NATO’s latest social media video has struck a surprisingly positive chord online after it used Taylor Swift’s The Fate of Ophelia to underscore a montage of allied troops, aircraft, and ships operating in unison.
The short clip, set to the lyrics “on the land, the sea, the sky,” quickly gained traction across multiple platforms, with viewers praising its energy and unexpected cultural touch.
Rather than the traditional, sober presentation of defence imagery, this campaign embraces the rhythm and reach of modern pop culture.
Public reaction has been pretty positive. Comments across YouTube and X highlight surprise and approval in equal measure.
One viewer wrote, “They actually made it work,” while another added, “It’s strange how a Taylor Swift song can make a military video feel inspiring instead of intimidating.”
On Facebook, one user summed it up neatly: “It’s the West showing its identity through its own culture. There’s something pretty symbolic about this.”
So we have a story about a Taylor Swift soundtrack to a video, but no post about…
• the U.K. no-longer sharing drug-enforcement intel to the USA due to their illegal destruction of boats in the Caribbean,
• the horrific crash of a Turkish Air Force C130 after its prop detached and sliced the cockpit from the wing box – not the first-time this has happened…
Interesting editorial choices…
Both of those were covered here yesterday. It gets a bit tiring seeing people jump in to snipe without checking what’s already been done. If you’ve got insight or sources to add, you’re always welcome to contribute.
I’d look back into the ‘land’, ‘air’ and ‘sea’ sections for older articles, if you can’t see a topic on the homepage. It’s very easy for 5 articles to come in a day so you’ll miss stuff if you don’t.
I myself didn’t see a C130 article, I spotted the intelligence one.
Absolutely vapid and completely banal.
Sorry mate, next time we’ll run things by you first.
You’re very defensive aren’t you? I was referring to the hollow and soulless pop culture, not the article.