Selling The Navy

WITH constant talk of cutbacks and downsizing, the Royal Navy has been going through a lean period of late.

So we are delighted to read in the Daily Mail that the senior service plans to re-launch itself with a series of branded merchandise. Not full-strength unfiltered cigarettes, but underpants and toys.

The famous White Ensign is one off a dozen Naval logos that have been registered as trademarks, as part of the Ministry of Defence Wider Market initiative.

The move has brought predictable complaints about “dumbing down”, but officials insist that it will all be in the best possible taste, “not tacky items that go out of fashion after a few weeks”.

“It’s absolutely paramount that the Navy’s reputation is not damaged in any way,” said publicity director Captain Barry Warren. There will be no tobacco, weapons or violent computer games. “We’re not into blood and guts,” added the Captain.

The paper says that the Navy hopes to boost public awareness of the service, which is “almost invisible to the public while the Army makes headlines in Iraq and Afghanistan”.

Time to rethink that zero tolerance policy about blood and guts, perhaps.

Posted: 16th, August 2006 | In: Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink