Dwayne Johnson closed a million-dollar deal with the US Army to be the face of a new advertising campaign that would air on the United Football League (UFL), an alternative minor league to the NFL, a strategy that has been a failureAs confirmed by several outside sources, no one has enlisted and the military has lost millions of dollars.
The deal made the Army a major partner of the league during its inaugural season and established an exclusive business relationship with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a co-owner of the league and one of Hollywood’s most influential celebrities. The deal was finalized after firing Jonathan Majorswho was one of the actors who had been signed exclusively by the army for a series of advertisements and campaigns.
The US Army hires Dwayne Johnson for its commercials, but the result is catastrophic
An Army spokesperson told Military.com that the service is seeking to recover its money (reportedly $6 million) after claiming Johnson failed to uphold his end of the deal by sharing an agreed-upon number of posts on Instagram.
Johnson is understood to have agreed to share five posts with his 396 million followers in a bid to attract new recruits, but only posted two. Each post was worth a million dollars.
“As far as The Rock is concerned, it is unfortunate that he has been sidelined at a time when we were hoping he would be present with us to create content for his social media channels,” an Army spokesperson said in a statement. “But we are working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner for the Army.”
Commenting on the deal’s failure, an Army spokesperson told Fortune: “We will not have a clear view of the results of the partnership or the impacts on the Army’s financial investment until all marketing elements are complete.”
“This partnership allowed the Army to increase awareness and reach a broader audience so that Americans are aware of the possibilities of the Army’s services.”
Addressing where the deal went wrong, Megan Sweeney, a former senior communications adviser for the US Department of Defense, said: “While the Army may have thought they were acquiring The Rock, they were actually primarily getting a association with a minor football league“.
“The Rock is an investor in the UFL, but it’s not like he’s on the sidelines at every game. As a result, the Army appears to have paid Hollywood-level sponsorship money to gain exposure in the minor leagues.”
Sweeney continued: “In the Army’s defense, they allegedly did not receive the level of social media exposure that The Rock’s team promised them. It may have cost the Army millions, but This incident will undoubtedly damage Rock’s reputation as a brand ambassador. If there are no further explanations on your part.”
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
