RAF Recruitment Advert on Radio...

[Tombstone]

Has anybody else heard the latest RAF advert currently doing the rounds on the radio?

It goes along the lines of this, 'This is an E3 patrolling the skies at 30 000ft (engine noise in background) however, what if there were no engineers (engine noise becomes louder as if throttles increased) and what if there were no Air Traffic Controllers to keep it safe? (Engine noise becomes increasingly loud & high pitched as a/c seems to sound like it's in a dive and about to crash).'

Plenty of people up at Kinloss who have recently buried their relatives & loved ones and both the timing and style of this advert are appalling IMHO.

[Icycalm]

Pretty bad timing, thumbs down for RAF PR :yuk:

[Chugalug2]

Tombstone, I haven't heard the advert myself, I take it that it isn't running on R4! It may be for the RAF, but I feel certain it would not have been produced by the RAF, more likely some agency who are manned by people who have no connection with the Forces in any shape or form, nor would wish to! No doubt after a groundswell of protest it will be removed and they'll have another go, but none of them will quite understand why such exception was taken to it. You have to be a civilian to really appreciate the total ignorance there is of the Armed Forces. The overwhelming majority of the population have never served, and know no one who is serving. They may just know someone who has served, but many of those were National Service, and may have little or nothing positive to say! As long ago as the 70's, when I left the RAF, the culture shock of entering civilian life was so great, that I remember it clearly to this day. It's a fact of life I guess, and given that most information re service life is going to be received by the civilian population via the BBC, who have their own take on the military, it is likely to continue.

[Wyler]

Yes, it is produced by an agency but under terms given to them by our Lords and Masters. If it is released in this form, at this time, then it is another example of the total disconnect between the senior leadership and the troops, never mind the public.:*

Remember that TV advert about the guy in the supermarket.....:yuk:

[lurkio]

Tombstone, I heard the ad a couple of days ago and could not believe how insensitive it was given recent events. Surely someone in the ministry of defence must have OK'd it, which cupboard are they hiding in now?
I personally do not think it would be appropriate at any time but to release it now just smacks of a complete lack of feeling for those recently bereaved.

[donald stott]

As I understood it the RAF is only actively recruiting NCA, Gunners, Chefs and Stewards so why do they need to produce a radio advert intimating that we need more techies etc? Our AFCOs (I am told) have never been quieter and will be for the immediate future. :ugh:

[Aeronut]

I've heard 2 of them, but perhaps I was surprised to hear it on a non-yoof radio station, might even have been Radio 2!!

Adverts on Radio 2, I doubt it.

[Chugalug2]

Yes, plenty of adds on R2, where they push every form of BBC output ad nauseam, plus useful public service reminders on the many and wondrous ways to pay the compulsory licence fee into the gaping maws of this ravenous creature!

Sorry, please excuse me, I'll be quite alright, do please carry on with the thread, I don't know what came over me, it's all a blur!

[Two's in]

You have to be a civilian to really appreciate the total ignorance there is of the Armed Forces

Errrrr....call me an old Badger, but aren't recruiting ads specifically aimed at civilians, rather than active servicemen who can from time to time actually be a tad cynical about the accuracy of said portrayal of service life in recruiting ads.

[Chugalug2]

Errrrr....call me an old Badger, but aren't recruiting ads specifically aimed at civilians, rather than active servicemen who can from time to time actually be a tad cynical about the accuracy of said portrayal of service life in recruiting ads.

Well, if you insist, old Badger! :E I think the point of the thread is that it is an insensitive and gauche portrayal of the RAF, produced by people who know little about it, other than the limited brief they've been given, to broadcast to people, who you so rightly say, know little about it. I'm sure that the agency concerned would concur in your analysis, but to me it would appear to be a case of the blind leading the blind, and giving offense in the process.
At least it wasn't produced by BBC drama, for then surely we would have had a complete rewrite, with a cast of Officers (braying chinless wonders in Mess Kit) and ORs (extras from 'The Sweeney' speaking in broad regional accents from Lands End to John O'Groats). Personally I preferred the Theatre Actualite of Charles Chiltern's 'Flying Doctor' series, in which the phrase "Hang on folks, we're going down right now" from Bill Kerr, was followed by the increasing volume of the sound of a copy of the script being fed into a table fan. You felt that you were really there!

[Twonston Pickle]

Insensitive it may be, and I agree with you, to currently serving personnel, particularly those affected by recent incidents. The fact of the matter is that the adverts are not aimed at servicemen and require a completely different approach to "engage" with civilians.

Having first hand experience of the recruiting world, I can definately say that the adverts actually work, even the awful splinter advert. As for only recruiting a few trades, the majority of the trades have been open to recruiting in the last 6 months. Recruiting is also set to increase now we are through the vast majority of the redundancies and drawdown phase. Besides, we may have to increase it even more to account for the rise in PVR applications (wife's went in today!).

[akula]

Even better than the radio advert is the latest to hit print. It is directed at potential Air Traffic Controllers and is quite literally a load of balls.

The image is of two specimen jars, each containing what appears to be a set of testicles, one is labeled “CIVILIAN” the other is labeled “RAF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER”. The punchline is, the set in the RAF jar are considerably larger than their civi counterparts.

There was me thinking that you had to go eunuch for Air Tragic, or have I missed the point.

ALWAYS assume NEVER check

[Davey Stott]

That Air Tragic advert sounds awful - or is it a statement? - "RAF ATC: A Big load of bo**ocks" :} (Tongue firmly in cheek!!)

I seem to remember uproar on here amongst those serving about 4-5 years ago, when the slow paced b&w advert was released. The one that suggested people were in boring jobs, and that their only reward would be a watch and a handshake after doing their time. It finished with the roar of a jet and the RAF Roundel. Most thought that in addition to being rubbish, it was sending out the wrong message. However, someone on pprune involved with recruitment claimed it was one of the most successful adverts produced to that date.

Agree that the radio ad is a little insensensitive at the current moment.