AUCKLAND, Today: A century after the First World War, the unseen psychological wounds carried by soldiers are finally understood as post-traumatic stress disorder.
BROKEN SOULS, created by The Museum of the Great War and BBDO Paris, brings those hidden scars into focus.
Inspired by the museum’s life-size immersive trench at Meaux, the campaign explores the mental and emotional toll of war. It reminds us that while battles end on the field, they often continue in the minds of those who fought.
To portray these “broken souls”, the campaign introduces posters created through a slow, physical and experimental process. The images are altered, dissolved and weathered — reflecting the lasting damage carried by the men themselves.
“Just as the soldiers of the First World War endured their own ordeal, we wanted these posters to undergo a trial of their own. There was an element of unpredictability in the installations and in the final visual outcomes.” Julien Beuvry, Art Director BBDO Paris.
Each poster becomes a visual metaphor for the psychological strain of trench warfare. Three portraits represent three forms of trauma, drawing viewers closer to the lived experiences of soldiers.
“Addressing a subject this sensitive requires precision and restraint. Our role was to use creativity to make the unspeakable perceptible. Memory is also transmitted through emotion.” – Alexander Kalchev, CEO & CCO, BBDO Paris
- Suffering: uses 1,916 prints of the same portrait, cut and layered to form a trench.
- Sorrow: exposes a portrait to solvent droplets for 24 hours, echoing the relentless bombardment of the Battle of the Somme.
- Distress: places a portrait at the bottom of a real trench for 10 days — the average time soldiers spent on the front line.
The project also includes three short documentaries filmed inside the museum and its immersive trench. Released online, they explore three soldiers’ stories through descendants, historians and psychiatrists.
Their lives reveal powerful links between historic trauma and modern psychiatric understanding: Anthelme Mangin, “The Living Unknown Soldier”; Baptiste Deschamps, “The Wounded Without Wounds”; Ernst Jünger, “The Soldier Who Became a Writer”.
“Addressing a subject this sensitive requires precision and restraint. Our role was to use creativity to make the unspeakable perceptible. Memory is also transmitted through emotion,” said Alexander Kalchev, CEO & CCO, BBDO Paris.
The campaign culminates in a film that reimagines the patriotic monument Poilu victorieux. Found in nearly 900 French towns and villages, the triumphant soldier statue is shown in a new light.
The film reveals what these monuments rarely show — the invisible psychological wounds behind the heroic figure.
As war once again affects Europe, the campaign connects past and present trauma, reinforcing the importance of remembrance.
“ Never forget those who never could forget. ”
The campaign runs across multiple networks throughout Greater Paris.
- Urban out-of-home placements with JCDecaux in the Marne-la-Vallée area
- Videos on www.bfmtv.com and www.la-croix.com
- Digital displays across retail locations in Paris and the Île-de-France region
The project is also supported across the museum’s digital channels including YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
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