True Patriot Love Uses Al to Turn Veterans' War Letters into Art
True Patriot Love Foundation, in partnership with Wunderman Thompson is launching a ground-breaking campaign to educate Canadians about the importance of remembering those who served and those who continue to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces. Using artificial intelligence (A.I.), Canadian Veterans’ letters from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the War in Afghanistan are being turned into realistic imagery, showing a glimpse of what those on the frontlines experienced.
With the use of A.I. image generator MidJourney, 'Remastered Memories,' brings to life scenes from the battlefield, hospitals, and life in the trenches described in serving members letters home to loved ones. The imagery creates a fuller picture and reality of service and sacrifice, giving Canadians a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to understand the realities of combat for a time in which a quarter of Canadians under the age of 45 don’t see the importance of Remembrance Week.
“For many Canadians, Remembrance Week is losing its impact and importance. Younger generations do not understand the impact of war on those who serve and on our country as a whole,” says Nick Booth, chief executive officer, True Patriot Love. “There are over 461,000 Veterans in Canada. Many may be isolated or need our help; whether through mental or physical rehabilitation from injury; assistance with transitioning from military to civilian life or simply connecting them to a wider community which understands their experiences. True Patriot Love is committed to reconnecting Canadians back to their military and highlighting the impact of service, both historically from World War Two or Korea, and on the modern-day Veteran, who may have fought in Bosnia, Afghanistan or be engaged in ongoing conflicts such as Ukraine. This unique campaign creates powerful visual representations of real experiences, allowing us all to see what the world looked like through the eyes of someone who served.”
The Remastered Memories series will be on public display on out-of-home boards across Canada, as well as in the national newspaper and on the True Patriot Love website. As Canadians prepare to observe Remembrance Day on November 11th, this campaign created by Wunderman Thompson is designed to inspire Canadians into empathy and gratitude for the service and sacrifice of Veterans through the stunning visuals depicting personal experiences.
“Words can only tell part of the story,” says Ari Elkouby, chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson Canada. “Having the ability to use technology to capture and share memories more completely was the perfect way to honour each soldier’s legacy and ensure we remember Veterans who sacrificed their lives for their country and the world.
Wunderman Thompson has been recognised for utilising AI technology as a creativity tool in much of their recent work, including ‘Smallpox Simulator’ for Meridian, a data visualisation tool designed to help governments around the world test and prepare for smallpox outbreaks, and the voice-activated AI tool ‘Speaking in Color’ for Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings, which won the inaugural B2B Cannes Grand Prix Lion. Last year’s campaign by Wunderman Thompson Canada was also integral in adding a new digital dimension to Remembrance Day with ‘The Immortal Poppy,’ 100 limited-edition NFT’s created to preserve the memory of the 118,000 fallen Canadian soldiers that utilised digital art to encrypt soldiers’ names into an enduring symbol.
The letters for Remastered Memories were sourced from the National War Museum in Ottawa and the National Archives. The team behind this effort looks forward to phase two, in which True Patriot Love Foundation plans to host fundraising auctions for paintings across Canada, starting with International Women’s Day in March, where paintings would be generated from female soldiers’ stories. For more information on the upcoming campaign and to donate to True Patriot Love, visit here.
