Marine Corps May Scrap 'The Few. The Proud. The Marines.' Slogan

The Marine Corps may scrap its iconic recruiting slogan, "The Few. The Proud. The Marines."

The change is being considered ahead of a national advertising campaign slated to launch next year, according to reports in Marine Times.

'The Few, The Proud' does a great job distinguishing ourselves from the other branches and making us prestigious to recruits, but it doesn't say anything about what we do or why we exist," Lt. Col. John Caldwell, a spokesman for Marine Corps Recruiting Command told Marines Corps Times. "We believe the new campaign products require a unique tagline to achieve the effort's objectives."

The new advertising strategy -- which will emphasize the fighting nature of the Marines -- has already been approved by Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller. Once developed, the new tagline would be used on recruiting materials replacing "The Few, The Proud" slogan.

Caldwell said the change has nothing to do with the inclusion of women into combat jobs service-wide.

"It has everything to do with clearly defining who we are and what we do as United States Marines. It's all about our irreducible fighting spirit. That's the fighting spirit of the organization and that's the fighting spirit of all its Marines," Caldwell said.

The Marine's best-known slogan has been in use since 1977 when it first appeared in a television commercial though a version of the phrase can be found in a 1779 ad looking for members of the Continental Marines. In 2007, the slogan was added to Madison Avenue's Advertising Walk of Fame.

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