Stop and think...

The Army have presumably always had a difficult job when it comes to advertising. I'm sure nothing gets the CV's in like the promise of a job where getting shot at is par for the course. But does that justify their relatively recent line of 'Start thinking soldier' ads?

I'ma go ahead and say no. 

They've been doing this for a while now - making war look like a hyper-realistic kick arse video game without even considering how traumatic it must be. As if the TV ads weren't chilling enough, the Army's online content goes one further, including actual video-games which allow you to practice with a sniper rifle, among other things.

The funny part about this ad though is that we're given three options to raid this 'bomb factory':

1. Call in air-support. 
2. Kick the door in.

3. Blow the wall.

Now, I'm no combat expert (though I did shoot a school-friend right between the eyes with a cork gun once. Seriously - he was on a swing at the time and he had a polystyrene shield for protection - I still got him) but I'm fairly sure soldiers should be open to more than three options when storming any insurgent stronghold. It seems to me that none of the above are viable options. Air support is no doubt expensive and has potential for civilian casualties (also you probably want to be standing pretty far from a factory full of bombs that you're dropping more bombs on to). Kicking the door in is stupid for so many reasons I won't begin to go into it. And blowing the wall? Hello! It's a freaking bomb factory...

Probably something like this.

Can't we all just get along instead? No? Oh well, at least our ads aren't as sinister as this.