According to Military .com, the Army ate what The Rock was cooking, and it cost them$ 11 million. Even worse, it’s possible that neither they nor the United Football League ( UFL ) were successful in securing a single recruit from their marketing agreement, which they signed with Dwayne” The Rock” Johnson.
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In reality, the Army estimated that the offer might’ve COST the defense 83 volunteers!  ,
Johnson and his fledgling soccer category, the UFL, were both involved in a massive marketing deal earlier this year. According to Steve Beynon, a poet for Military .com, the Army valued Johnson significantly more than the UFL, and hoped that his celebrity endorsement would spur up military selection, which has fallen to historically low amounts. Last month, the Army, Navy and Air Force fell little of their enrollment goals by 41, 000 deployments.
Among the words Beynon used to describe the fallout:” catastrophic” . ,
According to internal documents, Johnson’s Instagram posts were valued at$ 1 million each. ( Globally, Johnson has 396 million followers. ) Just two articles were created, despite Johnson’s Army’s expectation of five.
Johnson past posted anything about the Army on July 30. It was in April. One of his posts was Johnson posing with generals ( including Gen. Randy George, who “pushed through directly” the$ 11 million marketing deal ). The other was a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
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The Army wants to recover$ 6 million from the package. According to Beynon, it’s “unclear how the company came up with that number”.
( The United Football League and Johnson’s publicist did n’t respond to Beynon’s request for comment. )
In recent years, the government has had to work overtime to maximize its advertising budget. The National Guard’s$ 88 million NASCAR funding, according to a report from USA Today in 2014, was even more disastrous: It cost eight times as much as it did and failed to even recruit any soldiers.
It’s commonly speculated that the U. S. Armed Forces ‘ advertising method, which has been typically based on cable television and sports channels, may become ill-suited to attain younger, enlistment-aged Americans. With the notable exception of TikTok, the government does advertise on other social media platforms. ( Due to the Chinese government’s sway over TikTok’s parent company, the Pentagon has prohibited any ad-buys. ) In 2024, the Army’s marketing and advertising budget was nearly$ 1 billion. Last March, they requested a 10 percent increase in spending, which comes to about$ 1.1 billion. The government also asked for$ 675 million for several opportunities, and other incentives to help boost its weak enlisting.
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But, the Army seems ready to mend fences with Johnson. Army spokeswoman Col. David Butler told Beynon,” …we’re working with the UFL to adjust the deal. The Army and The Rock continue to be great partners.
Johnson has long-standing relations to the Pentagon and military personnel, which has allowed him to be a part of the world’s media coverage beyond film jobs. In 2011, Johnson scooped up information from the entire world press when he broke news of Osama bin Laden’s passing. ” I got friends in high places and low places”, Johnson said, when asked how he learned of bin Laden’s death. “… The attendees were pleased to let me know. “.
