Who: HomeEquity Bank and the Legion National Foundation, with Zulu Alpha Kilo for creative and strategy, Weber Shandwick for PR, and OMD for media planning and buying.
What: “Orders of Sacrifice,” a Remembrance Day campaign that will see authentic recreations of Second World War field ration kits delivered to people in Toronto through DoorDash.
When & Where: The ration kits will be available to order on Nov. 10. with all proceeds to Legion National Foundation. HomeEquity also created MyPoppy.ca for Canadians to create and share customized digital poppies, and there is also a TV ad.
Why: The field rations are a distinctly non-digital way to give Canadians a better understanding of some of the hardships Canadian soldiers had to endure during the Second World War. For the last two years, HomeEquity has worked with ZAK to come up with ways to connect with younger Canadians, who live mostly digital lives. Last year, it was the the world’s oldest esports team, and the year before that it created a minute of silence inside videogames.
“Once again this year, we strove to bring Remembrance Day into the digital age and the hearts and minds of younger generations by doing something special,” said Yvonne Ziomecki, HomeEquity Bank’s executive vice-president, chief marketing officer, in a release announcing the campaign. “The Orders of Sacrifice field rations kits offer a physical connection to our past and provide Canadians with a unique opportunity to reflect on the daily sacrifices made by our soldiers.”
How: Each ration kit includes hardtack biscuits, chocolate, tea bags, sardines, canned evaporated milk, and canned corn beef. Each kit features a QR code that links to a commentary video featuring two WWII veterans, Marvin Gord, 100, and Jack Boeki, 97. All proceeds go to the Legion National Foundation (see the unboxing film under the introductory video below).
“History remembers their epic battles, but with this year’s campaign, we wanted people to also remember the daily sacrifices our veterans made for us,” said ZAK’s executive creative director, Brian Murray.
Digital poppies: Late last month, the Legion National Foundation and HomeEquity also launched their Digital Poppy initiative, asking people to buy or donate a poppy at MyPoppy.ca. The Digital Poppy was developed in 2018 as a modern way for Canadians to remember and support veterans online.
“The support the Digital Poppy provides to the Legion National Foundation is immense,” said Foundation chair Dave Flannigan. “It helps enable the work we do to help our veterans and their families and to promote remembrance.”
