‘Козацькому роду нема переводу’ which sounds like ‘Cossacks origin will not pass away’ in English, is actually the name and the part of the lyrics in an old Ukrainian song, which has become the kind of historical anthem of liberty and defense for Ukrainians. Having such a strong background and power for our ancestors years ago, these lyrics are more than just words to all Ukrainians today. 

During these days of eternal struggle for freedom and sovereignty Ukrainian nation has been acting as  a single unit, the family of more than 33 millions of people, one well-coordinated organism like never before. As if our time has come to show the world we are worthy descendants of the glorious Cossacks.

Since the beginning of the war, lots of brave Ukrainian men and women have voluntarily joined the Armed forces. Great number of them have never had any military experience before. Entrepreneurs, directors, accountants, musicians and many others among them are now the defenders of the country. All the others, that are not on the frontline, are volunteering on a constant basis. You can hardly meet a person in Ukraine that has not by any means volunteered during the time of war. Volunteering and charitable initiatives are supporting the Armed forces by getting the essential ammunition, transport, food and everything needed.

One of such volunteering initiatives is the campaign launched by Avrora, the all-Ukrainian chain of multi-markets, together with the Come Back Alive Charity Foundation and other partners. The main aim of this campaign, called ‘Cossacks and Aurora’, was to raise 3 000 000 UAH between September 29, 2022 and November 24, 2022 for the purchase of drones and support for the Military Forces of Ukraine. 

We created the unique collection of 24 chips with Ukrainian Cossacks was to reach such a goal. The basis of the visual image for the main male characters was taken from the famous cartoon series ‘How the Cossacks…’. Those brave hearted heroes, Hrai, Oko and Tur, together combine the most favorite collective image of the Cossacks for Ukrainians. Their characters are highly used in diverse fan art like illustration, street art, avatars, tattoos, and others. But one new female character, the brave Aurora, appeared in this campaign for the first time. The collection reveals the evolution of Ukrainian superheroes within 4 different historical epochs, so every character appears exactly in 4 looks as if changing with years. Whoever bought all 24 chips had the chance to store them in a specially stylized album, play with friends or give it as a gift. 

The ‘Cossacks and Aurora’ products were available for purchase within Aurora chain stores (more than 800 supermarkets with trendy pieces and the ones for everyday use). 

As continuation of the campaign Aurora multi-markets organized an online charity race. The location and distance were arbitrary, and registration took only a few minutes. So anyone could join the race at any place after making the donation. Each registered participant received a commemorative medal and gifts from the partners of the campaign afterwards.

On top of that, we collaborated with Ukrainian pop artists, Anna Trincher and POSITIFF, to contribute to the charity campaign and create a single "What kind of Cossack are you". On October 14, Ukrainian Cossacks Day, the song was released by the artists and found an immediate response in the hearts of Ukrainians. It took top positions in music charts. What’s more, the song was used in more than 30,000 videos on TikTok within the first 2 days, and in more than 25,000,000 videos within the campain’s period. Now the single "What kind of Cossack are you" raises the fighting spirit of Ukrainians reminding us we are all genuine Cossacks in heart.

The music video has a storyline with a hint of humor on the current situation with electricity shortage in Ukraine. "What kind of Cossack are you" music video reached the audience and gained more than 1 104 000 views on Youtube in 3 weeks.

The campaign was widely promoted in social media: opinion leaders in Instagram (414 000+ total posts coverage), telegram – 25 channels with total coverage of 520,700,000 unique readers, tiktok challenge with bloggers.

The charity “Cossacks and Aurora” campaign received a lot of positive feedback and supporters both among children and adults. As a result, Aurora multi-markets and its customers donated the amount of 7 000 000 UAH to Come Back Alive Foundation! And this is twice as big as the previously set target!

The Come Back Alive Charity Foundation used all the raised money to support the air surveillance division by purchasing new essential drones. So that the Military Forces of Ukraine could keep proving the legendary bravery of Cossacks while defending our state.

Stand with Ukraine!