Army Tries to Recruit Soldiers By Winning Over Parents

Aug. 26, 2005 — -- Army advertising has always targeted potential soldiers by promising adrenaline and adventure and calling upon a sense of patriotism and duty.

But the military's newest ads take a different tack -- pitching parents, who are often considered a major obstacle to recruiting.

Instead of high-tech, hectic imagery, the ads rely on heart-to-heart talks.

"You're a changed man," a father says to a son in the commercial. "You shook my hand, and you looked me square in the eye."

The ads aim to show parents how the Army can build their children's characters and their careers.

"I get training in just about any field that I want. And besides, it's time for me to be the man," the actor portraying the son says.

"What we are communicating -- that the Army will enable your son or daughter to be successful in anything that they choose to do in life," said Col. Tom Nickerson, who is in charge of the Army's recruiting outreach program.

"The commercial is cool," said one parent interviewed by ABC News. "I mean, it's geared toward education, it's geared toward him being a man, so I can respect that. Still, I don't want my son going to war."

Ads Don't Mention Iraq War

Any mention of war, violence or Iraq is missing from the new advertisements.

"The media is reporting every day what is going on," Nickerson said. "What we're doing quite frankly with our advertising is help tell the other side of the story."

Some military leaders privately argue the recruiting challenge is too big for the Army to fix on its own. They have privately asked President Bush to help.

The president did make one appeal in a prime-time address in June.

"There is no higher calling than service in our armed forces," Bush said.

Since then, however -- to the discontent of many in the military -- the president has left it to the Army to do the convincing.

ABC News' Dan Harris filed this report for "World News Tonight."