Teaching youth about real sacrifice through an immersive memorial to Canada's fallen – inside Fortnite.

CLIENT: Royal Canadian Legion
AGENCY: Wunderman Thompson Canada
YEAR: 2019
ROLE: Concept, Copywriter, Co-Designer, Creative Director

Every year at 11:00am on November 11, the world pauses to observe the official end of World War I and honour the sacrifices made by the millions of brave men and women who lost their lives fighting for peace. Originally known as Armistice Day, the day is now observed as Remembrance Day or Veterans Day and has expanded to honour veterans who have served in the many wars that have followed.

But with more than 100 years having passed since the end of the Great War, it’s become increasingly difficult for the youngest members of society (Late Millennials, Gen Z) to comprehend the significance of Remembrance Day and the importance of honouring those who fought and died. 

Founded by Veterans for Veterans, the Royal Canadian Legion is Canada’s foremost Veterans support and community service organization. 

Among the many essential services the Legion provides, its most important is to ensure these Veterens are never forgotten. Through Remembrance Day ceremonies, the Poppy campaign, commemorative activities, youth education programs and more, the Legion helps Canadians to celebrate and remember their courage.

As time goes by, the fact that very few Veterans from that era remain alive is made worse by a world where war is often consumed by the target as entertainment on prime-time and cable-news TV or explosion filled video games.

Instead of shying away from these challenges, we viewed them as opportunity. Knowing the attention war and battle-royale themed games were commanding from our demographic, not to mention the massive scale their existing platforms could provide, we sought out an idea that could weave the Legion’s message directly into these existing behaviors rather than simply targeting or interrupting them.

The creative idea at the core of this entry was to use Fortnite – a platform our target was highly engaged with but is seemingly at odds with the objectives and general tone of the Legion – to engage Canadian youth in an effort to increase respect and awareness for Canada’s military history and Veterans – something it was never designed or intended for.

This innovative approach brought the Legion’s education and awareness message directly to Fortnite platform, disrupting without interrupting. Young gamers were able to play, learn and even participate in Remembrance Day ceremonies (by gathering for a Salute, live streaming or posting Replay videos) in ways they’d never considered before.

Using available Fortnite Creative platform tools, we designed a custom Fortnite island in the form of an immersive museum exhibit. From the beaches of Normandy, players follow a trail of poppies (the symbolic icon of Remembrance Day) to the well-known Vimy Ridge memorial cenotaph, winding through historical recreations of the 5 major conflicts where Canadian lives were lost, including WWI trenches, ruined WWII french town, a Canadian military cemetery, and more.

Along the way, players get quick morsels of info about Canadian military exploits and the sacrifices made by those who served. Unlike standard Fortnite gameplay, there is no fighting, damage or weaponry.

To raise awareness of the activation, two trailer videos featuring gameplay footage were released on Facebook and Twitter as organic posts. Social outreach to gaming and cultural influencers invited them to participate in the initiative.

Remembrance Island struck exactly the kind of chord the Legion was looking for with both the press and gamers.

Gamer reaction was equally positive. Evidence seen in gameplay videos on YouTube and Twitch show gamers exploring the Island in awe of its detail, stopping at each landmark to read about its historical significance and using their Salute emote to mark a moment of silence. Over 19,000 gamers visited Remembrance Island in a four day period beginning on November 11.

Notable press coverage included a front-page article in the print and online editions Canada’s most respected national newspaper, The Globe & Mail, and television news segments on both the CBC and CTV networks. Add in social mentions from the likes of @PCGamer and @FortniteBR among others, and Remembrance Island garnered over 42 million potential earned media impressions across all media and social channels.

Remembrance Island was also awarded Site of the Day for November 12, 2019 by theFWA.com, one of the industry's most respected creative showcases.

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