BamBam 3 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Recently I've seen commercials promoting the values of Girl Scouting in my area. My son has been involved in scouting for about 7 years in two different parts of the country and I have never seen a commercial promoting Cub or Boy Scouts. Is this normal for Cub and Boy Scouting? Link to post Share on other sites
blw2 433 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I have no memory of ever seeing one either. and the stuff I have seen, like promotional and training videos from their website, aren't what i would call very effective. A while back somebody posted some scouting commercials from some other country that were quite good. Link to post Share on other sites
Krampus 696 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) I thought that TV program (tougher than a Boy Scout) was good. To bad they took it off the air. In this day and age of YouTube and social media, the fact BSA is not focusing on using those channels is telling. Edited January 22, 2016 by Krampus Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4342 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) ... A while back somebody posted some scouting commercials from some other country that were quite good. You mean this one from Scouts South Africa? Or was it this one from Scouts UK? Or this home-grown "Happy Scouts" challenge from Slovenia? (Seriously, if you're having a bad day, take a moment to search the YouTube for "Happy Scouts".) Regarding BSA on network TV, your local council would have to pay to run the spot, and here's the collection they have to choose from: http://www.scouting.org/Home/Marketing/Brand/PFL_Videos.aspx Edited January 22, 2016 by qwazse Link to post Share on other sites
Sentinel947 1205 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I've seen Boy Scout and Cub Scout billboards in Cincinnati. Link to post Share on other sites
NealOnWheels 73 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 See http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Marketing/Recruiting_Build/PSAs_Eng.aspx I think it is up to each council to fund air time in local markets. Link to post Share on other sites
blw2 433 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 that South African spot was one of the ones I was referring to. some good ads there... My opinion is that good TV ads would be a good thing of course, but I don't think people watch commercials like they used to. DVR's allow fast forwarding to skip them (what I do). Also a lot of folks are cutting the cable and going back to broadcast tv, but cable is still big & I'll bet more folks are watching cable than they are local channels.....but even worse against TV commercials is that I think a lot of it especially kids, is watching streaming stuff (youtube, netflix, etc...) I think the money would be better spent to produce a good TV show. Yeah, i know... a lot more expensive, but maybe BSA could partner with some outdoor gear manufacturing companies or something.... I'm thinking something better than taht Tougher than a Boy Scout thing.... I saw one episode of that, it was ok but not exactly grabbing. I think a scout executive type like bear grylls doing some really high adventure stuff with some young scouts each week, in a format that really teaches a viewer some woodcraft stuff and entertains at the same time Link to post Share on other sites
Krampus 696 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I think a scout executive type like bear grylls doing some really high adventure stuff with some young scouts each week, in a format that really teaches a viewer some woodcraft stuff and entertains at the same time ROFL.... Link to post Share on other sites
blw2 433 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 well, yeah of course. I never figured they'd produce his stuff always at extreme risk.... or extremely remote locations always. Sometimes it prob is. Especially his latest show where he's going out with famous actors and such... I saw one where he had some actor repelling down a pretty seriously high cliff. Even if they played camera tricks, it was still cool... that's what i meant.... repelling out of copters, and cool flashy stuff might really grab a boys attention... and maybe encourage the venture scouting movement to boot! Now I used to like watching Les Stroud's show. As I understand it taht was the real deal. Link to post Share on other sites
Krampus 696 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Now I used to like watching Les Stroud's show. As I understand it taht was the real deal. Les is the real deal. BSA should work with him. Imagine him and some kids doing a show where he teaches them skills. Troops picked at random. Kids would watch that. Link to post Share on other sites
hiker67 30 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 An ad from the late 1970s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c34_BSPV8hI Link to post Share on other sites
BamBam 3 Posted January 23, 2016 Author Share Posted January 23, 2016 Thanks for all of the replies. There are people out there that doesn't know that scouting still exists. When I make a stop with my son before or after troop meetings you would be surprised at how many people say that they didn't know there were boy scouts in the area. Link to post Share on other sites
Oldscout448 697 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) Any one remember 'Follow the rugged road" ads in the late '60s? Not sure if they were a national ad program or just a local one. Nor do I know if they had much impact on membership numbers, but they sure made me (at nine or ten)want to grab a canoe, some beans and bacon, and head for the backcountry rivers Edited January 23, 2016 by Oldscout448 Link to post Share on other sites
cyclops 55 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I've seen billboards in the past but only the faintest memories of any kind of television commercials. Mostly we just stay visible in the community and that 'says it all'. Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1615 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 PSAs, commercials, billboards, school promotions, like politics and real estate, "it's all local" Don't depend on Irving to promote YOUR Scouting. Ya gotta DIY.... Some ideas: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qjcg41nlu35z48d/ScoutsPromotionstuff.docx?dl=0 Link to post Share on other sites
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