The US Marine Corps is taking on its recruiting challenge the American way — with a targeted advertising campaign. Moving away from its nondescript demographic of "young men," the Marines launched sophisticated ads specifically appealing to women, Latinos, and Arab Americans.
The New York Times advertising section profiled the women-focused campaign:
In the latest campaign, a print ad shows a female marine striking a martial arts pose in front of a crowd of men who are looking up to her as their leader. The tag line: “There are no female marines. Only marines."
These ads run in magazines like Shape , Self, and Fitness, titles likely to be read by young athletic women. Instead of the usual commercials during a NBA game, female-friendly TV spots appear during American Idol. The Marines admitted women for clerical duties in 1918, and today women make up 6.2 percent of the Corps. As seen in this historical gallery, the appeal to women has become much more complex over the years, moving away from flowery brochures.
According to the NY Times, ads running in the La Raza Spanish-language newspaper emphasize family, with the slogan “Each unit in the Corps is a family, and each member knows they never stand alone." The message to Arab Americans? — “I am American. I am Arab. I am a Marine ... I know where I stand.”
Will an appeal to nontraditional demographics change the culture of the military? Do you think the type of woman who would join the Marines needs a direct appeal?
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Hey its just nice the Marines get some new ads! Every ad I see for them is at least 10 years old!
1Well, that can't be right. I thought I'd learned here that the military hates women and is racist.
Ok, overly sarcastic...but it is nice to see something about the military in Sugarland that isn't incredibly negative or accusatory.
2Hmmm...I just clicked on your "Military" tag to confirm my feelings about military related posts here and see that your coverage is actually quite evenhanded. Nice fluff pieces, serious discussions and some negative/accusatory posts. So good job to you guys!
Guess I'm just overly
sensitive about this. 
3Haha Jennifer! Right on!
4Jenn if you want some optimistic military coverage, you can join CammieSugar!
5To be honest, and I hate to be stereotypical here, the type of woman who joins the Marine Corps doesn't really care about advertising. I worked with Marines, male and female, in my squadron and they definitely tend to have a certain personality type. Aggressive, no bullsh*t and atheletic. Generally, they make up their mind to become a Marine before they even leave high school. I doubt some ad in Shape is going to make a difference.
That said.. I joined the Navy because I wanted to be GI Jane.
6I like it! I wish I was one now!
7Monday I love your diplomacy!
But I would agree with you, about 99% of female Marines I have met meet that description.
8When Demi Moore tried this she quickly became box office poison. Can we afford to lose more American actresses?
9I have a very attractive friend who enlisted, who is not the "typical" Marine, and she was discharged during bootcamp because she had to file a sexual harassment complaint against her drill SGT, and the Marines saw her as a liability.
If the Marines are going to start targeting their advertising towards women, they need to be sure they are addressing the issues they have after you get these recruits to sign on the dotted line!
If I wanted to join the Armed Forces, as a woman, I'd go Air Force.
10they need advertising that appeals to women for real, like "we have redesigned the uniforms to make your butt look smaller" and "New menus in the Caf , have sushi and a latte!"
11They did redesign the women's dress blue uniform... to make it look more like the mens... I think it looks better overall though. The shoes still suck however.
12I totally respect the women in the military because I know I couldn't do what they do. During a certain school my husband just completed the candidates had 7 minutes to get out of bed and be in formation outside their barracks. 7 minutes, that's it. Just thinking of all I have to do in the mornings and then considering the women in his class were subjected to that...well, I couldn't do it.
13The ad campaign may help women who have 'thought' about joining the Marines but then took a different route and are maybe tired of the same old same old to give the Marines a second look.
Only thing I wish I'd done differently is that I wish I'd joined the Military after my divorce. I'm retired now, so it won't be happening. I have one grandson who is in the Army in Iraq.
14Auntie - If you'd gone to the military after your divorce, you would've killed all the men there, both the ones we are fighting, and the ones we aren't
15At the same time the military is recruiting women, they are increasing their recruitment of felons.
16uhhh and your point is?
17Having read the article on the recruiting of felons, I think it's a good idea to take in the felons that committed crimes as children. Being in the military would give them an opportunity to learn discipline, and get a second chance to be a good citizen.
18Not sure I will ever understand the concept of throwing a person away after a single offense no matter how minor or how young.
Do people honestly believe that no person who has ever committed a crime EVER should ever
be hired for any kind of job!? Ever!? Or do they just like to harp on the military...? 
19Jen I think you know the answer to that question!
20I agree with you, jennifer76. I also think that a person should not be thrown away for their sexual orientation.
... but that's a whole other post.
21I agree with that, too, LibertySugar. Maybe someday Congress will come around and revise its Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.
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