Experimental Marketing and Experiential Lies: It must be “Army Strong”
Somewhere, nestled in-between a food court and a fashionable shoe store, a new kind of propaganda awaits the consciousness of impressionable (and bored) teenagers: the new US Army Experience Center.
Pay no attention to the man (you know, the one with the gun, orders to seek and destroy, Modular Lightweight Load-bearing Equipment, et cetera) behind the curtain!
If the “Army Experience Center” features moldy barracks for wounded soldiers (and a quick termination for those who speak out), otherwise insufficient follow-up care for debilitating psychological harm, or overflowing toilets and dilapidated facilities, then they may actually be planning to tell the whole story.
Instead, this is the wonderfully summed-up and spun-up version they’ll be be sharing:
Unlike recruitment centers in office complexes, the center is surrounded by retail stores and designed to look hip and modern, with giant plasma screen televisions, brushed stainless steel fixtures, interactive displays, helicopter and Humvee simulators, a gaming area and a cafe.
“It’s not a recruiting center,” said Army chief marketing officer Edward Walters. “It’s really a place for the American public to get educated about the Army and for us to show that the Army is very high-tech and relevant.”
- Army Deploys ‘Experience Center’ at AdWeek.com
Apparently, this is the Army Experience:
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Just another place to hang out, play some fancy video games, and talk to the friendly neighborhood recruiter about joining to get some easy money for college. |
Surprise! Here’s what it’s really all about:
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The Army isn’t doing its job right if there aren’t any graves to fill. |
The youth of America are wasting their time at the local shopping center because they lack purpose – they are members of a disenfranchised population which constantly grows as the educational barrier for entry into desirable portions of the workforce grows greater and the quality of education provided by public schools worsens.
Win their minds and they will die fighting any war you can make for them.
