Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s $11million Instagram deal with the US Army actually hindered the military’s recruitment efforts, according to a report.
The wrestling legend-turned-actor had teamed up with the United Football League for the project, but failed to attract a single new recruit.
An Army spokesperson has now told Military.com that the service is trying to recoup its money (a reported $6million) after claiming Johnson didn’t hold up his end of the deal by sharing an agreed-upon number of Instagram posts.
It’s understood that Johnson had agreed to share five posts to his 396 million followers in an attempt to attract new recruits, but he only posted two. Each post was worth a reported $1million.
“In terms of The Rock, it’s unfortunate he was pulled away at a time when we expected him to be present with us to create content for his social media channels,” said an Army spokesperson in a statement. “But we’re working with the UFL to rebalance the contract. The Rock remains a good partner to the Army.”
On the deal’s failure, an Army spokesperson told Fortune: “We won’t have a clear view of the results of the partnership or impacts to the Army’s financial investment until all marketing elements are complete.
“This partnership allowed the Army to increase awareness and engage with a wider audience for Americans to learn about the possibilities of Army services.”
Addressing where the deal went wrong, Megan Sweeney, a former senior adviser for communications at the US Department of Defence, said: “While the Army may have thought they were getting The Rock, they were instead primarily getting a partnership with a minor football league.
“The Rock is an investor of the UFL, but it’s not like he’s on the sidelines of every game. As a result, the Army seems to have paid Hollywood-level sponsorship money for minor-league exposure.”
Sweeney continued: “In the Army’s defence, they allegedly did not receive the level of social media exposure they were promised by The Rock’s team. It may have cost the Army millions, but this incident will certainly damage Rock’s reputation as a brand ambassador without a further explanation on his end.”
“Some of the problems here seem to be contractual rather than tactical,” Jenn Szekely, president of global branding and design consultancy Coley Porter Bell, told Fortune. “If [Johnson] hasn’t delivered what was promised, that’s a failing of the deal, not the brand proposition. It’s not just about signing a name, it’s about execution.”
The UFL has not yet responded to requests for comment. NME has approached Johnson’s represenatives for comment.
Earlier this year, Johnson signalled his intention to work on more dramatic films, in a move away from the action blockbusters that help grow his star status.