However, the launch of Army Show Rooms encourages consumers and potential recruits to engage in an unprecedented way with the realities of a job in the armed forces. These 'rooms' will include realistic battlefield simulators and the chance to drive a virtual tank, and may be rolled out nationally to replace recruitment offices.
Their opening coincides with the Army's 'Start Thinking Soldiering' ad campaign. Similarly, it does not shy away from the often violent reality of the job. Instead it invites people to experience the sorts of decisions that are made by soldiers, including those taken in theatres of war, through the Army's website. They are challenged to come up with ways to conclude missions on the site, before being given feedback on the choices they have made.
According to the Army's national recruiting group, the campaign is designed to be an 'exciting' and 'innovative' way of engaging with its target recruiting base. It is hoped it will help muster the 15,000 new soldiers it needs every year. This task is made more difficult by current commitments, a fact acknowledged by defence minister Kevan Jones last month, when he announced that while retention rates had improved, the Army was still 5000 soldiers below full strength.
These initiatives show that the Army's marketing strategy has shifted toward facing up to and embracing the increasing likelihood that recruits will find themselves in combat.