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Spam_UK
19th May 2007, 21:22
First, I dont mean this to be anyway offensive to the RAF PR people, merely "constructive criticism" as my instructors used to say. But does anyone else feel that the RAF's TV adverts have completely lost touch, and in no way compare to the Army and Navy's.

This, coupled with the Air Forces new clothing line, really make me wonder.

I understand that trying to sell the Air Force way of life in a 45 second commercial is difficult to say the least, but surely they can think of something better than a Eurofighter flying over a forest shaped as cutlery?

Comments?

Talking Radalt
19th May 2007, 23:12
A small lake shaped like cutlery? :confused:

Two's in
20th May 2007, 02:40
It must be an interesting conundrum for the PR bods these days - how to include the latest shiny, pointy, single-seat wonderjet in the ads (because that's what the Defence budget was spent on) while not disenfranchising the other 75% of the RAF. That would be the percentage who fly, support, task, and generally operate the rest of the fleet that you can't even sign up to fly until you've been told you can't fly the wonderjet! This is the same fleet that hourly, daily, weekly and monthly ad nauseum provides the critical and strategic air support to operations worldwide, not just the CNN headline places.
The truth is that in today's conflicts it is the very unglamorous side of the RAF that wins the respect and admiration of others, and that is a very hard sell in the 20 second attention span world in which we all live, hence the wonderjet pictures.

scopey
20th May 2007, 03:57
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Welj6nWY4

They should have just used this tbh! (Replacing the USAF+AAC clips with more RAF obviously!)

Pontius Navigator
20th May 2007, 07:35
Very good video, now which 45 sec you going to use.:)

The other thing I guess is the advert needs to sell the future for by the time the pilots get in things will be different again :(?

Talking Radalt
20th May 2007, 12:19
I understand that trying to sell the Air Force way of life in a 45 second commercial is difficult to say the least, but surely they can think of something better than a Eurofighter flying over a forest shaped as cutlery?


That reminds me, how did "Spirit of Adventure" go? Last weekend wasn't it? :hmm:

TheWizard
20th May 2007, 14:54
The advertising worked well then!! :ugh:
It hasn't happened yet. It is next weekend, ie Bank Holiday

cornish-stormrider
20th May 2007, 15:35
Dunno about the dross that the RAF put out but if you took 45 seconds of that you tube clip showing SH and mixed it with some of that ridiculously good low level stuff then I'd sign up again.......

pba_target
20th May 2007, 17:12
Too true. Having said that, not all ad's for the RAF have to be punchy low level stuff. I quite liked the one with the guy getting over the wall ("only you can push yourself as far as you can go") or something like that.

Was actually alright, and a world better than the crap one of the supermarket checkout guy...

That aside, the sure way to recruit is simply to put lots of good footage of all the guys doing the biz to a decent soundtrack! Would work on me!

Spam_UK
20th May 2007, 17:49
One of the best adverts i saw was a "Their Country Needs You" one set in a Bosnia type theatre, not sure if it was ever aired though or just one i saw at a presentation.

ATCO17
20th May 2007, 18:02
I think, a couple of years ago or more, there were two fantastic adverts produced for the RAF. IIRC, the were based around events in Bosnia or maybe famine relief ops somewhere. From what I heard, they were deemed to be too hard-hitting for peoples' sensitivities at the time and therefore weren't aired.

pba_target
20th May 2007, 18:29
Spam, pretty sure I saw one like that on tv in the late 90s? Herc dropping supplies from low level, wokka rescuing people, all rainy and generally muddy? Good ad. Need more like that....

ps the new ad is here:
http://www.raf.mod.uk/downloads/miscellaneousdownloads.cfm

toddbabe
20th May 2007, 18:49
Why don't the show a bunch of disenchanted blokes sitting about in a dusty tent in body armour waiting for the all clear after another rocket attack? the u tube video is full of none RAF kit, when did we buy apache's? the jags doing the beat up weren't british and we don't have any surface to surface missiles in our inventory!

A2QFI
20th May 2007, 19:13
If everybody in the tent had body armour they wouldn't be British! We don't have enough to go round!

jollygreenfunmachine
21st May 2007, 08:45
Believe it or not the 'bosnia' type advert with the herc, harrier and wokka was withdrawn. The reason? The advert left the impression that we were too busy getting involved with other countries problems and not sorting our own out first. It's still used on some recruiting drives but will never be shown on TV.

samuraimatt
21st May 2007, 10:19
too busy getting involved with other countries problems

Afg and Iraq?

TheHogwartsBEngO
21st May 2007, 11:25
A good friend of mine recently bought me a packet of RAF Trading cards as a little comedy "saw these and thought of you" type gift. Aimed at the kids I suppose - cards with lots of RAF facts and figures plus a metal tag with different Roundel designs and punchy pictures in each pack.

By all accounts they are actually proving reasonably popular with the target audience.

(I'd quite like Card no 12 if anyone has one to swap...)

MLT
21st May 2007, 11:43
This video appeared on the RAF website about a week ago -

http://www.raf.mod.uk/raftoday.cfm

It would make a much better advert.

MLT

cornish-stormrider
21st May 2007, 12:28
I think I will have to crate that poor JT on the top deck of the wellychopter, he looks awfully familiar.......

Either that or they've cloned him to fill the manning shortfall

RobinXe
21st May 2007, 13:20
Apart from an excess of plank-winged fag-chariots, thats a pretty awesome video!

pba_target
21st May 2007, 15:50
Very nice indeed. Now why the hell can the TV ads not be that good!?

pba_target
21st May 2007, 16:26
Oh and you can download the Spirit of Adventure TV Ad! A must....

didnt realise that prune was linked from the RAF homepage either!

SpotterFC
21st May 2007, 18:07
OK so the vid is a lot more than 45 secs so probably no good for TV, but why not the Cinema? Better than watching ads for the local carpet fitter etc. and the soudtrack through decent Dolby cinema system would sound great.

BTW, I'm told that the 'splinter' ad (which I also thought was totally appalling) was one of the most effective ads the RAF had ever run. The result of market research that showed that yoof wanted to feel part of a team and feel that they would be looked after in any organisation they joined.:ugh:

My all time favourite was the 90's ad - Like any other job but with Wings - can't currently recall if we got that strapline first and a certain female products company used it after or vice versa - but it was inspired (and damn funny):)

Talking Radalt
21st May 2007, 18:55
Is it just me who gets a freeze frame of a Harrier mate when I try to play the vid? :confused:

pba_target
21st May 2007, 20:32
They're trying to tell you something TR....

I get the harrier mate for a second as the video caches...

Talking Radalt
22nd May 2007, 06:25
BTW, I'm told that the 'splinter' ad...was one of the most effective ads the RAF had ever run.
Effective as in it got bods through the AFCO doors, yes, as for getting the right kind of people thorugh those doors...:hmm:
So Johnny, just one final question for our market researchers, nothing to do with your interview. How did you know about the Royal Air Force....
"Arrr woz wotchin that Jeremy Kyle fing, an' this brill advert came on between the normal wuns 'bout them great money loans wot you can get like wot I did when I got me Saxo, an' my mum sezz I should get off me ar$e an' do sumfink like wot grandad did d'ring the war, and then she can spend more of her benefit down Gala bingo instead of on Lidl oven chips fer me <picks nose>"
:rolleyes:

TheHogwartsBEngO
22nd May 2007, 08:31
it was a cinema ad during my undergraduate years that finally, after a year or two of procrastination and milk-runs from civvy industry, got me to pick up the phone to the AFCO:

It was one with a Jet tearing about in the sky and then the internal cockpit shot showed something going very badly wrong - warning bells, spiralling altimeter, CWP lit-up like a christmas tree, jet obviously in a spin and a nervous jockey breathing heavily behind his dark visor and radioing 'Mayday! mayday!' etc.

then the tag-line:

"There are no break-down services at 20,000ft." :yuk:

"Engineers Wanted"

"RAF - Rise above the rest"

with the closing shot of jet recovering from spin and streaking over a pan lined up with several pointy looking jets. :D

Rang the AFCO almost as soon as the film ended. It worked for me.

SAR Boy Anchor
22nd May 2007, 10:51
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mba8ELItkqA

another spoof i'm afraid...

dum_my
22nd May 2007, 12:29
Is it just me who gets a freeze frame of a Harrier mate when I try to play the vid?
download the file here:
http://airspace.raf.mod.uk/airspacevideo/rafdefence_large.wmv

Jamboesque
22nd May 2007, 16:00
Why not 'Keep It Simple Stupid' and update the film linked below.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/films/1951to1964/filmpage_streaked.htm

Although this is my first posting I've ben an avid 'lurker' for a few months but never had a reason to dip my toe as it were. :)

I'm not from an active military background, just worked on various bits of military avionic kit since that aircraft was operational, now working on its speedier (?), sleeker, smarter brother. :)