On Veterans Day, acknowledging and honoring those who served our country is more like answering a call of civic duty than a traditional brief. Our goal was to create a piece that lightly touched on the Jeep brand’s own military history, but – more importantly – saluted the men and women who gave up everything to defend the United States.

Every year, at the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, Veterans Day is commemorated with a moment of silence. While looking at a military Jeep M38 from the 1950s, we discovered “11 11 11” unmistakably appeared in the grille. Using this beautiful coincidence we were able to leverage an unmistakable piece of the Jeep brand to touch on our own military history, and - most importantly - salute the men and women who served our country.

Using CAD files of military vehicles and CGI we recreated the Jeep M38 in all its glory. The grille of the M38 has six steel vertical bars separating seven vents. We experimented with different camera angles and light design to build the “11 11 11” visual motif. The rest of the elements were kept in dark tones in order to center the focus on the numbers. The text and logo were treated in a somber manner to balance the design and deliver a powerful message.

The poster and messaging was well received by U.S. Veterans and Jeep fans alike, acting as a reminder of the role of Jeep through its history in serving and supporting the military. The print piece was also distributed during Veterans Day events, and an animated version, read by a Veteran, of the piece was shared in social media channels and on broadcast.