As technology and media have changed consumption habits and limited the effects of advertising, the Marines looked to those voices most prevalent in the lives of youth today – YouTube content creators – to help figure out which battles are worth fighting.A unique program developed from a need to reach the youth audience that spends most of its time on YouTube and other social channels and share the story of how Marines are trained to overcome any challenge. The Marines got Michelle Khare, Lucas Gomes, Jess LaFlair and CalebCity to come to see what Marine training is like.The Marine Corps created a three-day version of its legendary boot camp, set at Parris Island, South Carolina, and challenged four content creators to make it through the entire three days. The moment the creators set foot on the island they were met by their drill instructors and escorted through a grueling schedule of activities that included all of the most feared recruit training challenges: the Confidence Course, the Rappel Tower, the Gas Chamber and the Crucible Hike. JEach creator told their own story of their time on the island and shared the videos with their YouTube followers. The authenticity of their experience – including the reality that not everyone makes it through Marine Corps recruit training, as demonstrated by the fact that one creator quit mid-program – plus the quality of their storytelling led to 159m organic impressions within the first month alone, as well as 6.5m views across all of the videos.CreditsAdvertising Agency: JWT, Atlanta, USAExecutive Creative Director: Alan WhitleyCreative Director, Writer: Yirayah GarciaSenior Art Director: Andrea OverstreetSenior Producer: Heather HaleyExecutive Director: Sean McNeeleyBusiness Director: Andrea VillaAccount Supervisors: Aparna Joshi, Marjanee ShookRegional Supervisor ERR: Chad IsomAccount Executive: Lauren HillDirector of Strategy: Randy ShepardSenior Planner: Liliana VazquezExecutive Director, Communications Strategy: Sunni ThompsonContent Supervisor: Sydney Busby, Holly HefnerEditors: Adam Rust, Brian HilaireSocial Media Strategist: Gabriela BenitezSocial Media Coordinator: Mason HavensProduction Company: Compulsive PicturesExecutive Producer: Jack TurneyExecutive Producer: Donald O’ConnorDirector/DP: George WeiserAC/2nd Camera: Nicholas KuhnProduction Coordinator: Nora Gahagan ClarkSound: Whitney InceBrand Partnership: Studio 71Senior Manager of Brand Partnerships: Brett CabreraProducer: Matt De Persiss