New form of Advertising

This was the photo that I wanted to show you on Monday.

the Austrian Train Engine

Obviously I wasn’t the only person gawking or taking pictures as it seemed to draw quite a crowd. Not the least of whom were those scheduled to board the train destined for Vienna [Wien]. Most people do not voluntarily get into anything with a rather large Police label and many would not care to do it under any circumstances. Now think about a journey to another country at high speed completely under the control of the engineer….

Anyway before any of our imaginations get away from us let me just reassure you that the whole tone of the paint job changed as you walked along the side of the engine toward the rest of the train. From intimidating the whole atmosphere changed to a recruiting type advertisement. Yep = kind of like some of the US Army or Marine ads touting that you can be someone, do something and enjoy the challenging in as a police officer.

Ok, all I can assume is that the police – like most other service organizations – are not getting a wide variety of society recruits. In many of the European countries, the police force was a legitimate alternative to military service when there was conscription. Now, with voluntary militaries apparently the concept of service and voluntary police forces is not exactly at the forefront of Gen “Y”‘s minds. If they have minds but that is a completely separate discussion.

The well designed and executed advertising in the form of a paint job on an OSS engine still leaves me wondering. Do we really want in a police force the kind of people who would be attracted to a career based on this type of advertising?

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5 Responses to New form of Advertising

  1. Cat says:

    I often wonder about the people who want to join the police force here. The culture inside our police force leaves a lot to be desired. I am hoping that the intake from the UK will help – just hope the UK police do not become like ours!

    • Holly says:

      Mostly I see policing as a significant public service at not an insubstantial personal risk.

      Scary to think that the subject of recruiting is not a local issue…

  2. Ruth says:

    Fun thinking about these topics…not sure most Americans would have a problem with the train being marked “Police”. 🙂 How long are you “home” for this time? I still have a house full of visitors, the last two of whom will not leave until the day AFTER we all leave for the wedding in Joplin.

  3. Pat says:

    Provocative thoughts. Word here is that a lot of military force recruiting is happening through first-person shooter video games.

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