Title	#VICTORYPAGES: SOCIAL MEDIA HISTORY
Brand	RT
Product/Service	DIGITAL MEDIA PROJECT
Category	G05. Cultural Insight
Entrant	RT CREATIVE LAB Moscow, RUSSIA
Idea Creation	RT CREATIVE LAB Moscow, RUSSIA
Media Placement	RT CREATIVE LAB Moscow, RUSSIA
PR	RT CREATIVE LAB Moscow, RUSSIA
Production	RT CREATIVE LAB Moscow, RUSSIA
Post Production	RT CREATIVE LAB Moscow, RUSSIA

Name	Company	Position
Kirill Karnovich-Valua	RT Creative Lab	Creative Director
Revaz Todua	RT Creative Lab	Art Director, Design, Video Edit
Gleb Burashov	RT Creative Lab	Strategist, Social Media
Ania Fedorova	RT Creative Lab	Producer
Elena Medvedeva	RT Creative Lab	Producer
Ivor Crotty	RT Creative Lab	Producer
Ivan Fursov	RT Creative Lab	Researcher
Lilly Kazakova	RT Creative Lab	PR, Producer
Ekaterina Motyakina	RT Creative Lab	Producer
Eldar Salamov	RT Creative Lab	Producer, Music and Sound Design, Video Edit
Margo Tskhovrebova	RT Creative Lab	Manager
Stuart Campbell	N/A	VR Artist
Peter Bankov	N/A	Artist
Valeria Fimina	Phygitalism	Project Manager
Vladimir Ilic	N/A	VR Artist
Maxim Makarychev	N/A	Music and Sound Design
Alexey Rubischev	Ceremony	Motion Designer
Georgy Sarsekov	Plasticine PRO	Drector
Denis Semionov	N/A	Producer, Director, VR Artist
Serge Serov	RANEPA Design School	Curator
Rosie Summers	N/A	VR Artist
Katerina Terekhova	RANEPA Design School	Art Director
Ivan Yunitsky	Phygitalism	Project Manager
Alexey Zakharov	N/A	Motion Design
Peter Theremin	N/A	Theremin Player, Composer

Why is this work relevant for Media?

Digital art is a modern and universal language that the youths fluently speak today. Therefore, we thought that on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War 2, it was important that we should try to talk about its legacy in the language of social networks and interactive cross-media storytelling. The objective behind the project is not only to commemorate the veterans using multiple digital media platforms but to also remind the world what a terrible price has been paid for the most deadly war in history.

Background

In Russia, Victory Day is among the most remarkable dates. Almost every family had ancestors who fought in the war. But the younger people are losing connection with this part of history. They say they feel alienated by "military parades and same-old approach in year-to-year TV celebrations". So we decided to give young Russians a chance to express themselves in digital art in the format of social networks and interactive media.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

#VictoryPages is the versatile social media documentary commemorating the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. It is a story of Victory told by the young for the young, using the tools and language of digital media over five social networks, employing visual art, interactive formats, 3D animations, Virtual & Augmented realities and dynamic real-time storytelling. It pays tribute to all WW2 veterans and heroes who protected our future from the threat of Nazism. This educational project builds engaging narratives through social media and interactive formats to keep the legacy of our ancestors’ sacrifices alive. This large-scale project unites young artists, designers, animators, content creators who express their feelings and thoughts in the wake of the WW2 anniversary spreading anti-war messages in their own commemorative tribute.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We worked with over a dozen different databases. Like the archive of 7,000+ family war-time letters (for Instagram Stories and 3D website), like military photo archives (used to create 3D content and animations), like St. Petersburg's History Museum where a unique collection of children’s war-time drawings is preserved (turned into VR animation series). In our approach, we aimed to create a cross-platform digital project but with its unique style and voice. The key element to the visual identity is the specially designed #VictoryFont: a typeface compiled from hundreds of original historical inscriptions left by soldiers on the Reichstag walls in 1945. Behind each font character, there is a real letter, hand-written by soldiers 75 years ago. The project also features an original soundtrack with a duration of several hours, composed by a diverse line-up of emerging young artists. Each music piece is created for a certain part of the project.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

#VictoryPages showcases content exclusively published on a designated platform across 5 social networks. On Facebook, young designers and digital artists present their tribute featuring poster-art, colorization, VR-animation, 3D photos, documentary video sketches. Instagram is dedicated to war-time letters. It hosts a unique graphic series featuring hundreds of excerpts from original letters with illustrations created by young design students shared line-by-line in Stories. Twitter runs the most detailed chronology of the last months of the war in "real-time". Daily "breaking" reports from the front, operational orders, real newspaper articles, rare images recreate events through dynamic storytelling as if Twitter existed during the war. A travel YouTube documentary explores modern anti-war street art in Europe and the history of graffiti left by soldiers on Reichstag walls in 1945. VK.com podcast offers an audio experience that gives a fresh take on the legacy of World War 2 as heard by the young generations.

List the results (30% of vote)

#VictoryPages generated more than 35 million impressions, 250,000 engagements, over 50,000 followers, 4,000,000 video views (800,000 minutes of watch time) and over 200 media publications. #VictoryPages expanded the reach by also going offline as a large-scale exhibition was held in 12 main parks in Moscow. Over 250 unique posters were specially created for this out-of-home experience which also had an interactive element - many of the posters could be brought to life through a special AR App. Tens of thousands of park-goers interacted with the project and had a chance to watch the static images turn into animated musical shorts. Different elements of the project have also been recognized at many international digital creativity festivals, film festivals, and "social good" awards such as "the Internet's highest honor" Webby/Lovie Awards, Vancouver International Film Festival, 42nd News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Shorty Social Good Award, and VR Awards (for social impact).

Please tell us about the cultural insight that inspired the work

For the past decades, the narrative in Russian media around Victory Day celebrations mostly focused on military parades. Today many young people say they are not interested in learning about the war and feel disconnected from the subject because of that. So we aimed to approach this subject like it was never approached before in Russia. We designed #VictoryPages to become the first-ever large-scale multi-platform “digital memorial” to WW2. A project which gives young Russians a platform to express themselves in a format of new media and digital art. A project which adapts new technologies (such as Mixed Reality, mobile experiences, computer animations) while approaching such a complex history subject. A project which shows that if we trust younger people more in expressing themselves (even on such sensitive topics), then history will come to life through their creative hearts and minds in a new form and from a new angle.