After rooting around in the archives, I came across a video that draws on some parallels that span generations. It was about 6 minutes’ worth of Army ROTC recruiting videos from the 1950s.
It was basically several takes on the first video, but then they ended with a different approach for the final video. I pulled the first and the last so you can see how they shifted their approach—that’s the marketer in me.
But, the thing that struck me most about the videos was how much the value of ROTC in the 1950s mirrors the same recruiting pitch used at Texas A&M, VMI, the Citadel, and others when espousing the benefits of participating in a military-style education.
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For my money, I could scroll through old recruiting reels all day. The benefits of military training in the 50s echo through time and demonstrate why schools like Texas A&M with its Corps of Cadets, the Virginia Military Institute, the Citadel, Virginia Tech University, North Georgia, and Norwich consistently deliver leaders who are prepared for the responsibility of leadership—RHIP takes the sting off a little, too—rank has its privileges.
I hope you enjoyed this classic movie reel produced by the U.S. Army to recruit the sons of WWII veterans in the early days of the Cold War.
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-Michael
