PROPAGANDA
ARMY
The Army makes many particular decisions of style and content in this intricate and effective advertisement.
Certain properties of this video are interesting in the way they manipulate the mind. The color palette is black, yellow/gold, brown, and some earth tones. In general, this would usually be a gloomy, sickening palette, but with this message, topic, and music, it promotes a feeling of anticipation and excitement associated with a story about conquering the apocalypse. The gold color also brings to mind a golden first place medal. There are also elements of smoke, dust, clouds, and fog throughout the video, which softens the contrast and gives a dream-like quality to the tone. Another thing to think about is the composition being entirely a fast moving montage. This is important because it doesn’t give the audience time to think deeply about any of these miniature scenes and what sacrifices and risks are necessary to take on these responsibilities. Instead, it moves on quickly to retain those fantasy images while being whisking the audience along with the emotional reactions it brings on.
There is a lot going on with the subjects in this montage. There is a whole cast of military members from many backgrounds, races, genders, and career focuses. There is a ton of technology and machinery, such as tanks, guns, hummers, helicopters, and satellites. The locations are mostly abstract, with a notable stage-like set that is presented a few times. This insinuates theatrics of a great performance and being a star. The lack of concrete locations helps to prevent the audience from anchoring into reality, and instead maintains the dream and flow with the feelings the montage brings on.
This ad takes the form of a video game. It plays out in a way that feels like a first person shooter game such as “Call of Duty.” This invites the emotional responses of competition, excitement, ambition, and arguably aggression. It sets the tone that choosing this career is a path to winning, and there are so many goals and paths to unlock. Much like a video game, they offer ideas of different paths, such as story mode, free mode, side quests, etc. In application, they show how people can choose many options ranging from intelligence to infantry and anything in between or beyond. This functions to show there is a story for everyone.
The mediums used are film and animation. This combination is extremely important to note. The only thing within this ad that is real are the military models. They want you to know that this is a place for you, a real person. The rest of the ad is a façade of invigorating, epic CGI fantasy land of the military career and contributions. We see many acts of power, strength, intelligence, achievement, and adventure, but none of these have a basis in reality. We are not seeing the opponents. We are not seeing the collateral damage, civilians being bombed, friendly fire, accidents, traps, soldiers and civilians crying in pain and fear, backdoor politics, or homeless veterans without access to efficient and quality healthcare. We are seeing an exciting fantasy in a vacuum.
The genre of this ad is action adventure, which excites the audience and pulls them in with the lure of going on a hero’s journey. There are many obstacles to face, but these function as character building quests and accomplishments for you to level up. This is an extremely empowering and inspiring idea for a person who is stuck in poverty and sees no light at the end of the tunnel. This perspective offers a call to action, to which the audience in this vulnerable position is likely to take on.
Cultural context is key in this ad’s attraction. America is a capitalist country that values individualism. This ad plays on the individualist mindset by offering ways to improve and elevate oneself, and things that are to be gained on an individual level. This is opposed to an ad that would be shown to a culture that values collectivism, which would promote the idea of giving back and what you can contribute instead of what you can do for yourself. On another level, there is a direct message to the lower income audience with assurance that joining the army “can help you better prepare for academic success, a stronger career, and an overall brighter future.” This is a more direct statement than the rest of the ad’s subliminal methods. However, it still contributes to the individualistic idea of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps to achieve the American dream. This direct message is clarifying and asserting that the army is a good fit for anyone, regardless of their background and qualifications.
MARINES
The Marines take on a different approach than the Army with this call to action.
An interesting feature of this ad is the transition between scenes being expressed through the shell of the woman crumbling off of her. This offers an incredible idea of growth and metamorphosis. Like a caterpillar shedding its skin time after time before creating a chrysalis and finally breaking out of that into its final form, we see this woman break through stages of life and grow from her experiences into her final form. This also offers an idea of flexibility and adaptability to the multiple duties of a Marine. The ability to break out of the shell means that their service is not static.
This montage is precise and minimalist in subject matter. We follow a marine through 5 distinct moments of her life, all of which the narrator uses to portray desired traits of Marines. First, we see her as a child in school, defending a peer from bullies to signify bravery and independent initiative. Next, we see her as a teenager playing rugby, which shows she is passionate and can work within a team. Then, we see her training, being yelled at, and pushing forward, seemingly unbothered. This shows she has emotional and physical endurance. In the following battle scene, she appears to be giving direction and standing on a front line. This defines her as a leader. Lastly, we see her on the homefront, delivering supplies to a citizen in need. This act of service reminds the audience that this is not about the individual, but the nation’s safety and wellbeing. We don’t get an extended look at the minor characters because they are not important to the message or purpose of the video.
“Battle Up” makes the decision to tell its story solely in live action film. It is an important choice because enrolling in the Marines is an incredibly serious ambition. The video must be crystal clear and specific in the commitments and type of person required to fulfill these duties. By spending so much time exploring this woman’s life experiences, the audience really gets to know her and understand that her values and actions are a prime example of what one is expected to measure up to.
This ad uses the docudrama genre to express its message. This is significantly different from the “What’s Your Warrior?” campaign because this is grounded in a sense of reality. We follow the woman through her journey, growing up and later working as a Marine. Since we don’t have the external distractions that the action/adventure Army video flooded the senses with, the audience is able to step into this woman’s perspective and experience the true calling of the Marines: to protect and serve.
Cultural context around the Marines sets a different goal than that of the Army. The Army’s propaganda methods is to do a mass general sweep of every person they can pull in from every background, which is why their ad was created with such a thrilling individualist focus. The Marines are incredibly selective and specialized, so their goal is not to attract any random person, but to be really specific in what kind of person they engage with. Since they have this goal, they can confidently get involved with a deeper story that people with the desired traits will gravitate to, and weed out the interests of people who may be more susceptible to the “me, me, me” energy of the Army video.
This woman goes through a glorious metamorphosis. Although we see her shine in several moments, we don’t see her truly struggle. We don’t know the dark side of her experiences. Is she special and different from everyone else where she comes out the same as she went in? What protected her from the horrors others have been scarred with? Or does she have PTSD now? Does she have any battle scars or disabilities? Does she see a therapist because she watched her best friend die, or because she had to shoot a child soldier who was only there because they were taken from their parents? As grounded to reality as they try to make this ad, there is a massive glorification of the military experience, and only acknowledging the bright side is manipulative to the people they target for recruitment.
All testimonials and photos were sourced from https://www.goarmy.com/soldier-life/stories.html
All testimonials and photos were sourced from https://www.goarmy.com/soldier-life/stories.html
NAVY
The Navy uses a unique blend of features to create an effect comparable to the Army.
There are a couple features of this ad that seem to have certain effects. The color palette is obviously blues and military earth tones. However, there are several moments of red lights increasing in intensity that build tension and alertness to a climax, and then the yellow jackets of the aircraft marshals signal a euphoric diffusion of this energy as the audience transitions through the exhilaration of the sky and settles into the peace of space. In comparison, this video also is made of a decently fast paced montage that reflects a similar effect that the Army’s “What’s Your Warrior?” ad harnessed. Because the mood and action shift so frequently with no particular anchors to reality, the audience is swept up in emotion instead of allowing them to think about the reality of this career and the negative experiences and impacts that come along with these duties.
The subject matter is interestingly depersonalized. There is no main character, and the few people with spoken lines we do see hardly get a second of screen time each. The primary subject matter are the ocean, sky, space, and the crafts and technology used by the Navy. All events are abstract, with no given application or resolution. It is designed to be a sort of fashion show highlight reel of all of the cool things that the Navy have access to.
The form of this ad can be compared to that of a movie trailer. It is like a sneak peek of all of the best shots with epic music that makes your heart beat faster and leaves you the feeling of a cliffhanger, wanting to pursue the rest of the excitement. In particular, it feels like a trailer for a movie like The Meg (2018) or Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019). The atmospheric music and reverberation create a certain tension that makes things feel bigger than life and is an effective hook. Even in the last shot from space, the way everything slows down and suspends, the way the earth and satellite line up with the music as “America’s Navy Forged by the Sea,” feels exactly like a “coming soon to a theater near you” closing shot.
Similar to the Marine’s “Battle Up,” this Navy ad also seems to be live action. It is possible that the closing scene of space is CGI, but it is created in such a way that it doesn’t make a difference since its appearance follows suit with the rest of the video. It is different, however, in the way that it makes a fantasy seem real. The live action allows the audience to anchor into reality, but the content only expresses a highlight reel of technology and adventures in the sea, air, and space. There is no actual application of duties shown. The closest we get is “Chief, we have a hostile…” and then we never get to see the reality beyond that. Everything we see is real, but it is not transparent to the realities of the job.
This ad is difficult to place into a particular genre. It has traces of action/adventure with the tension in the second half. The mysterious air around the beginning underwater and at the end in space feel almost like sci-fi (even though this is very much based in reality). The overarching tone feels like it is somewhere in between, something like a monster movie. This interesting mix creates feelings of existentialism in an urgent yet suspended call to action. It creates a visceral reaction of awe and engagement, and peaks the interest of the audience.
Cultural context of individualism and self interests are leveraged here in a similar way to how “What’s Your Warrior?” interacts with its target audience. The only text that appears on screen is “From the depths to the stars”. This incites curiosity and wonder, this functions to attract recruits seeking adventurous experiences. The ad flashes big technology toys and unique adventures to go on instead of spreading a message of service and greater purpose because in this individualism culture, there is not an overpowering urge to do good for others, we care about how things (seem to) feel for ourselves.
The Navy takes a different approach with this ad than the previous one.
This ad is a little different than the others. The color palette is more diverse and bright flashy colors are used freely, especially with the graphics. This appeals to teens and young adults. The graphics in particular are a powerful feature, they practically hijack the video in a way that no other ad discussed here does. They are flickering and in your face, demanding attention. They read: “this is not a game,” “not part time,” “bigger than state championship,” “nothing like fireworks,” “not two a days,” “stayed out all night,” “Earn up to a $30k bonus when you enlist now”. These words pander to a young and vulnerable audience by appealing to rebellious and fun parts of being a teen as well as the promise of an adult career that has an even bigger impact on one’s life, maintaining this adolescent excitement while having financial incentive.
The subject matter in this ad follows suit of “What’s Your Warrior?” and “Sea to Stars” in the sense that it doesn’t give the audience an opportunity to share an intimate story with any particular person. We flip through individuals quickly without getting a sense of who they are, and the rest of the people are unidentifiable. The most interesting object is the remote for the robot that looks like a video game controller. Right when we see this on screen, the narrator says “this is not a game.” This is interesting because for that to be taken seriously, there would need to be something following this to make people look at the recruitment in a different light. There are no consequences of injury, death, accidents, or any other problems that would make a viewer double take their light heartedness and think critically about what recruits should be preparing to face. Instead, we see this mini-scene of an anticlimactic video game remote looking controller and nothing comes of it. Along with this concept is when the battleship shoots a missile, it is in isolation and there are no shots being fired at it. So now it just looks like a fun exercise of power instead of being engaged in a life or death fight that can potentially ruin your entire nation if you don’t succeed. The final shot of the one recruit in focus cannot even be used as an example of “who [the navy] makes you” because we have no reference to what this person has become. We just see their face with no context. What have they been through, what have they done? This isolation and minimalism of this subject along with the narration and music contribute to the oversimplification of what it means to join the military. This is dangerous to underestimate.
The medium of this ad is live action film. Its use of live action mirrors that of the Navy’s “Sea to Stars” video in that this medium allows the audience to anchor into reality, but the content only expresses a highlight reel with no concept of what they’ll be walking into. We see a remote controlled robot that seems to be putting down something that could be an explosive. We also see a missile firing off. These are exciting in isolation, but the ad gives the audience no concept of what comes next. Who’s livelihoods are going to be paying for the consequences of these explosives? Why are these tools being used? These questions are not important when reality is constructed and limited to cherry picked moments of casual or innocent moments.
This ad uses a young adult leaning genre that is reminiscent of a sports movie or advertisement. The graphics feel like a video game of sorts and the music is like a muted night club. Everything is surface level and light hearted with feel good pump up messages. These function to get the attention of teenagers and possibly incoming college students who are excited by the rush associated with being part of something risky and bigger than yourself.
An interesting thing to note within this ad is how it navigates gender as a way to target primarily teen and young adult males. The idea of video games in this ad is important because the biggest demographic that plays video games are this primary demographic. All of the people shown seem to be men. All of the scenes tend to be either traditional male centric activities or gender neutral, with no femininity anywhere. A notable example is the football state championship reference juxtaposed with a circle of men yelling together. Another significant moment was the men working mechanics on the navy planes as the narrator specifically mentions “uncle’s shop,” emphasizing masculine presence and energy. Contrasting this msculine video, the narrator is a woman. Her voice is confident, steady, and almost sexy. This functions on another layer to subconsciously lure these young men into recruitment. All of these men are being portrayed as traditionally strong and successful, with this woman emphasizing the importance of their work. This is a strong subliminal message to these boys about gender and the military as a path to acceptance and what it means to be a man.
AIR FORCE
This Air Force ad diverges from the effects and purposes of the previous ads.
A couple features give this ad a particular effect. The color and lighting tend to be warm and almost to the effect of golden hour. This creates a comforting and familiar feeling that elevates the positive expressions of the children and Air Force members. Especially when combined with the calming music, it creates an atmosphere that makes the audience feel like they are at peace and where they need to be in their life. This serves as an invitation for the audience to join and become part of this life. Another method used is frequent handheld camerawork. This functions to break the audience out of objective observation and transform the video into a subjective experience. This in turn makes the audience feel like they are there with the crew and family, experiencing the family and comradery bonds and the desire of legacy and honor.
The subjects of this video are prioritized in a similar way to how “Battle Up” functioned. This is a human-centric video. It is not trying to be flashy with the ships, planes, guns, and making things blow up. The subjects that matter here are the enlisted crews and their loved ones. When discussing archive footage, it was primarily about the people who contributed to our history and success. This ad asks the audience to reflect on the essence of their human spirit and fulfill their purpose with the Air Force, transcending mundane existence. This method also requires that the audience has a certain level of maturity and traditionalism, so it is not likely that this ad was created for and marketed to our target demographic.
This ad uses both live action film and photography to convey its message. The functions of this choice relate closest to the Navy’s ads. Everything here is real, but it is all in isolation without the bigger picture. For example, there is the one plane that is shown that a missile was shot at to take it down. Because it was filmed in live action instead of detailed CGI, it is far away and removed from the audience. We don’t get an intimate experience or knowledge of the story behind that plane and the moving parts at play, but we are invited into the homes and relationships of these mock Americans. The military doesn’t want to give us a good look at the “enemy” because they don’t want to give people time to connect with them and push for anti-war efforts and diplomacy. War creates an economic incentive, so dehumanization of the other side is important to justify incentives. They only need the audience to believe they are doing the right thing or the best thing. Being transparent on the politics would discourage many from putting their lives on the line. And while this missile scene could have been in CGI, it would not have the real life feeling and connection that live action provides. This shot is evidence for recruits that the military needs them for real defense of the nation.
This ad uses a docu-fiction genre. It incorporates archive footage as well as fictional characters and scenes that blend history with fiction. The archive footage and photography anchor the audience into reality, talking about real events and people who have served before. Notable events like the Cold War and Iraq ground the air force’s presence to real places. People like General James Harold Doolittle, General Robin Olds, and Captain Lance Sijan as well as photos of all Black and all women crews emphasize the history of honor and diversity, which plays into marketing pathways to success and acceptance for minorities and lower income people. While the archives function as a museum of such successes, the fictional characters allow a range of spaces for the audience to project themselves into. The athletic single woman, the family man, a man with a partner, and other men and women with unknown stories give space to the imagination and exploration of the range of lifestyles and identities that find a place within the Air Force ranks. Something to be noted is that of the archive footage used, there were only images and footage of success stories and honor. They did not show discrimination that women and non-white men faced prior to being allowed to enlist and finally being accepted. They don’t show how even today, women and even men are not properly protected from [sexual] violence within their own teams. It has that idea that these people are allowed in now, so sexism, racism, etc. are over and defeated.
The cultural context of this ad revolves around middle class America. It invokes values of traditionalism, heritage, legacy, and patriotism. It does this by emphasizing stories of family, hard working individuals, our history and the next generation, and ideas of defending the nation. The idea of earning your wings also sounds like it’s targeting college educated young adults (20s and 30s) with the mindset of pulling yourself up by the bootstraps. This is mostly a middle class value because the people in this demographic are seldom exposed to the helpless feedback loop of the poverty cycle. Because of this more stable demographic, this video can afford to focus on feelings and values instead of baiting people with fulfilling basic needs by offering a beeline to success and prosperity.
How to use Critical Visual Analysis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3edtysTPc8o
and "Critical Visual Analysis" by Jonathan E. Schroeder