THE UNFORGOTTEN SOLDIERS

Grand Prix

Case Film

Presentation Board

TitleTHE UNFORGOTTEN SOLDIERS
BrandSKY HISTORY CHANNEL
Product / ServiceHISTORY CHANNEL
CategoryD01. Brand Environments
EntrantDDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Entrant Company DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Advertising Agency DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Production Company REVOLVER/WILL O'ROURKE Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Michael Ritchie Glue Society Executive Producer
Damon Stapleton DDB Group New Zealand Chief Creative Officer
Shane Bradnick DDB Group New Zealand Executive Creative Director
Chris Schofield DDB Group New Zealand Creative Director
Natalie Knight DDB Group New Zealand Senior Copywriter
Corinne Goode DDB Group New Zealand Senior Art Director
Gavin Siakimotu DDB Group New Zealand Senior Art Director
James Blair DDB Group New Zealand Senior Business Director
Judy Thompson DDB Group New Zealand Executive Agency Producer
Kate Moses DDB Group New Zealand Agency Producer
Pete Baker The Glue Society Director
Melanie Reardon Revolver/Will O'Rourke Producer / Project Manager
Josh Mullens Revolver/Will O'Rourke Head of Projects
Penny Cooper The Coopers Audio Producer
Jon Cooper The Coopers Sound Engineer
Michael Ritchie Revolver/Will O'Rourke Executive Producer
The Editors & Blockhead Edit & Post House

Brief Explanation

The History Channel believe they have a duty to preserve the past, so with the 100th Anniversary of Gallipoli approaching they didn't want to just commemorate the event, they wanted to ensure the soldiers service and sacrifice were not forgotten. 100 years on, History Channel wanted to keep the memory alive.

Execution

History Channel created a live installation bringing an old black and white World War One picture to life on the streets of Auckland.

The Brief

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. The History Channel audience is typically Men and Women 40-55+ but for the 100th Anniversary event in association with the RSA, they wanted to create awareness of the historic day with a wider audience of 25-54+

How the final design was conceived

We realised that our connection to the past and memories of the soldiers are kept in old black and white photographs, so to reconnect NZ with our history we brought a black and white WWI photo to life on the streets of Auckland. As well as raising awareness the live event raised money for the RSA by collecting for the annual RSA appeal.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

We helped NZers reconnect with the past by bringing them face to face with history. Audiences blogged and shared the event on social media locally and globally. It was the number one viewed story on NZ Herald online, was covered by One News, and shared by the BBC, which resulted in the entire activity reaching an audience of over 22,835,710 people. The value to the History Chanel brand was not about generating revenue but raising awareness and remembering for one of NZ's most historic events. It was a social awareness message that demonstrated the core brand values of the History Channel of documenting, educating and preserving the past. The Unforgotten Soldiers also raised triple the usual donations, for the RSA's annual appeal in just one day.