Agreed. That was my first reaction as well. My hat is off to the women and racial minorities, of course, just as much as to the white males, but this was way, way over the top. If one were to judge by this ad, white males would be the minority.

Bleah.

being a part of the military community now and for many years, diversity is a hallmark of the military and something i especially love about it. yea, white males are predominant, but you need to look again. the military is as diverse as the commercial shows. i liked the commercial and thought it was appropriate.
but my first reaction was the lack of name, rank, unit patch, etc. on the uniforms. watch it again and it'll be painfully obvious to you. wish they would've gotten some real uniforms with real military members.

yea, white males are predominant, but you need to look again. the military is as diverse as the commercial shows
What's that supposed to mean? I gave a link to the demographics of all the branches.

The actors are wearing real BDU's out of the box. If they'd used real soldiers they couldn't have had a wholly attractive group of individuals.

The first time I watched the ad I didn't notice the sex or race of the troops. I just saw them getting the respect and show of appreciation that they deserve. When I watched it again I could see what you meant. Yes, it is PC but I grew up in the 60s and 70s and the homecoming shown in the commercial is so different from what the news showed back then that I can't help but appreciate it.

Yeah, I did too, Marybeth. I said I appreciate the sentiment, and I do. I'm just remarking on the PC-ness of the close-ups.

I think it's safe to say that the majority (i.e., >50%) of all the military personnel pictured were either women or racial minorities, and as noted by cracker, ZERO of the coveted "vanity shots" were on the white guys.

This commercial does NOT reflect a military in which "white males are predominant." It reflects a culture in which dominance is something to be ashamed of and apologized for, in the holy name of "diversity."

That said, I sincerely applaud AB for making the commercial and paying the big $$$ for the spot. I'm certainly not going to whine to them about the screwy demographics. It's a great spot, and I hope I see more like it.

What Splashman said.

The ad was directed by a minority.

If so, that would explain the presence of more than one white guy in the commercial. If it were directed by your average white Hollywood director, ALL the enlisted would be minorities, while the officers and everyone applauding would be white guys.

(Cynical? Me? Nah. Couldn't be.)

BTW, I'm guessing this is why they didn't show insignia. Talk about a minefield for the PC-conscious director! Instead, "diversity" was accomplished through shot selection.

1. Girls in uniform: HOT
2. Guys in uniform: still guys no matter what you put them in

Now who would I rather see on TV?

"A grateful nation salutes its HOT girl soldiers."

I've seen that kind of demographic among certain units while I was in the Marine Corps. Admin offices looked alot like that 4 years ago. Of course, nearly every other unit was dominated by white males. My intel unit had 2-3 white females, 2-3 black males, 1 hispanic male and 20+ white males.

Every time I see a recruiting commercial or report in the media, they seem to go to great lengths to focus on minority/female soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

I had a captain in my company that was in one of the Marine recruiting commercials (the one where the Marine fights a fire monster on a small bridge at the top of a mountain). It was pretty cheezy and we razzed him alot about it. Anyway, he revealed to me that he just made the cut because, although he was white, he had an "ethnic" look (dark skin & hair).

I've come to hate manufactured diversity.

You mean like this? ;)

Wow, you got a mention on Fraulein Malkin's blog. That just may be your "get out of an internment camp free" card right there.

Larry- Porter Goss is a local boy. No midnight knocks on the door for moi.

Granted the ad could have been better if they'd used real troops. On the other hand, this is one ol' boy who's glad to know our troops are getting treated so differently from when I came home in '72. They deserve it.

Yes, they do, Bill.

Something struck me as fishy last night as that ad came on though at the time I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Thanks for nailing the problem.

Sensing that something was off, I ended up cracking a joke halfway through, something to the effect of, "They can't possibly be coming back from Iraq or they'd be carrying a LOT more gear."

This prompted my friends to complain that I was "ruining the moment," and I should be grateful for the honor directed at me, as a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Well, I am grateful. The welcome home I recieved at three in the morning in Bangor, Maine after seven hard months of service in Iraq was nothing short of amazing.

In the end, I think I'm feeling the dismay of a veteran who realizes that those who haven't "been there" will never accurately replicate the experience in commercials or movies. It boils down to "How many war veterans does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: You weren't there, man. You don't know!"

I'm with donnah on this. I thought and think it was a fabulous ad, but within a few moments the number of women being shown had me looking for . . . waiting for a male soldier to be shown fully just for some sort of balance.

Except for a few scenes, a very few, the guys were in the perrif . . . pirif . . . on the sidelines strictly in support positions.

And I miss AHB's lizards during Super Bowl commercials, too, dang-it!

My "coming home" was to Germany. I wanted to pound the first guy that told me "Welcome, home." Waah, home was Florida...
And yes, I was carrying so much freaking gear I could hardly get down the steps of the plane.

Welcome home to you, Kadnine.

I loved the ad, but that being said, it was still a Budweiser commercial and that requires an attention getting female presence.

Bravo zulu, Bud.