The Minnesota Army National Guard has launched an advertising campaign in a local magazine catered to the LGBTQ+ community in an effort to attract new recruits.
The National Guard paid just under $77,000 to advertise in Lavender, an LGBTQ+ publication based in Minneapolis, between 2019 and 2022. In a performance work statement, the Minnesota National Guard Recruitment and Retention Board wrote that it “is looking for focused advertising that will reach the LGBTQ+ community and serve to lend credibility to the National Guard.”
The statement added, “We are looking at increasing our market share to meet the demand of recruiting. This campaign must reach out to 17- to 34-year-olds as well as their family and friends.”
Lavender magazine President Stephen Rocheford said in a statement to The Washington Free Beacon that "the reason the MN National Guard and Lavender magazine have a good relationship is because of statistics."
He noted that a recent study, which the magazine commissioned, showed that the Minnesota National Guard has a large number of LGBTQ+ recruits.
Rocheford added that Lavender "received positive feedback from Minnesota National Guard leaders" and "from the LGBTQ+ community.”
A Minnesota National Guard spokesperson told the Free Beacon in a statement that it "derives its strength from the diversity of its force" and "has seen an increase in LGBT+ service members."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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