Created by Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R team of Jason Stewart and Brian Cooper, the spot was directed by Stink's Ivan Zacharias. The gritty and color saturated spot references the look of films such as Saving Private Ryan while focusing on the rigorous training regimen undertaken by recruit marines. One recruit, clutching an assault rifle, breathlessly traverses the training course. At various difficult points, on-screen graphics ask, "Where's Your Limit?" "Is it Here?"Finally, the recruit is forced to dive under water and swim through a claustrophobic tunnel, emerging at the other end after a harrowing crawl. As he is pulled out of the water, the graphics again ask, "Yes? Then don't even fill in the form." The recruit runs on before the film cuts to a high-speed attack boat skimming across the waves, with a stern-faced marine riding on the prow.

After visiting Royal Marines Central Training in Devon, Cooper and Stewart based the anti-recruitment spot on the fact that the dropout rate for the British marines was upwards of 65 per cent.

"As opposed to most recruitment advertising, they didn't need to get the numbers up coming in. They needed to get up the numbers succeeding in going through. It's about the quality of entrants more than quantity," says Cooper. "And, by trying to put people off, you will encourage that 18- to 20-year-old bravado, getting young guys to start challenging each other and themselves. We also reassert The Royal Marines elitism; sometimes it gets a bit forgotten that they are the most elite force you can join straight from civilian life."

All those appearing in the spot are real Royal Marines, except for the main, recruit character. The entire spot was filmed on the actual training grounds, although the tunnel was recreated in a studio.

"We spoke to a lot of young and trainee marines and found there was a point on the course they all reached where they wanted to give in as it was so tough. Those who got through are those who could just keep going past their breaking points. Unlike in the US where they break down and rebuild their marines, in the UK they stretch them to such limits to see if they will go beyond what they think they can do; the sort of person who keeps going until they are dead," says Cooper. "They've all been through this really grueling training process, which helps to form the tightly knit Marine."

Cooper says the campaign had to communicate that due to the fact that the Army recruits under the "Be The Best" banner, the Marines communications have to be ten times harder to convey the latter's toughness and elitism.

Webfiles:

Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe> http://www.rkcryr.com