Showing the human side of Army life

Challenge

The Australian Army needed to shake its outdated image and convince potential recruits it was a modern organisation offering real career development and purpose.

Idea

An integrated campaign that revealed everyday Army life through the authentic stories of nine real people, humanising the experience. It paired traditional storytelling with a cutting‑edge 360° interactive experience to let people explore the reality for themselves.

How it worked

• Captured nine real soldiers’ stories across a massive 10‑day shoot spanning two cities and three Defence Force bases.

• Deployed 3 camera units, 2 photography units, 360° video crew, drone crew and even an underwater film crew for comprehensive coverage.

• Rolled out across TV, OOH, digital, cinema, social and the interactive 360° experience to drive engagement and applications.

Craft and Outcome

• Successfully repositioned the Army as modern and career‑focused, giving recruits a genuine window into life on the inside.

• Launch-phase social content reached more than 6.2 million unique Australians, giving the campaign immediate national visibility.

• The campaign featured the first-ever 360-degree video posted to Twitter in Australia, helping it stand out as a genuinely innovative recruitment platform.

• The work went on to win The Grand Effie and Gold for Long Term Effects at the 2018 Effie Awards, recognising both creative impact and long-term effectiveness.