A Ukrainian nongovernmental organization released two patriotic social advertisements dedicated to Victory Day on May 9. The videos gained popularity at once.
The videos come as a response to Russian propaganda that accuses Ukraine of sympathizing with Nazism and betraying the memory of World War II.
Ukrainian Victory Day social ad “Grandfather” with English subtitles.
In one of the videos, “Grandfather,” a young Ukrainian soldier, calls his veteran grandfather with congratulations on Victory Day. Afterwards, soldier goes into battle. In the end, the slogan shows up: “We remember, we are proud, we will win.”
In the second video, “Grandmother,” a nurse from a war hospital, gives a similar call to her grandmother.
Ukrainian Victory Day social ad “Grandmother” with English subtitles.
Both videos are in Russian with Ukrainian subtitles. In the finale of the “Grandfather” video, the World War II veteran played by an actor says “Glory to Ukraine” to his grandson, also in Russian.
The ads were produced by Tabasco advertising company and Lime Lite Studio for the Information Resistance NGO. Directed by Israeli director Eli Sverdlov, the two videos gained 1 million views in just two days since the release date on April 27.
Actors Nina Antonova and Volodymyr Talashko played the roles of grandmother and grandfather. Both were are known for their roles in the Soviet war movies.
A filming crew of 60 people agreed to work for free to make the videos. The National Guard lent the vehicles, while the Kyiv-based Museum of Military History provided medals and costumes. Normally, a production of two such videos would cost more than $2 million, according to Volodymyr Yatsenko, the general producer of Lime Lite Studio.
Dmitry Tymchuk, lawmaker and coordinator of the Information Resistance NGO, explained that such videos needed to be created to have a response to Russian propaganda that has been denigrating Ukraine’s role in World War II.
“It is about the true attitude of the modern “banderivets” (followers of Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera), which we were named by Russian propaganda, to the memory of our grandfathers who stopped fascism,” Tymchuk said in a press release on April 27. “We appreciate their feat and will never forget it.“
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliana Romanyshyn can be reached at [email protected].
