War - is names

“War is names” is a national campaign created to make August 29 – the Day of Remembrance of Defenders of Ukraine – a shared ritual of honoring fallen heroes.

For years, the date existed formally, but never truly lived in the public consciousness. In a country where almost every family has lost someone in the war, we discovered a powerful human truth: for Ukrainians, war is not numbers, statistics or headlines – war is names. Names saved in phones. Names unread in messengers. Names engraved on tokens, uniforms, medals.

The campaign transformed the traditional daily moment of silence at 9:00 into a deeply personal act. Instead of abstract remembrance, we invited people to whisper their own name – the name of a person they lost.

To scale the ritual across the entire country, we created an open creative toolkit, allowing any business, institution or community to insert the names of their fallen employees, colleagues or relatives. Nearly 60 major Ukrainian companies joined voluntarily, synchronizing thousands of digital screens, media façades, retail displays and social posts across the nation at exactly 9:00.

For one day, Ukraine turned into a country of names.
More than 290 mentions, 47.5M reach, 0% negativity, and over 15,000 screens showing the names of fallen defenders – from transport displays to the largest LED screen in Europe.

By shifting focus from numbers to identities, the campaign helped anchor August 29 as a national ritual of remembrance – simple, personal and culturally irreversible.