SAN DIEGO —
The Marine Corps has launched a multimedia advertising campaign aimed at encouraging more women and minorities to join as officers and ending a decades-old stereotype that the Corps is the domain of white men.
The Marines’ “Fighting With Purpose” campaign tracks with the lesson that many pundits have drawn from last week’s election results: The nation’s demographics have dramatically changed.
The campaign, created by the advertising and marketing companies UniWorld Group and JWT, features 1st Lt. Drexel King, a black based at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, and Capt. Monica Meese, a Latina raised in Irvine and based at Joint Base Andrews, Md.
King, an infantry officer, and Meese, a KC-130J pilot, served in Afghanistan. Meese also deployed in support of relief efforts after the 2011 tsunami ravaged Japan.
“Often when people think of Marines, they think of males,” Meese said. “I hope the campaign helps shape the Marine Corps to represent our diverse nation.”
King, 26, is featured in 30-second commercials that, beginning Thursday, are airing on BET, Nick at Night, MTV, Spike, ESPN, NBA on TNT, and NFL broadcasts. He will also be shown in print ads in Vibe, ESPN Magazine, Diversity Careers, and Sports Illustrated.
Meese, 28, will be featured in print ads in the same publications and in a video on the Marines’ “Community Impact” page.
The campaign picks up some of the themes of the “Towards the Sounds of Chaos” advertising campaign that made its debut in March and will continue to be the major recruiting pitch. That campaign reinforces the Marines’ image as a fighting force ready to confront America’s enemies “at a moment’s notice.”
Polling and market research had shown that men and women in the 17-to-24 age group are attracted by the Marine Corps’ tradition of being “first to fight,” but also by its involvement in humanitarian missions. Also, minorities and women are interested in being leaders and role models in their communities, according to the polling and research.
“It’s always been a part of me to fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves, whether on my block or around the world,” King says in the television commercial.
In the last fiscal year, 4.7 percent of those joining as Marine Corps officers were black and 8.4 percent were Latino. In the overall force, enlisted and officer, the Marine Corps has 10 percent black and 12.9 percent Latino.
Women make up about 7 percent, in part because the Marine Corps’ main mission is ground combat, where most billets remain off-limits to women. That is changing, with women being encouraged to transfer into some jobs that would put them close to ground combat.
The percentages of women and black in the Marine Corps remain below those of the Army - although the percentages of minorities have been increasing for the Marines in recent years.
“The commandant’s view is that it’s not enough,” said Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman, commanding general of recruiting, which oversees a $100-million-a-year advertising budget.
“We want a depth of strength in the organization that we won’t have without diversity,” Osterman said.
Commandant Gen. James Amos has made diversity a priority of his tenure as the top Marine, along with recognizing the service of African American Marines during World War II, who were trained separately from whites and often relegated to lesser billets.
“I hope (the ad campaign) successfully portrays a different side of the Corps to the many concerned parents and potential candidates,” King said.
World, nation, state
New Marine Corps ads target women, minorities to join as officers
- World, nation, state
-
-
Analyst say pay-TV companies losing customers
One of pay-TV’s top trend analysts, Bruce Leichtman, says the biggest pay-TV companies lost 80,000 TV subscribers over four quarters, a first in his research over more than a decade.
-
Distraught mom becomes face of Oklahoma storm
A massive tornado was carving its way through town. There was no time to hesitate. LaTisha Garcia had to get to her children.
-
Man shot by FBI had spoken with bombing suspect
A Chechen immigrant shot to death in central Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent had several ties to that of one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects who authorities were questioning him about at the time.
-
Jurors deadlock on Jodi Arias penalty; retrial set
Jurors who spent five months determining Jodi Arias’ fate couldn’t decide whether she should get life in prison or die for murdering her boyfriend, sending prosecutors back to the drawing board to rehash the shocking case of sex, lies and violence to another 12 people.
-
Big U.S. cities showing strong growth
Urban renewal? New census estimates show that most of the nation’s largest cities further enhanced their allure last year, posting strong population growth for a second straight year.
-
Cleveland kidnap case hero gets year of free McDonald’s
The man who famously put down his Big Mac to help rescue three women held captive for years in a Cleveland house will get free McDonald’s for the next year, a company spokeswoman confirmed Thursday.
-
Boy Scouts approve plan to accept openly gay youth
The Boy Scouts of America threw open its ranks Thursday to gay Scouts but not gay Scout leaders — a fiercely contested compromise that some warned could fracture the organization and lead to mass defections of members and donors.
-
Ohio injection well operator fights state action
A northeast Ohio injection-well operator whose former senior officer faces federal charges of violating the Clean Water Act told a state regulatory panel Wednesday that the company can’t be blamed for the acts of “a bad person.”
-
Man shot to death while questioned in Boston probe
A Chechen immigrant was shot to death by authorities early Wednesday after he turned violent while being questioned about his ties to one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, officials said.
-
Jury in Arias trial adjourns after impasse
Jurors in the Jodi Arias murder trial said Wednesday they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether she should be sentenced to life in prison or death for killing her one-time boyfriend, prompting the judge to instruct them to keep trying.
- More World, nation, state Headlines
-
Analyst say pay-TV companies losing customers
