The Army's multimillion-dollar recruiting campaign featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his sports league backfired so profoundly that it actually hurt the branch's recruiting efforts, Military.com reported Tuesday.
The Army signed a marketing agreement earlier this year with the United Football League (UFL) and the league's owner, Johnsonwho was supposed to take on the de facto role of brand ambassador for the branch in a bid to boost hiring, according to internal documents and emails. reviewed by Military.com. But the plan didn't work: Johnson didn't follow through on his deal, planned enlistments were cut, and now the military is scrambling to recoup millions in losses.
As it stands, the Army is already struggling with a record recruitment crisis, as are several other branches of the military.
The deal focused on promoting the Army brand during UFL games and on player uniforms, but the centerpiece of the plan was Johnson given his high-profile celebrity status, according to Military .how. Given his 396 million followers on Instagram, the Army hoped to use Johnson's social media presence to further promote the branch in five different posts, with each post valued at $1 million.
But Johnson made only two of the five planned Instagram posts, according to Army documents reviewed by Military.com. Johnson hasn't done one publication related to the Army since April.
“In terms of The Rock, it's a shame that he was pulled at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels,” Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for the chief of staff the military, which pushed the marketing deal with UFL, told Military.com in a statement. “But we are working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army.”
There were also concerns among military officials that partnering with the UFL wouldn't be worth it, given that the league's viewership was low to begin with, according to Military.com. Even in the best case scenario, officials cautioned that the association was unlikely to produce a large number of recruits.
According to an internal Army document reviewed by Military.com, the deal was stalled by “inexperienced” UFL personnel who failed to maintain proper communication channels. Officials have a “lack of confidence” in doing business with the UFL in the future, the document added.
Ultimately, a loss of 38 enlistments was projected during the deal, according to a review of internal plans by Military.com. The Army is seeking to recoup $6 million from the UFL settlement.
Publicist for the Army and Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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