Hi-tech approach to lure specialist recruits to RSAF

The challenge, said DDB creative director Neil Johnson, was to convey the excitement and hi-tech angle of each vocation in a manner that was in sync with the target audience. The RSAF is generally perceived as more prestigious compared to other military divisions, as it possesses a high level of technology, according to Johnson. However, he said: "Apart from pilots, other vocations in the RSAF are not perceived as particularly interesting to the uninitiated. The challenge is to convey that each vocation -- especially the specialists -- are crucial to the operations of the RSAF." The imagery of the print ads is of high-tech gadgetry, with copy kept to a minimum, focusing on communicating the details of the job on offer and the character traits that the air force is looking for in an applicant. Johnson said the campaign leveraged key elements in youth marketing, which DDB learnt from crafting campaigns for other brands such as the Philips/MTV sponsorship deal and U2 Street-wear -- "Short attention-spans, taking in general stimuli rather than getting into details; 'feel' versus 'fact'," he said. To get around the issue of young people declining to fill out forms, each ad is released with a web address coded to help track the ad that gets the maximum response. sm