An Australian Recruitment Poster series has drawn criticism from some quarters. One complainant likened the girls to those found in brothels , streetwalking and strip joints. I have seen Women in Australian army fatigues and I think they look good, and I don't think the advertising over the top.
I think the complaints are veiled criticisms of the federal government. I think those that criticise the ads do recognise there is a difference between those girls in uniform and those doing other service. I could imagine it quite painful to have to discover the difference.
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Vampish heroine to woo soldiers
By Ian Mcphedran
MOVE over Angelina Jolie, the army is using Australia's version of Lara Croft, Tomb Raider to encourage soldiers to change careers.
Posters approved by the office of Chief of Army Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy, depict the modern woman digger as a buxom, full-lipped wonder woman with a sculpted body wearing a tight fitting uniform.
Sadly the posters have offended many military women.
The warrior princess has caused a furore in defence circles and whether she is stirring the pot as a cook, wielding a large spanner as an engineer, singing up a storm in a glamorous, clinging evening gown with the army band or striding across the helicopter tarmac in a skin-tight flying suit, she always manages to look a million dollars.
The cartoon heroine fairly bursts out of her white medical gear in a Dental Corps poster.
"We want you" is the message scrawled across the posters in Indian Jones-inspired script. "We" presumably being the vampish heroine.
Unfortunately many female military personnel do not believe the "you" as depicted even exists.
They believe the posters send inappropriate signals.
One senior RAAF officer was appalled by the portrayal.
"I think they are woeful and say a lot about how Army males see the world," she said. "They surely couldn't work and we wouldn't necessarily want the type of women attracted by the posters. I hope the RAAF doesn't go the same way."
The sexy digger's male comrade is a chisel-jawed stud in skin tight overalls ready to rid the world of bad guys.
A cartoon infantryman fording a stream looks like a cross between Frankenstein's monster and John Rambo.
A Defence spokeswoman said the posters were not designed for outside recruiting but rather to encourage current soldiers to consider a change in trade.
"Army accepted that this campaign might not appeal to all personnel," Defence said. "Professional marketing advice indicated the use of cartoon caricatures would engage the intended targeted audience, predominantly young males in combat related roles."
The budget for the campaign was $137,000 and included 1000 sets of the controversial posters.
"In its first week of testing, 450 soldiers indicated a preference to sign-up to a trade transfer, compared with 35 the week before," Defence said.
According to well-placed sources the offending posters are about to be recalled.
Meanwhile the TV navy drama Sea Patrol is expected to deliver a recruiting boon to the navy.
A defence source said it was too early to judge the impact of the show, but he said its predecessor Patrol Boat had been a very good recruiting tool.
Andrew Bolt has his say here on the issue
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/im/
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