So, Army Ads

So, there’s been a massive argument on Twitter recently, I know that happens monthly, but bear with me here. Someone took a Russian army ad and compared it to a US army ad. Later on, on YouTube, someone took a Chinese army ad and compared it to the other two, which is the version I’ve seen after seeing this on AllSides.

I’m awakening from my far too long slumber because it’s finally something I actually want to talk about, and I now have all the time I can use today to do it.

So, what’s with these ads? Well, the Chinese one is a very patriotic ad about how becoming a member of the Chinese army is a good way to support China.

It’s a decent enough ad, I’m sure it’d do the job, I’ve seen similar Navy SEAL ads on YouTube like that.

The main course are the Russian and American ads.

The Russian ad is an ad about a bunch of stereotypical white men being badasses, basically. They’re doing a bunch of things one would associate with the army. They’re shown doing training, jumping out of planes, and braving Russian cold.

I don’t speak Russian, so they might be explaining what the army is doing in the background. However, to me it looks more like a movie trailer.

The US ad is... a lot. Now, the US ad is called The Calling, and it’s a story about how Emma, who was ‘raised by two moms’ and ‘marched for equality’ went into the army to ‘prove her strength’ and ‘break some stereotypes along the way’. Now, if this is actually Emma’s story, I won’t fault her for it, it’s good that a real person has shared this story.

However, given that Emma was apparently adopted before same-sex marriage was legal, according to the ad, I have my doubts (though I’m not a Californian, so what do I know).

If the story is synthesized, then it’s just a bit heavy-handed. It does, admittedly, feel like pandering to an extent.

Most people familiar with me or my main account (Dashie04), will know that I’m part of the LGBT+ community. Therefore, I like LGBT+ representation. However, I like LGBT+ representation that either ads to the story, or isn’t shoehorned in. To me, it feels like the two moms were shoehorned in.

Personally, I thought The Calling was the better ad, mainly because it’s just more interesting. Look, AD/HD will like a story more than a movie trailer. I’m also all for breaking stereotypes, I’m glad that The Calling shows that women can serve, too.

In a way, I feel like each ads highlights the country it’s from. The Chinese ad is about the country, as people living in China would put above everything else. The Russian ad is about strength, which seems like a very Russian thing to prioritize. Finally, The Calling is about the individual, which is literally what America was formed on.

That’s why I feel like people who say that the ad doesn’t represent America are a little off, because being about the individual is what America strives to be about.

Also, the fact that I’ve only ever seen The Calling once seems to prove that it’s not doing anything to anybody. People seem to always overexaggerate ads like this, saying that they ‘poison children to think a different way’. Children are usually smarter than that, besides, serving your country is still one of the main draws of signing up for the military. That’s why people tend to consider it. The Calling isn’t going to change any of that.

However, the most criticized aspect of The Calling is the SJW feel of it. Which, yeah, I kind of agree with. The Calling didn’t have to emphasize Emma’s story, you could just show her serving in the military and it’d be fine. However, I feel like the idea that getting women to serve in the military makes us weaker is also wrong. There’s plenty of strong women out there.

At the end of the day, The Calling is just an ad. It isn’t going to change the strength of our army. It isn’t going to poison children. It’s just an ad. It didn’t have to be this way, but nothing bad is going to come out of it.