Germany has launched an unusual recruitment campaign for military personnel.

The Bundeswehr—i.e. the German armed forces—advertising materials are now being placed on kebab packages across the country. The QR code on them enables potential candidates to find out about the possibility of serving in the German army's medical units.

As a spokesperson for the German ministry of defense (MoD) told the Berliner Kurier, this campaign is intended not only for young people choosing a profession, but also for people already working but considering a change in their field of activity, as well as for qualified specialists.

The German MoD calls such advertising "ambient advertising"—advertising in an ordinary everyday environment. The idea is to appeal to potential recruits where they spend their usual day, and not only through traditional advertising channels.

The owners of Germany’s kebab establishments, however, do not receive any money for participating in the campaign. They voluntarily agree to use the special packaging, which the MoD provides them free of charge.

This unusual measure is due to a serious problem facing the German army: Berlin is seeking to considerably increase the number of Bundeswehr personnel in the coming years.

As of the end of July, 186,705 soldiers were serving in the German armed forces; this is the highest figure in the last 13 years. However, Germany plans to increase the number of its army personnel to more than 260,000 people by 2035 to meet NATO requirements.

Thus, Germany will need to have about 73,000 additional soldiers in the coming decade.