BITE Insight

Over the last few years, recruitment drives for the armed forces have become less about the huge, hulking, seemingly impressive machinery and more about the human stories behind them. This is the approach that CLICKON Studios took with their campaign for America’s Navy (US Navy), Faces of the Fleet, part of the overarching strategy, Forged by the Sea.

The episodic, documentary style series launched with one short film a month. Each focusses on the men and women who have built careers in the Navy, allowing us a glimpse into the lives of real sailors both at home and on active duty.

The narrative style of each of the videos humanises the armed forces moving the imagery away from boats, ships and the mechanics, turning instead towards the people at its heart, those who live and breathe it.

Every video comes back to the ocean, the waves pushing at the beach, the still of the surface in the harbour, the water’s magnetism drawing both the sailor and viewer in. The longer format means the campaign doesn’t feel like a direct recruitment drive but more of an insight into the life that the Navy has to offer.