Washington, DC — The Department of the Navy announced Tuesday a formal partnership with boutique entertainment and consulting firm Prestige Worldwide to lead a comprehensive rebranding initiative, the centerpiece of which is a multimedia campaign the Navy is describing as “forward-leaning” and Prestige Worldwide is describing as “going to be huge.”
The campaign is called Boats and Hoes.
A Navy spokesperson confirmed the title is intentional. When asked to elaborate, the spokesperson said the Navy “wanted something that resonated with its core identity” and that market research had shown strong recognition of the phrase among the 18 to 34 demographic the service is currently struggling to recruit.
The market research was conducted by Prestige Worldwide.
Prestige Worldwide has not previously worked with a branch of the United States military. Its portfolio, according to materials submitted during the contracting process, consists primarily of one music video, several business cards, and a vision described in the original pitch deck as “fully incomplete but incredibly promising.”
The contract was awarded for $54.2 million.
“We have boats,” said a Prestige Worldwide representative at the press conference, gesturing broadly. “The Navy has boats. There’s a synergy here that I think speaks for itself.”
Senior Navy leadership attended the announcement in dress whites. Three of them are visible in the press photos. None of them appear to be having a good time.
The Chief of Naval Operations declined to comment. His office released a one-sentence statement saying he was “aware of the partnership” and “monitoring the situation closely,” which several former naval officers described as the most alarming combination of words they had read in a single sentence since the last time a ship ran aground.
The campaign is expected to launch in the third quarter. A jingle has been recorded. It has not been cleared by the JAG office.
The JAG office found out about the jingle this morning.
They are reviewing it now.
