The New York Instances takes a poetic strategy to the most recent a part of its reality marketing campaign
The spot is the latest in the New York Times' long-running Truth is Essential campaign designed to highlight the need for high quality, independent journalism today.
While previous films in the series have focused on the newspaper's dedicated, thorough research, this spot takes on a distinctly different tone, examining how the New York Times fits into our daily lives, from podcasts to political opinions to lifestyle and Technology content.
In a soundtrack by jazz musician Makaya McCraven, the newspaper's headlines form a poetic rhythm that expresses the complex times we live in.
The Truth Is Essential campaign was launched in 2017 after realizing the need for the New York Times to appeal to the emotional side of its audience by highlighting their reporters' efforts in creating stories. "We know that there is an emotional and a functional connection when buying a product, and I think we are too reliant on these functional benefits in the news," said CMO David Rubin CR in an interview earlier this year.
"What we are tapping into now and it is working are both the functional and the emotional reasons [for subscribing]. The emotional reasons are that we are helping you in your [quest] to understand the world," he explains. Rubin credits the ads for helping to increase subscription levels, but also getting the newspaper's staff on their toes.
“It was stimulating to see us talk about the incredible efforts of our journalists that a lot of people just don't realize, and I think qualitatively speaking through fake news and social media dialogue has really helped people see that you are something achieve the quality of the news you pay for, ”he says. "People have realized that just reading what comes your way is not the best way to be fully informed. So you need to look for sources that can help you get that information."
Credits:
Agency: Droga5 New York
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Co-Creative Director: Tim Gordon
Co-creative director: Felix Richter
Group Creative Directors: Laurie Howell, Toby Treyer-Evans
Creative: Ben Brown, Jackie Moran
Production company: Something like that
Director: Kim Gehrig