A few days after the tragic events of Sept. 11, Rick Boyko, chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather (O&M), New York, took a somber walk through Manhattan with his daughter. Time and again the pair passed impromptu shrines, collections of photographs, letters, flowers, candles-all of it evidence of a city and a nation in mourning.
"I told my daughters that this outpouring of emotions was something that should be documented," Boyko recalled. "That was the impetus."
The result, published a mere two months later, is Brotherhood, a 240-page coffee-table book of photographs that testify to the selfless heroism of the 343 New York City firefighters who sacrificed their lives to help others at the World Trade Center. Produced in association with the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), O&M and American Express, the book features a prologue by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes), introductions from New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen, and an epilogue by American Express CEO Ken Chenault.
The pages in between are filled with some 300 images culled from more than 10,000 photos taken at the city’s 79 firehouses. More than 70 photographers, including Albert Watson, Mary Ellen Mark, Mark Seliger and Neal Slavin, donated their services and the cost of processing hundreds of photos. (Watson and Slavin helm spots via New York-based cYclops and Link Entertainment, New York, respectively.)
"It was a very admirable project that Rick did," said Watson, who photographed the 10th Street firehouse. "It recorded what was going on at the fire stations at the time, in remembrance, of course, of the firemen. But at the same time, one can see the response of the community written all over these pictures. The community just poured their hearts out, and in the end, the people who survived appreciated that response. The firemen I spoke to-they knew they were appreciated, but they didn’t quite realize there was that depth of appreciation. That’s what the memorials were about. So the images are not just about the firemen themselves, but the community’s response to the firemen."
The images in Brotherhood are divided into six sections: "The Places," "At Home," "The Living," "The Fallen," "Grief" and "Hope." "The Places" features photos of all the firehouses that lost members from their ranks. "At Home" shows the interiors of many firehouses immediately following the terrorist attacks. "The Living" contains emotional portraits of firefighters in various settings. "The Fallen" is a showcase of photos hung up at firehouses across the city in remembrance of the fallen brothers. "Grief" captures the many memorials and shrines that materialized on sidewalks outside the firehouses. And, finally, "Hope" features cards and letters sent to firehouses by children.
Michael Ian Kaye of O&M’s Brand Integration Group designed Brotherhood, which was edited by author/screenwriter Tony Hendra. (Hendra’s wife, Carla Hendra, is president of Ogilvy One, New York, which is the interactive arm of O&M.) Among the other key collaborators was Stuart Ruderfer of Civic Entertainment Group, New York. American Express funded the initial printing of 40,000 books, which was produced and distributed at no cost through American Express Publishing, titles of which are distributed through Sterling Publishing Company, New York. Brotherhood is already in its second printing and at press time was ranked 14 on The New York Times’ Best-Seller list.
Profits from the $29.99 book will be donated equally to two charities: The Twin Towers Fund and the Family Assistance Project of the FDNY’s Fire Safety Fund, a newly created fund to benefit the families of the lost firefighters.
In support of the book, many media companies and marketers have provided pro bono advertising space-such as USA Today and various publications under the Wenner Media umbrella. In addition, Kodak provided use of the Kodak Times Square Gallery throughout December as a showcase where photos from the book were displayed.
Boyko related that, among other things, the book demonstrates "a real opportunity for people in our business to take the gifts we have and marshal them for a better good.
"We have amazing relationships with clients and people we buy media from that we don’t necessarily leverage on a regular basis," he continued. "I want to do a project like this every year to allow us to feel like we’re giving something back. This was a true collaboration. Everyone we talked to said they’d love to help make it happen, which does make you realize the power you have."
More information about Brotherhood and a selection of photographs can be found online at www.brotherhoodFDNY.com.
