Military recruitment on gaming sites

[bob-2000]

This question obviously applies to those who are getting army recruitment advertisements on this site (American users, mostly).

Does it really bother anyone else that the army is recruiting through gaming sites such as this one? It just seems wrong to use video games as a method to get recruits for the military. I've been seeing more and more of these advertisements on this site, which means that the army is using the gaming community to fish for new cannon fodder. It bothers me that the Escapist would allow this.
Thoughts?

 

[SNIPERFOX ft. Harry P.Ness]

i think most cold war fantasist wank games have this slogan:


OMGOMG OMG JOIN TEH ARMIES U CAN GROUW UR LEGS BACK AND KILL LOLOL CARRY TANKS UP UR ASS JOIN THE US ARMY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!

 

[Dagnius]

I don't think escapist has control over which ads are displayed, only the third party. I'm assuming that since this is a 'game-related site' the ad companies try to assume most ppl play CoD, and since that is a military-esque game they probably think the Army Ads will be more appropriate.

 

[JIst00]

i think most cold war fantasist wank games have this slogan:


OMGOMG OMG JOIN TEH ARMIES U CAN GROUW UR LEGS BACK AND KILL LOLOL CARRY TANKS UP UR ASS JOIN THE US ARMY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!

Sold, where do I sign? =P

 

[staika]

It doesn't bother me in the least, and you do know that joining the army does not always equal cannon fodder right there are many other jobs that they are recruiting for not just soldiers and if they think they can get those here than I don't see what the problem is.

 

[Baron Von Evil Satan]

It's probably more the idea that war is becoming more and more about better technologies and how well you can attack/defend in the cyber world. As such recruitment is starting to be geared more towards these sites because of it's visitors.

By no means are we all hackers/PC builders/Programmers and the like, but there are a good number on this site, and others like it. In essence the military is placing recruitment ads where it knows it can draw the type of people it needs.

 

[SilentCom]

They are just advertisements, they aren't forcing anyone to join. If you don't like it, don't join.

 

[JET1971]

The ads dont bother me a bit. and i think its a good place as any to advertise for the military, allot of the user base is of the proper age to join so atleast they got the demographics side right.

It just boils down to you getting an ad for something that does not interest you Like I was getting La Noire ads when i dont own a console to play it on and had no desire to play that game even if I did. if the ad does not apply to you then ignore it. Its not like condom and tampon ads during saturday morning cartoons wich would be inapropriate.

 

[lord pickle]

I don't think it is a problem as long as they use a little truth in their advertising.
Not only showing off a marine in a shiny new uniform defending the U.S. but also showing that same marine short one leg after getting too close to an IDE or another one homeless after suffering some massive P.T.S.D. and being unable to cope with life after serving in the military. It would kind of screw with the usual message in the ads so maybe they should show the negative ad once of every five positive ads or something.

 

[MindBullets]

Anyone who joins after seeing an ad on a gaming site was probably going to join anyway.

But I'd rather they not advertise on site that children browse too. You don't want to start giving them the impression that war is just like CoD.

 

[Vicarious Vangaurd]

What's wrong with it? Just because someone advertises something doesn't mean you have to buy it/do it.

 

[Johnnyallstar]

Would you rather have fleshlight ads on this site? Personally, I'd prefer military ads.

 

[JMeganSnow]

This thread has been done. Recently. Frankly, I'd rather see my tax dollars being spent giving the Escapist advertising money than on numerous other hair-brained schemes. If it doesn't generate interest the Marines will go elsewhere. They advertise in movie theaters, too. So what?

 

[deathninja]

I get the odd U.S. Army ad online, but that's a moot point as I'm English and (thanks to knee-jerk politics) an instant S8.

The one time it creeped me out was when guitar hero started linking to your hotmail address, I applied for a Royal Navy Eng. scholarship way back when, as soon as GH read into my XBL address I was bombarded with RN ads in-game.

 

[Wierdguy]

Meh - at worst a lot of former gamers are going to be dissapointed when they arrive at the army barracks and realize the real military is nothing like the games. Which ofc isnt nessecarely a bad thing in itself.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Remember when America used to fight wars for good?

Remember that one time?

 

[thiosk]

The recruitment agencies can recruit wherever and however they want. Military life isn't for everyone, but theres a good chunk of people that would do good there.

 

[51gunner]

This question obviously applies to those who are getting army recruitment advertisements on this site (American users, mostly).

Does it really bother anyone else that the army is recruiting through gaming sites such as this one? It just seems wrong to use video games as a method to get recruits for the military. I've been seeing more and more of these advertisements on this site, which means that the army is using the gaming community to fish for new cannon fodder. It bothers me that the Escapist would allow this.
Thoughts?

Demographics: gamers are almost always young and are largely male. The army is for the most part young and male as well.

Also, cannon fodder? You know little about the military. Nobody is "cannon fodder".

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

I have no problem with it. A lot of guys in the military play video games. They're just using that logic to trawl gaming sites. They don't seriously expect people to apply in droves. If this site produces one marine a year, they'll probably be meeting expectations. I know a sergeant in the National Guard who gets called in by generals from the Pentagon to give advice on recruiting soldiers because he pulls about 30 guys a year.

Most people on this site probably don't have the mental or physical fortitude to cut it in the military. Especially not in anything as dangerous as combat arms. They want people to fix radios.

The actual advertisements here are weak, anyway. Gamers are a lot of people that tend to be looking at college. I'd be advertising ROTC, the GI Bill, or education opportunities. None of them talk about the guys working towards law school on their spare time like a captain I know. Instead they pull the warrior doing cool shit in exotic locations bullshit. The Marines might send you to Hawaii or Japan if you're lucky, but you'll still be busting your ass everyday doing mind numbing work. Unless you plan on going into engineering, being a technician sucks.