Air Force Reserves’ ad touts the Las Vegas ‘wow factor’

David Kihara

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2006 | 8:27 a.m.

Dub the ad "what happens here, doesn't stay here."

An unmanned Predator aircraft patrols a desert battlefield. It launches a Hellfire missile, destroying a roadside bomb. Cut to Nellis Air Force Base, where the aircraft was controlled by an airman named Tom Donovan.

"It's our job to take them out," he says from behind a computer.

Nellis and the Predator are the stars of the Air Force Reserves' new ad campaign, which debuted in the Las Vegas market during the Super Bowl.

The 30-second ad, which will be aired across the nation in March, cuts from Donovan to the entrance of Nellis, then speeds faster past the Las Vegas Strip to an aerial shot of the Las Vegas Valley.

The advertisement then shows Donovan piloting a commercial aircraft and ends with the voice-over declaring that you can join the Air Force Reserves, operate remote Predators and still keep your day job.

The military has had its struggles recruiting as the casualty total mounts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Air Force is trying the new ad to show off its high-tech programs, said Chief Master Sgt. Eric Snipes, of the Air Force Reserves recruiting command.

"I think the 'wow' factor is that we have people in Las Vegas who live in the community and are fighting the war on terrorism every day," Snipes said. "They are fighting the war 7,000 miles away and they live in Las Vegas."

He said the intent wasn't "to send the message that if you join the Air Force Reserves, you won't go into harm's way," but he said that "you can read into it a lot of ways."

Capt. Daniel DuBois, chief of media at Nellis, said Nellis is the only base that is currently "controlling" Predators. There are two Predator reconnaissance squadrons at Nellis and one set aside for training, DuBois said, adding that there are about 70 aircraft total under Nellis' control.

"They are the eyes in the sky and are helping people on the ground," DuBois said.

The Air Force paid the ABC affiliate here about $100,000 to run the ad six times during the Super Bowl, including spots during the pre- and post-game shows.

The Air Force got more than just the televised ads. A billboard truck also went up and down the Strip with a similar tie-in ad and there are some Internet postings as well, Snipes said.

"The Super Bowl attracts a lot of people from all over the country, and we knew that a lot of people would be exposed to the ad," said Snipes, who is stationed at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. "Nellis is there. The mission is there. It just so happens that you are in a really hip and trendy city."

David Kihara can be reached at 259-2330 or at davidk@lasvegassun.com.