Marine Slogan The Few. The Proud. Headed for Retirement?

By Debbie Gregory.

The Marine Corps is exploring the possibility of using a new tagline, replacing the current “The Few. The Proud. The Marines.”

Set to launch next year, Lt. Col. John Caldwell, a spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Command said the current slogan…“ does a great job distinguishing ourselves from the other branches and making us prestigious to recruits, but it doesn’t say anything about what we do or why we exist.”

The objective of the new advertising campaign is to show Americans how the Marine Corps is different from the other services and reinforce “the elite — almost spiritual — standards the nation has for Marines,” Caldwell said.

While Caldwell did not say specifically what the new advertising campaign will show, the basis is on three concepts: fighting self-doubt to become a Marine, fighting the nation’s battles and fighting for what’s right in our communities.

“What we’re looking for is consistent messaging from the beginning to the end of all those ads – so not to introduce a different or an incomplete thought associated with the new material,” Caldwell said.

Previous slogans that date back over one hundred years include “Tell That To The Marines,” “We Don’t Promise a Rose Garden,” “The Marine Corps Builds Men” and “The Change is Forever.”

Over the past 40 years, in addition to the current slogan, the Corps has used “If Everybody Could Get In The Marines, It Wouldn’t Be The Marines” and “We’re Looking for a Few Good Men” were put to use during the same time frame.

The new campaign is expected to be ready for approval by senior Marine Corps leadership either late this year or early next.

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