The Most Famous Speech Never Given

Agency EP+Co is redefining what advertising can do with a new creative campaign intended to change the US Constitution. With the help of AI, Worth Rises and EP+Co are resurrecting President Lincoln to give his most important speech ever, a speech expressing his regret for including an exception in the 13th Amendment that has allowed slavery to continue and imploring the 2024 Presidential Candidates and constituents to finally end slavery for all by passing the Abolition Amendment.

The 13th Amendment is celebrated for ending slavery in the U.S., and President Lincoln was among its biggest champions. However, the amendment includes an exception clause that has been understood throughout history to allow slavery and involuntary servitude to be used as punishment for crime. While President Lincoln was aware of the exception, he used it to solidify bipartisan support of the 13th Amendment knowing that it could be used to re-enslave Black people, albeit a smaller population. It encouraged the criminalization, incarceration, and re-enslavement of Black people during Reconstruction, and it continues to protect the enslavement of incarcerated people today.

Created with AI technology, “The Most Famous Speech Never Given” imagines President Lincoln’s regret over having agreed to the exception in the 13th amendment and his outrage about the extent to which it used today to continue the institution of slavery in the US today, allowing viewers to witness the speech he would deliver calling for its end.

Using Lincoln’s past speeches and writings, EP+Co used AI technology to write a speech worthy of one of the nation’s most iconic presidents. The agency also worked closely with leading Abraham Lincoln authority and Chairman of the Lincoln Forum Harold Holzer to ensure that not only the speech itself, but Lincoln’s appearance and voice were as accurate and authentic as possible. The campaign’s font is also inspired by Lincoln’s handwriting.

Today, the exception clause continues to disproportionately affect Black and Brown people, who are disproportionately incarcerated across the country and forced to work for pennies an hour or no pay under the threat of additional punitive measures, such as the loss of family visits and solitary confinement.

Worth Rises is a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to dismantling the prison industry and ending the exploitation of those it touches by championing legislative action such as removing the exception clause from the 13th amendment.
Since 2020, South Carolina agency EP+Co has donated its resources to the cause, partnering with Worth Rises to promote the organization's federal #EndTheException campaign to raise awareness and support of the Abolition Amendment.

With 2024 elections on the horizon, Worth Rises and EP+Co aim to drive public education and legislative action with the campaign. Viewers will be encouraged to spread the word by sharing the speech with friends, family and even their senators to demand change on a federal level.