UK Army Recruitment Ads Call For 'Binge Gamers' and 'Snowflakes'

New UK army recruitment ads target gamers and "snowflakes," asking "me me me millennials" to join their ranks in a widely criticized campaign.

[rainslacker]

Don't really think it matters what you are before joining the army. They pretty much whip you into shape in boot camp.

As far as criticizing the ad...whats the problem? Don't snowflakes like to be included in things, and why shouldn't the army say they want gamers and millenials? If you didn't specify snowflakes then they complain that they weren't invited. Millenials are pretentious because they think no one wants to include them so they make their own groups, and gamers probably don't give a damn either way.

[lsujester]

I guess it's okay in the sense that it's not overtly racist or threatening anyone's life, but if the army seriously wants those people, they shouldn't have an ad where the first words are an insult to them. If I was walking by that ad, it'd be more likely to make me anti-military than it would make me want to join up.

[bigmalky]

Soft. The point of it is basically a "toughen up" message.

[rainslacker]

More likely they're trying to appeal to those who don't look too fondly on those groups. If someone has some sort of disdain for the "Snowflakes" or whoever, then calling them out has a psychological effect on those who wish to not be thought of as part of that group.

[StormSnooper]

Because they are targeting people who have low self image. By calling young people “melenials” or “snowflakes” which have negative connotations, they are essentially speaking to those in the generation of milenials who feel helpless or incompetent, by directly insulting them, and so creating the impression that joining the army is their salvation. It’s a bit underhanded if you ask me.

[bluefox755]

My little brother did great in the army. He had no direction or structure in his life, but he came out of the army focused and ambitious. Some people benefit greatly from that kind of training and discipline.

[senorfartcushion]

And most others either die or come back a broken human being.

[bluefox755]

@Senor Most? Do you have a citation for that? The army has over 2 million service members. The vast majority of which will never get anywhere near a combat situation. How could you possibly think that most will suffer trauma?

[rainslacker]

Boot camp will whip most people into shape. If not, they'd be dishonorably discharged, but the road to that usually involves criminal activity(military wise), which means they don't usually go home. But toughening people up is necessary for what they have to do.

I've known many people who've been in the military, and many of them weren't exactly prime candidates for citizens of the year. After getting out, they were usually at least respectful, but many became hard working and and very respectful people in general.

Not everyone is going to get the same result due to differences in how people behave, but the average soldier is typically very well disciplined.

@Senor

Huh? You're talking about war. Not all soldiers participate in battle, but they all go through boot camp.

[BlackTar187]

Most others die? What the hell are you talking about? Broken? Again what the hell are you talking about. I see this ad offended you. Instead of being offended look deeper.

[Christopher]

***whats the problem?***
***Don't snowflakes like to be included in things***
***Millenials are pretentious because they think no one wants to include them so they make their own groups***

You kind of answered your own question by the rampant generalizations associated with people.

I get the cheekiness of this ad campaign, but it's hitting all the wrong points for the generation that gets tons of labels thrown their way as it is and tends to annoy them while also attempting to belittle them.

[rainslacker]

My whole comment was meant to be contentious to be honest. Probably because I'm kind of tired of this overabundance of people being upset about stuff because they seem to take things so personally, as if everything is meant to be a personal affront to them. In this case, being upset about being called a snowflake, pretty much validates why people are calling them snowflakes in the first place.

I won't really try to apoligize to the "snowflakes", as that is a rather specific defining terms. At the same time, I don't classify people with real reasons to be upset as snowflakes.

HOWEVER

I will concede that the term millennial has been twisted into something that it isn't meant to imply, and in this case, it probably was the wrong term to use for this ad. However, in the way it was used it was obviously pointing towards the notion that a lot of people today feel entitled. The "me me me" is a big part of our culture, or at least our media nowadays. I don't really know how much of that exists out in the real world, but if you look at how people behave online, it seems more like what I used to remember being from the kids in high school over 20 years ago who just felt the world owed them everything. They were a much smaller group that what it seems to be today....and I think a lot of that is because when I was in high school, these kinds of sounding boards to vent or say why you were right didn't exist, and if you talked like people do now, people ignored you, or thought you were crazy, with other instances of actual harassment(teasing/bullying) to get people to shut up or conform. Nowadays, social interaction seems more dictated by safe spaces, and willful ignorance of other people's opinions....although this also existed back in my day to some degree....we called them clicks.

However, the fact that this entitled perception exists, and is only attributed to the millennial crowd, or their own generation is defined by this, and it seems like this alone, is actually wrong. On top of that, I don't think this feeling is something that is restricted to the millennial generation, as it seems to run rampant across all age ranges, even with those that came in generations before mine. But again, this could just be the way it seems because social media does tend to twist things in a way that isn't representative of reality.

I have found for the most part, when people get out into the real working world, they don't usually act like they do on social media as much. The more professional the setting, the less you see of this, although workplace discontent and venting does still exist, and in some cases, there are instances of people taking offense where it isn't really necessary, or would have been overlooked in the past. I guess in short, I think I'm saying that more people have seemed to not learned the ability to roll your eyes at stupidity, and feel they always have to lash out if they don't like something, which makes it seem like entitlement is reigning supreme.

[xX1NORM1Xx]

Do people really not understand that snowflake is an insult to so called "overly sensitive people"? Not a term of endearment...

Calling milenials "me me me milenials" will just make any actual milenials think of the army as old fashioned but then again people use the word milenial to describe young people they don't agree with dispite milenial actually meaning born between 1980-1996 (give or take some places say 1977-2004 which would mean that alot of the people who blame milenials for everything might just be milenials themselves...)

Hey they managed to not insult gamers though so i guess congrats?

The army isn't really gonna win many people over at this rate but i guess all the binge gamers, me me me milenials and snowflakes will be doing is tear gassing civilians when brexit happens and our dipshit politicians haven't bothered to figure it out...

[ninsigma]

Yeah I've come across people who complain alot about millennials when they're actually in the millennial bracket themselves. It's quite funny!

[FilthyWeeb]

"Hey they managed to not insult gamers though so i guess congrats?"

They insulted gamers by lumping us in with "me me me millennials" and "snowflakes" in this advertising campaign. Those two are massively negative personality traits, a gamer is someone who enjoys the medium of gaming; it is not a negative personality trait.

[rainslacker]

Millennial nowadays is actually misappropriated into a rather stereotypical view of what amounts to a rather wide swath of people...many of which aren't actually part of the millennial age group.

Army may not win over the groups they're criticizing in these ads, but realistically, they might endear people that may think low of these groups. Sometimes, the ad isn't actually about getting those you're addressing, but those that don't like those groups.

But in doing so, they'll get a bunch of people complain, because that's what a bunch of people do nowadays. It's not really contained to one age group though.

[Zodiac]

Gamers would be among the group of people dumb enough to join a national army, though.

[Kainbrightside]

I guess you gotta keep the military industry Titans rich by restocking flesh puppets in never ending wars yet the people who start them would never send their family

[kalkano]

There are evil people in the world, who would love the opportunity to kill you. Some people's ignorance will literally be the death of them, or worse, their entire nation.

[Kainbrightside]

I'm not saying that there aren't but i am saying that from a U.S point of view it's clear that the five wars we are in are clearly military ventures for profit honestly and dropping bombs on people then getting mad when they attack you is idiotic and perpetuates a never ending cycle

[ninerguy1608]

Shh. Some will get hurt feelings over this comment. Lol

[Atticus_finch]

Well said

[Chaosdreams]

Insults don't form an incentive to sign up.

[Sashamaz]

There are no insults in the video I watched it and nowhere does it mention any of those terms, the title of this article is highly misleading but worse than that I don't think anyone has even watched the video. As for the posters, I think the message was misunderstood or this is just a journalist usual pot-stirring headline.

[Killa78]

Meh, thickos.

[Yi-Long]

They have some nerve, asking this so-called 'me-me-me generation' (no affordable housing, no affordable education, and on the verge of losing affordable healthcare and having to deal with the concequences of THEIR Brexit-mess), to join THEIR army, in order to fight THEIR illegals wars/conflicts, for THEIR corporate gains...

Sickening.

[Fishy Fingers]

Education and healthcare are pretty affordable in the UK buttercup, they're free.

[Atticus_finch]

He probably means the great USA lol.

[Yi-Long]

Only until your 18 orso. I was (quite obviously) talking about tuition fees beyond that, which have become extremely high in the UK.

NHS is (still) 'free', but Tories have been doing everything in their power to hollow it out in order to get it to fail so they'll have an excudr to sell it off to the private sector.

[Bladesfist]

University fees in the UK are some of the highest in Europe, not as bad as it is in the US though. On the other hand we do have a large number of the top 10 universities in Europe. 7 out of the top 10 are from the UK https://www.timeshighereduc...

[Artemidorus]

It's not all free do not kid yourself too much.

[Smokehouse]

Lmao! Desperate. The binge gamers make sense, they fly drones with 360 controllers now. The snowflakes comment seems like a joke. Unless they are like the US army, train you to be a killer and then send you to war with your hands tied behind your back. Don’t shoot back until they shoot at you at least 35 times!

[Atticus_finch]

How many respawns do I get with my contract.

[SegaGamer]

"Your army needs you".........More like the government are looking for naive young people to use as pawns for their own selfish needs. What happens when your career is over as a soldier? you are forgotten about, treated like nothing, you are useless to the government now so they stop caring.

[AK91]

I mean if you don’t like the ad just don’t join them. Joining the army is a choice not compulsory at all.

[Artemidorus]

Sorry to tell you lot but when you get shot or blown up there is no respawn.

[carcarias]

I thought the video was pretty respectful, I didn't hear it insult anyone. The dad seems to be complaining that he can't get his son to stop playing but the Army seems to be saying, 'Hey, we need people with that focus and determination.

The posters simply challenge the idea that people who might fall, or feel they fall, into these stereotypical groups can't hack it in the Army. It seems like they're trying to say, 'Don't listen to what others say and don't knock yourself. We need people with all types of abilities and outlooks in our ranks.

Better than ads saying, 'If you even remotely resemble some kind of silly little snowflake, don't even think about joining the Army, we don't want you.'