An ill-conceived marketing deal between the US Army and Dwyane "The Rock" Johnson's United Football League has gone sour.
Not learning from other recent marketing programs to drive Armed Services recruitment with sports sponsorships failure, the Army entered into an eleven-million-dollar deal with UFL. The deal involved The Rock making five social media posts promoting the Army, but he only made two. The Army calculates the deal cost them thirty-eight recruitments and would like six million back. At these kinds of recruitment numbers, I think Army marketing needs some basic training.
One senior Army marketing official, in an interview with Military.com, said the deal echoed the National Guard's $88 million NASCAR sponsorship that reportedly didn't lead to a single new soldier joining the ranks. But the UFL partnership was ultimately pushed through directly by Gen. Randy George, the Army chief of staff, according to an email between him and senior staff reviewed by Military.com.
Johnson hasn't posted anything on his Instagram related to the Army since April. One post mostly featured photos of him with generals, including a photo of him hugging George. Another was clips of his tour of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.
"In terms of The Rock, it's unfortunate he was pulled away at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels," Col. Dave Butler, a spokesperson for George, told Military.com in a statement. "But we're working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army."
Military.com
