With the help of AI, nonprofit criminal justice advocacy organization Worth Rises and creative ad agency EP+Co have resurrected President Abraham Lincoln to deliver a speech expressing his regret for including an exception in the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment that has allowed slavery to continue and imploring the 2024 Presidential candidates and constituents to finally end slavery for all by passing the Abolition Amendment.
The 13th Amendment is celebrated for ending slavery in the U.S., and President Lincoln was among its biggest champions. However, the amendment includes an exception clause that has been understood throughout history to allow slavery and involuntary servitude to be used as punishment for crime. While President Lincoln was aware of the exception, he used it to solidify bipartisan support of the 13th Amendment knowing that it could be used to re-enslave Black people, albeit a smaller population. It encouraged the criminalization, incarceration, and re-enslavement of Black people during Reconstruction, and it continues to protect the enslavement of incarcerated people today.
Created with AI technology deployed by EP+Co and its full in-house production team, “The Most Famous Speech Never Given” imagines President Lincoln’s regret over having agreed to the exception in the 13th Amendment and his outrage about the extent to which it used today to continue the institution of slavery in the U.S.
Using Lincoln’s past speeches and writings, EP+Co used AI technology to write a speech worthy of Honest Abe. The agency also worked closely with Harold Holzer, a leading Abraham Lincoln authority and chairman of the Lincoln Forum, to ensure that not only the speech itself, but Lincoln’s appearance and voice were as accurate and authentic as possible. The campaign’s font is also inspired by Lincoln’s handwriting.
Today, the exception clause continues to disproportionately affect Black and Brown people, who are disproportionately incarcerated across the country and forced to work for pennies an hour or no pay under the threat of additional punitive measures, such as the loss of family visits and solitary confinement.
John Cornette, chief creative officer at EP+Co, said, “We believe we have a responsibility to use our creative resources and talents for the greater good. For us, advertising isn’t about selling products. It’s about building belief for brands and causes we love–causes like End the Exception. As an agency, we’re deeply committed to driving meaningful change in the world. Right now, by inspiring congress to pass the Abolition Amendment to end slavery once and for all. ”
