An Embrace Beyond Time — Republic of Türkiye Centennial AI Campaign
Bringing a Century-Old Vision to Life Digitally
October 29, 2023 marked the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye. We wanted to translate the Republic's founding values, modernization vision and "timeless" legacy into a digital experience. The campaign we named An Embrace Beyond Time used artificial intelligence to place every citizen of Türkiye side by side with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk — an emotional moment in a single frame.
Launched via the yuzuncuyil.harikalar.com micro-site, the experience analyzed a user-uploaded photo with AI models, personalized it by age and gender, and brought the participant together with Atatürk in the same historical scene.
The Idea Behind the Campaign
Hundreds of corporate campaigns were launched for the centennial. But our goal wasn't a single ad or video. The Republic's greatest legacy — "every individual is a part of this history" — had to become a digital experience.
From that starting point, we merged technology with the feeling of "we're taking you into this history":
- Every user who entered the campaign was not just a spectator — they became the main protagonist of the campaign
- Photo generation selected in real time from hundreds of variations personalized by age and gender
- The output wasn't just a photo, but a story that multiplied each time it was shared on social media
We turned a 100-year-old vision into a personal memory intersecting with every citizen's own digital identity.
How Did the AI Infrastructure Work?
On the surface, the campaign looked like a simple photo experience: upload, wait, receive your personalized frame. Behind the curtain ran serious AI infrastructure:
Face Recognition and Analysis
The photo uploaded by the user was analyzed by face recognition models. The system performed face geometry, age estimation and gender analysis to place the user in a demographic profile.
Personalized Image Generation
Based on the detected profile, the most appropriate visual was selected from hundreds of pre-produced period visuals (clothing, era and position variations by age group from 1923-2023). The AI seamlessly integrated the user's face into the selected visual.
High-Performance Infrastructure
The biggest technical challenge was scale. The system ran on a cloud infrastructure capable of processing 15 photos per second. At peak moments — especially on the afternoon of October 29 — the capacity was pushed to its limits, but because it was properly scaled, it ran without interruption.
For similar AI-powered brand experiences, you can use our AI Photo Booth rental or Face Swap Photo Booth at your events.
Results in Numbers
The campaign's numbers show that it was one of the biggest viral stories in Türkiye's digital history:
- 2,000,000+ personalized photos generated
- 2,500,000 unique visitors came to the micro-site
- 250,000,000+ page views
- 15 photos/second AI processing capacity
- #zamaninotesindebizkucaklasma hashtag became #1 on Twitter/X Türkiye trends
- Campaign visuals were shared millions of times on Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp
Organic Spread on Social Media
The campaign's most striking aspect was its purely organic growth without ad spend. As users shared their personalized photos, the campaign marketed itself. A trend that started on Twitter/X dominated all social platforms by the evening of October 29.
Notably, young users (18-34) uploaded photos of their grandparents too, making emotional moments where three generations stood in the same frame with Atatürk shareable. This cross-generational bridge was the foundation of the campaign's emotional success.
Similar AI Experiences for Your Events
We can bring smaller-scale versions of the technologies we used in the 100th anniversary campaign to your events. Highlights of our AI products:
- AI Photo Booth Rental — AI-personalized photo experience, custom theme for your event
- Face Swap Photo Booth — instantly transform your face into any character, hero or historical figure
- AI Motion — AI Video Photo Booth that generates cinematic video from a single photo
- Augmented Selfie — interactive selfie experience pulling participants into the campaign universe with AR effects
- AI Graffiti — creative activation producing brand-themed graffiti via AI
Lessons We Took Away
An Embrace Beyond Time confirmed a few fundamental insights for us:
- Technology is only a tool; the message is always emotion. AI worked in the background here; the feeling up front was the pride of sharing a frame with Atatürk.
- Personalization = organic spread. People don't share generic content; they share something personal that includes their own face.
- Scale planning is critical. Without a 15-photos-per-second infrastructure, the campaign could have collapsed within hours. Technical readiness matters as much as emotion.
- Content shouldn't have one owner. Users claimed the campaign, making it part of their own stories — far more powerful than any brand announcement.
Considering a Large-Scale AI Campaign for Your Brand?
The experience we built for the Republic's centennial can be custom-designed for your brand too. Whether it's a company anniversary, a global launch, or a cultural campaign — to build an AI-powered experience and manage the process from concept to live launch together, get in touch with us.
With 20+ years of experience, 500+ brands' trusted partner and 20,000+ events, we turn your brand's vision into digital experiences.
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