Military recruitment on gaming sites

LetalisK

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lord pickle said:
If memory serves me t.v. ads for drinking do have the phrase "please enjoy responsibily" at the end of them. Maybe they could have another group of ads like MADD does ads to provide a counter balance. I would hate to see some 18 year ruin his life because he signed up for the military before he was made aware of the full gravity of the situation.
It's pretty universally understood, especially now, that military service has the side effect of potential death. Despite the extremely insulting implication that has been made by asking these questions, a lot more thought goes into joining than "omg I love CoD! This will be just like that!" Recruits understand it's a life altering commitment and the recruiters generally reinforce that.
 

Dr Snakeman

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Apr 2, 2010
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FieryTrainwreck said:
Remember when America used to fight wars for good?

Remember that one time?
HAHAHA! Oh, wow, you're completely hilarious and edgy! I can tell that you are the kind of guy who doesn't believe all the government-controlled information that "they" try to shove down your throat! You understand what's really going on! You clearly posess the only functioning mind in a world full of sheep!

...

Ugh. Shut up. That's not even what this thread is about.

God, I can't tell you how much I despise people with your attitude. The fact that you can make snarky, ignorant blanket statements about the government or military of an entire nation does not make you special.

On topic: No, it doesn't bother me. Also, I agree with the chorus of posters who take issue with your use of the phrase "cannon fodder". Soldiers haven't been "cannon fodder" in decades.
 

GrizzlerBorno

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You guys are getting US army Ads?
LOL! I just get either, a lovely group shot of the Loading Ready Run crew, or Miracle of Sound's hilarious mug!

Although, now I think about it, I get Jimquisition banners from time to time and I would literally prefer a giant "Fuck Yeah America" embed over that horse feces.....
 

Jabberwock xeno

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Oct 30, 2009
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Like the add here?

I have a problem with it:

It keeps on making a flash pop-up asking for permission to do this or that every 5 freaking seconds.

And there is no way to say "block this one all the time", only block ALL flash stuff from everywhere.
 

Andothul

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Feb 11, 2010
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bob-2000 said:
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?
I find it quite disrespectful that you would say joining the army = cannon fodder.

What exactly about this bothers you? Why wouldn't the military be able to advertise just like anyone else can?
 

KittensTiger

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May 22, 2011
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bob-2000 said:
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?
Well with the future of military being in unarmed drones I think recruiting gamers only makes sense. I mean, who has more experience piloting things using a mouse and keyboard than gamers?
 

Mr.PlanetEater

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May 17, 2009
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Honestly I don't care if they put up advertisements, because that still doesn't mean you HAVE to join the army. Nothing's stopping you from ignoring them, and no one's forcing you to click the ad. This kind of thing doesn't bother me, now the draft on the other hand. >.>
 

neonnightlite

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Jun 25, 2010
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They're just trying to hit the male audience. Seeing as how this is a video game website, it should be crawling with males. Also, games like Call of Duty make people interested in war.
 

Verlander

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Apr 22, 2010
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I'm in the UK, and haven't noticed many at all, although I did see one recruiting for a US based force, Marines or something. So yeah, pretty useless to me.

I have no issue with it though. As Bill Hicks once said:

 

garfoldsomeoneelse

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Mar 22, 2009
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Remember how many people ran out and enlisted after they saw this?


Really? Huh, it was all over the news. In fact, it's the only precedent in existence that provides conclusive evidence of people being led to believe by the media that the military is a powertrip of murder and invincibility (before the government-funded interactive propaganda tools such as Call of Duty or Battlefield hit the scene). When most people watch movies like this (with the obvious exception of this one example), they go "that looks like fun, but I should really keep in mind that this is, after all, just a movie, and therefore unlikely to be an accurate representation of a potential career choice".

Gamers, however, are a feeble-minded and unrealistic breed. When they play Call of Duty, the fact that the gun on the screen fires every time they pull the controller's trigger completely overrides their discretion, and instead of saying "the military probably isn't like this video game at all", or "hey, I just realized that I probably don't operate a rifle with a thumbstick", they immediately conclude "HOLY FUCKING SHIT DID YOU SEE ME SHOOT THAT GUY IN THE HEAD, WHY ISN'T SEAL TEAM SIX HERE WITH A GROUP OF SUPERMODELS AND OZZY OSBOURNE TO RECRUIT MY AWESOMENESS INTO THE CORPS OF WANTON MURDER AND UNSPECIALIZED DESTRUCTION". This sad phenomenon leaves gamers especially susceptible to advertisements from the armed forces, and is effectively predatory marketing by deliberately exploiting the stupidity of your average gamer.

Thus, it is utterly disgusting that the armed forces would dare to attempt passive recruiting on a gaming site where nobody is cognizant enough to know the difference between reality... and games where bullets only kill you if enough of them hit you within a small frame of time, unfired bullets warp from ejected magazines and appear in the magazines yet to be utilized, and your friends cannot die until a particularly dramatic moment even if you shoot them yourself.
 
Jun 23, 2008
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bob-2000 said:
Also, cannon fodder? You know little about the military. Nobody is "cannon fodder".
Cannon fodder is one of the perils of command, knowing that even with cautious strategies, you will sometimes often send units to their certain deaths in order that greater numbers might survive. It is part of the Hell with which we identify as war. Typically, such maneuvering doesn't place someone as cannon fodder rather as a feint or distraction from the main attack. And there's incidents like that in WWII in which Patton ordered the expenditure of troops if necessary to hasten a push in Africa, just so that he could humiliate Montgomery.

Our casualties in the IED [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_terror] concussion. Non-lethal casualties are grossly understated, and may number into the hundreds of thousands. Similarly, suicides after a tour or on leave are frequent, yet disregarded as casualties since the deaths in question did not occur on the field.

During Iraqi Freedom it was Kurt Vonnegut who noted that the new troops in the new war were being treated as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas.[footnote]Vonnegut, Cold Turkey, 2004[/footnote] The cannon fodder status of the US armed forces according to the Bush administration was made clear in Donald Rumsfeld's the army you have just war [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumsfeld#Return_to_government_.282001.E2.80.932006.29] fought in the defense of the United States, one of our allies or of an oppressed people (though it was falsely campaigned to the American populace as such, given the notoriously missing weapons of mass destruction).[footnote]Those of you who are involved and better informed, please correct my errors and add or debate as you see fit.[/footnote]

Regarding the original question, I think the DoD has every right to advertise to us, or to any demographic, really. It'd be pathetic of them to suggest it's just like a game but more vivid, of the many advertising campaigns, the ones that get the best response (and seem the most truthful) are the join us and we'll make you a badass or in some cases, join us and play with our cool toys.[footnote]I never got the Army of One slogan. Neither did most of the US, evidently.[/footnote] But unlike one's first drink or one's first cigarette, joining the military is a significant life decision and I would hope anyone and everyone who considered doing so would reflect on the gravity of that decision, and the risk involved in joining. Interestingly, many anti-war activists simply go to schools and offer exactly this, a lesson on the risks of working for the military, which has proven more effective than gatherings chanting in the National Mall.[footnote]Myself, the Marine Corps wanted me bad when I was young, and my family talked me out of it. Probably would have been deployed in Desert Shield if I weren't in intelligence writing reports. If I didn't wash out thanks to a DI making an example of me, I'd probably have been marginalized due to my naturalist ergo non-Christian outlook. I understand that there's a lot of pressure to convert [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_Soldier_Fitness#Spiritual_Fitness] in today's armed forces.[/footnote]

238U.
 

Sniper Team 4

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So...where IS it appropriate for the military to have recruiting ads? "Not on school campus," shout the parents. "Not on public buses," shout others. "Not on gaming websites," shout gamers. It seems like the only place the military can recruit without drawing flak from someone is on their own base--and let's face it, if you're on their base to look at recruiting, odds are you've made up your mind.
Would you prefer the draft instead? Be glad that it's simply ads for a volunteer army. The U.S. needs to get soldiers from somewhere. If those soldiers come from young adults who play video games, then so be it. Honestly, I find it rather amusing myself. I've never met a gamer who I think would be a good soldier, let alone a Marine like they keep showing. I've met soldiers who play games, and play them often and well, but I've never met a gamer who went, "Oh, this is fun. I wonder if it will be the same in real life."
 

ScoopMeister

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Mar 12, 2011
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intheweeds said:
ScoopMeister said:
lord pickle said:
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.
Wouldn't that be like having a really romanticised view of being in the army depicted in your advertisements, then along the bottom having the words: 'Disclaimer: Actually, it sucks. You WILL either die or be horrifically injured. Sign up today!' you can't advertise something by making it look bad, so that's a rubbish idea. They don't do alcohol ads and then show one that just has a dead man and a narrator saying: 'This man drank too much of our beer and died, because alcohol is really bad for you. Now buy some!' No one would do that.

OP: No, there's nothing wrong with that. They advertise military jobs on the TV, so why not websites as well?
Well, I don't know about other countries, but in Canada (ontario specifically) all alcohol ads have some little thing somewhere advising that 'our product be consumed in moderation, please do not drink and drive' or something like that.

They could have a similar disclaimer. I don't know what something like that would say, but it doesn't hurt the advertiser to admit their product might be dangerous, but come off like they care about you and your safety.
I know, but that wasn't really my point. I made my example a little OTT so it would fit in with lord pickle's idea of showing a marine with his leg blown off. Naturally, adverts for booze need to have the obligatory 'please drink responsibly' tacked on the end (by law).
 

Ben Simon

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Aug 23, 2010
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The army should be allowed to advertise like any other company. Plus, their advertisements are benefiting the escapist (in a monetary sense).
 

Goldenkitten01

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Aug 23, 2010
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RT-Medic-with-shotgun said:
What sucks is when it pops up and covers half my screen in marine corp advertisement and hides the close ad button like its a sniper in the brush.
^ This, so this.

As for the actual advertisements (the ones that don't get in the way the vile jerkoffs) what does it matter where they are? Do you complain when you see them on tv? On billboards? Anywhere else? If you've never complained about them there then what's the difference with them being here?

The only possible answer I can guess is that they might be visible to more children on sites like this. But honestly the people with the mindset to join the military are probably going to join the military anyway, and the people who don't aren't even going to click the links or even bother noticing them. So like most other ads, they really shouldn't matter for anyone except those they're meant to matter to.