The usual military advertising formula, and why it can feel “boring”

Most military recruitment advertising follows a familiar pattern built around action, armament, and adrenaline. It’s visually impressive, but it’s also predictable. In a category where audiences have seen the same codes repeated for years, “boring” doesn’t mean low effort or low budget. It means defaulting to the expected story and relying on intensity to do all the persuasion.

A different insight: the real barrier is often self-doubt

In their first collaboration with the Irish Defence Forces, The Public House shifts attention away from hardware and spectacle and toward something far more human: the internal voice that plants doubt. The campaign recognizes that many potential candidates don’t opt out because they aren’t capable. They opt out because they question themselves before they ever apply.

“YES YOU CAN” as a simple, scalable message of empowerment

The core message is designed to replace that nagging doubt with a clear, empowering truth: “YES YOU CAN.” It’s short enough to be instantly understood and strong enough to carry emotional weight without needing a long explanation. That simplicity gives the campaign clarity and momentum across every touchpoint.

Women in the foreground: making belonging visible

Female recruitment has long been a difficult challenge for the Defence Forces, and the campaign responds by putting women front and center. By featuring inspiring female members across the Army, Navy, and Air Corps, the work doesn’t just say “you’re welcome here.” It shows it. That visibility matters because representation can directly weaken the mental script of “this isn’t for me,” which is often the first point of self-exclusion.

A channel mix built for repetition and reinforcement

Running across TV, VOD, out-of-home, social, radio, and press, the campaign is structured to meet people in different contexts while repeating the same empowering idea. The concept travels naturally because it works as a single line on a poster, a punchy moment in short video, a repeated affirmation in audio, or a longer emotional narrative in film. The message stays intact even as the format changes.

Why this approach is strategically strong

Instead of trying to persuade by showcasing the organization at its most dramatic, the campaign reduces friction by addressing the candidate’s mindset at the moment of decision. It reframes recruitment from “look at what we do” to “look at what you can become.” That shift is powerful because it targets the real conversion barrier and turns hesitation into momentum.

The takeaway: the most important battle is sometimes internal

This campaign stands out because it understands that recruitment isn’t only about awareness or admiration. It’s about confidence. By acknowledging self-doubt and answering it with a direct, human counter-message, The Public House and the Irish Defence Forces deliver communications that feel modern, inclusive, and emotionally true—while still driving the practical outcome they need: more people, especially women, believing they can apply and then actually doing it.