TikTok Campaign Uses JFK's Moon Shot Speech to Inspire a Younger Generation

On September 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy issued a soaring challenge to Americans to land a man on the moon within a decade and bring them safely back to Earth. President Kennedy’s powerful words - “We choose to go to the moon” - inspired a generation facing grave threats and an uncertain future to dedicate their time and talent to a vision of human achievement that was then unimaginable.

Sixty years later, as a new generation of Americans rises to meet the threats of an increasingly complex, perilous world, President Kennedy’s stirring words provide the launchpad for a modern moon shot: a challenge to Americans of all ages to imagine a better future and work to make it a reality, “not because it is easy, but because it is hard.” To harness the hope and optimism of the first moon shot for today’s world, the JFK Library Foundation and MullenLowe are marking the 60th anniversary of President Kennedy’s Moon Shot speech with a new social media initiative: We Choose 2.

We Choose 2 uses original audio, innovative technology, and social media to connect one of the most powerful and iconic voices from America’s past to the promise and potential of America’s future.  Speaking directly to Generation Z, We Choose 2 asks: How will you choose to change the world?

For the first time, President Kennedy’s Moon Shot speech has been reimagined as a modern music track, which will be made available on the world’s biggest stages: TikTok and Instagram Reels. Young leaders in fields from environmentalism to human rights to technology will use the track to declare what they choose to do and invite their followers to join them in envisioning a better world and working to achieve it.

A companion digital experience will link these posts to President Kennedy’s speech and legacy, demonstrating how the things we choose to do today to build a better world can become enduring human achievements that were once thought unimaginable.

“President Kennedy challenged America to go to the moon not because it was easy, but because it was hard—and his leadership changed the world,” Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, says. “We Choose 2 encourages our generation to commit to the big challenges we face today, together and toward a better future—just like JFK!”

“We Choose 2 gave us the creative opportunity to take John F. Kennedy’s iconic words and use them to inspire a new generation of voices,” Tim Vaccarino, executive creative director, MullenLowe, says. “It reimagines a piece of history and invites young leaders and content creators to express their ‘moon shot’ in their own unique way. That was an incredibly exciting proposition.”  

Visit JFKWeChoose2.com for more information and join the conversation.