The Army’s multi-million dollar recruiting campaign with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his sports league backfired so profoundly that it actually hurt the branch’s enlisting efforts, Military.com reported on Tuesday.
The Army signed a marketing deal earlier this year with the United Football League (UFL) and the league’s owner, Johnson, who was supposed to take on the de facto role as the brand ambassador of the branch in a bid to boost recruitment, according to internal documents and emails reviewed by Military.com. But the plan didn’t work — Johnson didn’t fulfill his agreement, projected enlistments dropped and the Army is now potentially seeking to recoup millions in losses. (RELATED: Pentagon Still Can’t Produce A Single Hypersonic Missile System — After Spending Billions Over 8 Years)
As it is, the Army is already struggling with a record recruiting crisis, as are several other branches of the military.
Grand Marshal Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stand with US Army service members during the national anthem prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2024, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The deal focused on promoting Army branding during UFL games and on players’ uniforms, but the center of the plan was Johnson, given his high-profile celebrity status, according to Military.com. Given his 396 million followers on Instagram, the Army was hoping to use Johnson’s social media presence to further promote the branch in five separate posts — with each post valued at $1 million.
But Johnson only made two of the five Instagram posts expected, according to Army documents reviewed by Military.com. Johnson hasn’t made a post related to the Army since April.
“In terms of The Rock, it’s unfortunate he was pulled away at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels,” Col. Dave Butler, a spokesperson for the Army chief of staff — who pushed for the marketing deal with UFL — told Military.com in a statement. “But we’re working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army.”
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There were also concerns among Army officials that partnering with UFL wouldn’t be worth the cost, given that viewership for the league was low to begin with, according to Military.com. Even in a best-case scenario, officials warned that the partnership was unlikely to yield a high amount of recruits.
The deal was hamstrung by “inexperienced” UFL staff who failed to maintain proper communication channels, according to one internal Army document reviewed by Military.com. Officials have a “lack of confidence” in doing business with UFL in the future, the document added.
Ultimately, there was a projected loss of 38 enlistments during the deal, according to a review of internal plans by Military.com. The Army is seeking to recoup $6 million from the UFL agreement.
The Army and Johnson’s publicist did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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