The primary goal of marketing is to understand audiences and influence behavior through strategic communication. n the case of J. Walter Thompson and the Marine Corps, the goal was not selling a product, but selling an identity — positioning the Marine Corps as elite, selective, and prestigious. Campaigns such as “A Few Good Men” and “The Few. The Proud. The Marines.” were designed to create a powerful brand image that would attract recruits and encourage retention.
Marketing’s goal here was: To construct and communicate a compelling brand identity that would influence recruitment behavior and public perception.
The goal of Digital Humanities (DH) is to use digital tools to analyze, preserve, and interpret cultural materials. DH scholars examine how texts, media, and visual materials reflect social values and historical change.
Digital Humanities seeks to:
- Digitally preserve archives
- Analyze language and imagery across time
- Study cultural representation
- Interpret how institutions construct identity
The Marine Corps account files, now digitized in the Advertising America archive, allow researchers to study decades of recruitment messaging and branding strategy.
The goals of Marketing and Digital Humanities align because both disciplines are concerned with how meaning is created and communicated within culture. Marketing works to influence public perception. Digital Humanities works to analyze how that perception is constructed.
In this project, Marine Corps advertisements become more than recruitment tools they become cultural artifacts. Through digitization, researchers can:
- Track changes in recruitment language
- Analyze demographic targeting strategies