Dramatic campaign to aid Ukraine

Montreal’s Olympic Stadium was built for the 1976 games, but what if it was attacked like the countless buildings in Ukraine?

That’s what Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked us to picture when he addressed the House of Commons in March.

“Once you take that and make it relevant to what you see outside of your window it becomes very very different the impact becomes closer than we can ever imagine,” said Marty Martinez, Chief Creative Officer for Tank Worldwide.

The communications agency Tank Worldwide partnered with Montreal visual effects company Rodeo Fx to create these shocking images of famous landmarks like the CN Tower and Times Square and what they would look like if missiles and bombs struck them like in Ukraine.

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“Because this is like a global truth. What’s happening, right? If we can all relate to something that’s happening on the other side of the world and bring it home unrelated to what we feel every day and what leaves a little look outside our window, it becomes a very, very, very personal,” said Martinez. “So the reactions have been you know, they’ve gone through beautiful to an absolutely discomfort that this could happen where we live.

“Imagine that at 4 a.m., each of you, you start hearing bombs, explosions, severe explosions. Justin, can you imagine hearing, you and your children hear all these severe explosions? Bombing of airports, bombing of Ottawa airport. Tens of other cities in your wonderful country. Can you imagine that?” implored Zelenskyy on March 15.

“To extend the life of that, how do those words don’t become just a dead end after we see them?” questioned Martinez. “How can we be able to continue to keep this moment as relevant as possible? Because it is right, even though we’ve become a little bit numb once in a while after we see so many images for so long on a daily basis.”

Users are invited to visit the website to see firsthand these shocking images.

People are also being encouraged to donate to a Ukrainian charity based in New York, Razom. Those funds amassed will go towards humanitarian relief efforts in war-torn Ukraine.

“Every reaction needs to lead to a certain type of action,” said Martinez.

“Reaction with nothing after, it’s doesn’t have that much of value but the reaction to be able to really first, create the awareness and make this a something that’s pressing always that’s present. And the other side of what we should be for us as well but also as an action to be able to donate to the organization that we have tied this and to be able to deliver help to the Ukrainian people directly.”