.
“If we do this well, we think this could last for 15 to 20 years or more,” Fink said.
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