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New Army advert 'promotes emotional support' for recruits | New Army advert 'promotes emotional support' for recruits |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The British Army is launching a £1.6m advertising campaign to demonstrate it can "emotionally and physically" support recruits from all backgrounds. | |
Last month, Army plans to ditch its "be the best" slogan and its crest logo were halted by the defence secretary. | |
The radio, TV and animated adverts will urge people to join up regardless of their ethnicity, gender or background. | |
They ask: "What if I get emotional?", "Can I be gay in the Army?" and "Do I have to be a superhero?" | |
In one advert, a Muslim soldier explains how the army has allowed him to practice his faith. | In one advert, a Muslim soldier explains how the army has allowed him to practice his faith. |
The adverts, which are all voiced by serving soldiers, are part of the Army's "belonging campaign". | |
Recruitment struggle | |
The Army has been struggling to retain and recruit soldiers for a number of years. | |
Statistics show there were just over 82,000 UK regular forces Army personnel in October 2017, compared with nearly 103,000 five years before. | |
About 10% of members of the UK regular forces are women, and 7.5% come from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. | |
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale says there have been accusations it is a soft campaign aimed at what some people dub the "snowflake generation" - and that the Army is pandering to political correctness. | |
In December, the defence secretary ditched plans to scrap the Army's "be the best" slogan. | In December, the defence secretary ditched plans to scrap the Army's "be the best" slogan. |
According to the Mail on Sunday, the the Army was considering changing the phrase after criticism it was "dated, elitist and non-inclusive". | |
The Army's research also found its crest - depicting crossed swords, a crown and a lion - to be "non-inclusive" and recommended replacing both with a union jack with the word ARMY in bold underneath. | |
A spokesman for Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said he believed the Army was "the best of the best" and that the rebrand proposals had been put on hold. | |
Last year, a campaign was used to promote what the Army calls the travel opportunities and friendships within its ranks to boost numbers. |