“Mark, we have to save the United States!” Imagine hearing that after answering your phone. No, it wasn’t the Donald, and thankfully it wasn’t saving the United States of America … it was the SS United States. Never heard of the SS United States, it’s ok, I hadn’t either! When my client provided me with a link to the media that I would require to complete the PR campaign to save the ship, I spent hours going through it. I clicked on multiple old photos and watched faded news reels. I saw black and white images of celebrities from times gone by, and bleached color photos of families waving from the decks of the ship to the docks below. Then I came to a folder titled “recent photos.” Here were scores of images of what looked like something from a Hollywood movie set. The ship looked abandoned. Paint was peeling, rust and decay were slowly taking over the ship, creeping along metal railings. It looked like a ghost ship. Like the images of the Titanic sitting on the ocean floor, but this ship wasn’t at the bottom of the ocean, it is docked in Philadelphia, and there is an effort currently underway to save it from ruin. I quickly realized, I was being asked to take part in something important and extraordinary. I was asked to help save a piece of history. Resilience, dedication, courage, diversity, opportunity, freedom and innovation. These were words that were given to me to describe the United States of America, and these were the words we would use to save the SS United States. Unfortunately, many of the photos were of very poor quality, and like the ship in need of repair. Most of the images only needed quick photoshopping to remove creases, or flaking edges, however one image would became the face of the campaign. It was of the ship coming into dock, crowds cheering, and flags waving. The original image was in black and white, so I colorized it, like an old Ted Turner classic. I’m super proud of this campaign, and I’m grateful that I got to be a part of it. If you’d like to see all of the images I created, read facts about the ship and check out a short video, you can view the entire campaign here.