War is Over! billboard

War is Over! billboard

Part of a campaign for peace by Lennon and Ono Lennon

In the public memory, John Lennon was a man of peace. Becoming a peace activist was something he did relatively later in his life, but when he did embrace the ideology of pacifism, he was wholly committed to it. Because of his raving success as a member of The Beatles, John was able to make wide-ranging gestures, such as communicating his beliefs by putting them on billboards. This one was located in Times Square, in the same city John called his home. The words “War is Over! If you want it” were also incorporated into one of his songs, “Happy Xmas,” the Christmas song that everyone loves and finds horrendously overplayed at the same time. While the song itself reflects on the happenings of the previous year and sees Christmas as a signal of its end, it is also a rallying cry for the Vietnam War to end. These billboards were located all over the world, including Toronto, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, and Tokyo, among other cities. The billboards did not necessarily have the same accessibility as Lennon’s music, but their use as a different medium simultaneously attempted to spread John’s message on a global platform in the same way his music did.

Lennon, John

Beatles Bible

https://www.beatlesbible.com/1969/12/15/john-lennon-yoko-ono-war-is-over-poster-campaign-launched/

December 15, 1969

Image

English

Billboard