The Whole of Greece in One Smile

Eastman Kodak has created a record-setting photomontage celebrating the return of the Olympic Games to Athens, as well as celebrating Greek citizens.

"We decided to create something that would give all visitors to Athens the chance to share in the spirit of the Olympic Games," said Lazaros Piatopoulos, General Manager, Kodak Near East Inc. "The people of Greece were invited to send a picture and be part of history in the largest-ever photographic montage. The photos of the 16,609 Greeks that responded made up the face of a child, whose smile looks at the future with hope and awaits the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games with pride."

The photomontage - titled "The Whole of Greece in One Smile" - comprises 16,609 photos of the Greek community that cover a surface area of over 5,000 square feet. The montage, situated in the Athens Syntagma Square opposite the Parliament of Greece, was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest photomontage ever created, breaking the previous record - also held by Kodak - of 12,012 photos displayed at an exhibition in St. Petersburg, Russia in May 2003.

The ad won the Gold Award in its category at the 3rd annual Effie Hellas 2004 Awards Ceremony presented by the New York American Marketing Association for "recognition of the year's advertising campaigns that have delivered superior results in meeting the objectives they were designed to achieve."

Client: Kodak