Canal de Historia uses Holocaust tattoo imagery to link past and present

Tattoos have featured in several poignant adverts, but the Spanish TV channel, Canal de Historia’s use of Holocaust tattoo images in its recent campaign is among the most poignant.

With January marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenhau, the largest Nazi concentration camp, numerous memorial events were held to honour the victims and survivors of the Nazi atrocities.

Spain’s History TV channel (Canal de Historia) continues to commemorate the Holocaust throughout the year, with TV and print ads by Dentsu Creative Iberia, showing a concerning link between the past and the present.

The campaign, named History Outnumbered, launched in time for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen camp in Germany, which took place on April 15, 1945.

The visuals make a link between the serial numbers tattooed on the arms of Holocaust survivors from Auschwitz-Birkenhau through their juxtaposition with illustrations of present-day data relating to the resurgence of far-right mentalities and behaviors.

For example, 33,963 racial hate crimes took place in Germany in 2024, or a social media comment saying ‘We Miss You Hitler’ received 1,858 likes.

Tattoos to raise awareness

History Outnumbered is the latest in a long lineage of using tattoos to raise awareness for important causes. Charity Junge-Helden was perhaps the most prominent in modern times when it used tattoos to increase organ donor registration. Junge-Helden collaborated with a Berlin-based tattoo artist to create a tattoo design that signifies an individual's willingness to donate organs. The design serves as explicit proof of consent, which is required by German law.

Credits

Agency: Dentsu Creative Iberia
Chief Creative Officer: Lourenço Thomaz
Executive Creative Director: Ivo Purvis
Copywriter: Diogo Stilwell
Art Director: João Mescas
Motion Graphics Designers: Sérgio Dores, Márcio Valente
Sound: Guel