The National Archives pitch

The National Archives is one of the new business wins we have had this year. The focus of the pitch was primarily on their employer brand message and digital strategy.

The National Archives generally conjures the image of old, dusty tomes. In fact, they are actually one of the most innovative organisations within information archiving. For example, they worked closely with Microsoft to develop technology to ensure the accessibility of all archived documents in the future avoiding what they call ‘information blackholes’.

We presented the following two approaches, which I conceived and developed along with a writer (Fiona) and AD (Eric):

Give the past a future.

This encapsulates the idea of The National Archives as guardians and protectors of our history, and points to the danger of history being lost over the passing of time. You are being offered the opportunity to preserve the past so future generations will be able to enjoy and learn from the failures and successes of their ancestors.

The first ad features a film from the archives. Dragging the timeline into the future shows how the film degrades into static – unless you can help.

The second ad features an old tome. As you mouse over, your cursor is a key inviting you to unlock the secrets of the ancient text. Unfortunately the book only contains a parchment page with ‘Error 404′ in calligraphy – it has been lost over time.

History, Your Story.

The idea behind the ‘Your story’ route is that history is all of our stories. We can all relate to moments in history and in a sense history is us – it’s not something that is stuck in the past, it’s happening all the time all around us and we’re all part of it. The ads connect actions of notable figures from the past with the actions of people at The National Archives today.