Work to Remember: A Collection of Remembrance Day Campaigns

DDB did not create a usual brand page about history, but a page that looked like a personal profile: Leon Vivien’s one. An ordinary young guy torn apart from his family to be thrown into WW1’s slaughter. And day after day, week after week, we told his life through hundreds of posts illustrated by dozens of documents picked from the museum collection.

Every year, advertisers compete to ‘win’ Christmas. It’s become the UK’s equivalent of the Super Bowl. AMV BBDO wondered if a Christmas ad could do more than just sell things. Could it do some good as well? 2014 marked the 20th anniversary of Sainsbury’s’ partnership with the Royal British Legion – and the centenary of the First World War. AMV BBDO wrote a script based on the famous Christmas Truce of 1914.

Lessons from WWII: these stories must be passed on. Every year on May 4th and 5th, the Dutch commemorate the casualties of WWII, and celebrate their freedom. These are emotional days, and the personal stories of people who survived the war play a prominent role. But fewer and fewer eye-witnesses of the war are still alive. This means fewer people are able to engage new generations with their unique personal stories. When we read a newspaper article in which war veterans reached out with a plea to pass on their stories, it got us thinking. It is KPN’s mission to connect people. So how could KPN connect those who are young today with those who were young during WWII and help to pass on their stories? And how could we let this reflect positively on the KPN brand – boosting its brand appeal?

Y&R created a unique photo series that became the centre of the entire Poppy Appeal; meticulous recreations of famous photographs from WWI, using modern veterans of today. Exactly 100 years after the originals were taken, Y&R recreated every detail in the same studio, with the same hand-painted backdrop (circa 1850) and furniture. Our photographer was the grandson of the man who took the originals in 1915. He used the original camera, glassplate processing technique and darkroom. In 100 years, the only change was the upholstery on the chairs.

History Channel is a TV channel on the SKY TV Network and H100 commemorates the 100th anniversary of WW1. As the History Channel is committed to preserving the past, they wanted to do something to mark NZ's 100th anniversary of Gallipoli, (NZ's most significant WWI campaign) which is now a national day of remembrance called Anzac Day.