Army Recruitment Campaign Highlights 'Lasting Confidence' Of Service Career

The British Army has launched a new recruitment campaign targeting social media and gym users.

Using the slogan "Army confidence lasts a lifetime", the appeal suggests the service can build lifelong self-confidence in contrast to the short-term boosts that can be found in modern society.

It follows 2018 research by The Prince's Trust which found 54% of 16 to 25-year-olds believe a lack of self-confidence holds them back.

Images featured in the Army's newest campaign include a collage of muscular body parts accompanied by the tagline: "Confidence can be built for a summertime or it can last a lifetime."

Fashion and social media enthusiasts are also targeted through emoji and trainer shoe-themed advertisements, aiming to promote a role in the forces which offers long-term fulfillment.

The Army is currently 10% below its target strength of 82,000 soldiers, though last year's campaign led to 90,000 applications.

The service's recruitment contract with Capita has received criticism in the past, with a senior military officer admitting last January that "some bad mistakes and some errors" had been made.

Colonel Nick MacKenzie, head of Army recruiting, said the new campaign aims to "highlight that a career in the Army not only provides exciting opportunities, challenges and adventures but it also gives you a lasting confidence that is hard to find in any other profession".

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who previously served with the Scots Guards, says: "I know from my own experience the confidence, self-belief and camaraderie a career in the armed forces can offer.

"The latest Army recruitment campaign reflects these unique opportunities and I hope it will build on the success of last year's campaign, which led to a record number of applications in recent years."

The Ministry of Defence has outsourced its recruitment task to company Capita since 2012 - a 10-year £1.3 billion partnership deemed responsible for "bad mistakes" by certain Army staff. 

Data released in August suggested that some Army combat regiments are operating at almost 40% less than their required strength.

Cover image: The Army has released its latest recruitment campaign (Picture: British Army).