A recruitment campaign for the British Army using a custom-made Fortnite map and influencer partnerships has been pulled offline following criticism and potential violation of platform guidelines. It’s easy to see why, and looking at the ad makes you feel a little angry.
Social media posts and the trailer promoting the “Operation: Belong” experience within Fortnite have been removed. The campaign, which featured popular gaming personalities ElzTheWitch and Yung Filly, was set to culminate in a live-streamed event on January 24, 2024. However, both the event and promotional materials have vanished, including posts by the influencers advertising their involvement. The tweet read:
ARMY
Tweet, as captured by Eurogamer
BE THE BEST
Army Jobs
@armyjobs
Check it out.. @elzthewitch and @yungfilly1 battle to Be The Best on
our new #Fortnite
17 24.01.24.
Live on Twitch.
experience Operation: Belong
Who will win? #YouBelongHere #Ad
Eurogamer confirmed that Epic Games had seen the tweet and that the promotion was currently “underngoing moderation.” Kids always want to belong, so Operation: Belong seems like it was directed to get children to want to join the Military. The campaign’s use of Fortnite, a game with a significant underage player base, drew immediate scrutiny. Critics questioned the appropriateness of targeting military recruitment toward young audiences within a video game environment. Although we have nothing against the Military, ads for children have many standards, and this can be considered a way to bypass them.
Although the campaign disclaimer stated it was “not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Epic Games,” Fortnite’s Island Creator Rules are completely against this. Epic Games has never been clearer about their rules, which it seems the British Military has ignored (and was pulled down for):
“4.3.6. Commercial content and sponsors must follow all the content rules above, and the Epic Content Guidelines, and must not:
Fortnite’s Island Creator Rules
- Promote the purchase, sale, or trade of any medical, pharmaceutical, or supplemental products or services;
- Promote membership to or solicit donations to political organizations;
- Promote enrollment in the Military;”
I am a military supporter. However, I don’t like seeing anyone break the rules set by agencies to protect others and the places that host their events just to advertise. It doesn’t matter who is advertising. Firstly, Epic Games has made it clear that this shouldn’t be done. Secondly, there are plenty of government agencies with rules to protect children from advertisements who would be against this. Honestly, this wasn’t the way to do any of this. It’s disappointing.
The British Army’s attempt to leverage Fortnite’s popularity for recruitment purposes appears to have backfired. What’s pretty weird is that no one bothered to read the rules before making this, and likely spending a lot of taxpayer money to do so. It is likely that it won’t be back because it breaks the guidelines set against this kind of thing, but we will have to wait and see.
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