Army targets Love Island generation in new recruitment ad

2 January 2020, 07:17 | Updated: 2 January 2020, 07:22

Army bosses are urging youngsters to give up social media and reality TV for a life in the Armed Forces.

Last year's recruitment campaign appealing to "snowflakes", "phone zombies" and "selfie addicts" has been celebrated as their most successful in a decade.

The controversial posters brought recruitment to their highest levels since 2009.

Now they are targeting the Love Island generation in their new campaign, titled ‘Army confidence lasts a lifetime".

Nick Terry of Capita, the company behind the campaign, said they were aiming for people “who didn’t necessarily see the army as their first port of call”.

He said: "The recruitment campaign evolves each year and we are looking to build on the success of last year where applications reached a five-year high and 1.5 million people visited the recruitment website in January alone.

"We had to go with a slightly different message. They needed a bit more persuading and convincing that the army was right for them."

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: "I know from my own experience the confidence, self-belief and camaraderie a career in the armed forces can offer.

"The latest Army recruitment campaign reflects these unique opportunities and I hope it will build on the success of last year’s campaign, which led to a record number of applications in recent years."