There is no longer a guarantee that past war celebrations will have an entirely receptive audience. This year, Britain’s VE (Victory in Europe) Day commemorations, May 5 – 8, are being held with two major wars raging in the background.
M+C Saatchi Group UK and Ocean Outdoor have done a stellar job of making the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2 a positive celebration, working with the DCMS and The Together Coalition
Piccadilly Circus was one of the gathering points after Churchill announced the Allied victory in Europe at 3pm on May 8 1945, with a crowd of 50,000 congregating in the surrounding streets to celebrate. In a tribute to veterans and the wartime generation, at that exact time (3pm) on May 8 2025, Piccadilly Lights will be taken over, as if the events of 1945 were happening again, right in front of us.
In a film produced by M+C Saatchi Group UK, the audience is taken back to 1945, allowing them to experience the VE Day celebrations as if they were happening today.
Interwoven with archival footage donated by the Imperial War Museum, it depicts a young soldier from the Second World War in modern-day Piccadilly, amazed at the world around him. As the celebrations build to a crescendo, the soldier looks across and stops in his tracks. He sees a 100-year-old veteran, perhaps his older self, facing him in Piccadilly Circus. The two acknowledge one another with a salute.
The film ends with the line, “We’re here because they were there. The Spirit Lives On.”
The young soldier is played by Harri J Douglas and the veteran is Mervyn Kersh, aged 100, a British Army soldier who participated in the Normandy landings, later witnessing the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The director is Matt Timmiss.
The screen space was given by Landsec and the film will play out for 10 minutes.
To build awareness in the run-up to VE Day, static posters across 39 roadside and city formats in 13 cities, encouraged communities and neighbourhoods to join the Great British Food Festival on May 5 with street parties, barbeques and community get togethers of their own.
Also developed by M+C Saatchi Group UK, the artwork draws on vintage 1940s posters, incorporating a modern day QR code with the unifying message, Let’s Celebrate Together.
On May 6, the BFI IMAX, Piccadilly Lights, Battersea Power Station and other Ocean screens joined prominent historic landmarks across the land lighting up in red, white and blue as night descends. The moment was led by the Tower of London just after 9pm. OOH artwork was created by Ocean and the DCMS.
Nick Yarker, client lead, M+C Saatchi Group UK, commented, “Recreating VE Day in Piccadilly Circus for the 80th anniversary is – literally – a once in a lifetime opportunity. So many people have donated their time and talent to create this moment, which brings past and present face-to-face, celebrates our veterans and reminds us all that their spirit lives on. We’re proud to have created work that resonates with audiences young and old, making an important historical event feel relevant and powerful today.”
Jon Knight, chief executive officer of the Together Coalition, added, “This important tribute demonstrates the power of storytelling. It will connect us to those extraordinary people who did not know us, yet who fought for us, and in doing so connect us to each other – our shared freedom and peace born out of their sacrifice. It is a privilege for The Together Coalition to be a part of this, and I cannot thank the partners enough for helping make it happen.”
Credits
Clients: DCMS & The Together Coalition
Creative Agency: M+C Saatchi Group UK
Client Lead: Nick Yarker
Creative Director: Paul Hodgkinson
VFX: Matt McDermott
Account Manager: Rose Cox
Creative Resource: James Horspool
Director: Matt Timmiss
Director of Photography: Fatosh Olgacher
Green Screen: Eric Trometer
Archive Footage: Imperial War Museum
Veteran: Mervyn Kersh
Young Soldier: Harri J Douglas
Media Planning: Ocean Outdoor
Head of Design: Matt Wilson
