The Royal British Legion – Every Pin Tells a Tale

“Every Pin Tells a Tale” – The Royal British Legion steps into augmented reality (AR) to bring to life powerful stories from Passchendaele to connect with young audiences.

The idea expands the success of the ‘Every Pin Tells a Tale’ campaign created by Geometry UK. To commemorate the 60,083 soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice at the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the First World War’s bloodiest offensives, the Legion commissioned limited-edition Passchendaele 100 poppy lapel pins. British artillery shell fuses and earth samples collected from Passchendaele battlefields were melted down to create 60,083 poppy pins to honour and remember every British soldier who fell during battle.

With global Augmented Reality [AR] partner Blippar, Geometry now brings the human stories behind the pins to life in AR. Each pin comes in a commemorative box – when scanned with the Blippar app, transforms into a muddy trench giving a glimpse into Passchendaele as you hear the personal stories of soldiers, pilots and nurses: their personal triumphs, families and friends left at home.

By blending sharp human behaviour insight and popular technology, stories from a century ago are brought to today’s audience.