We learned back in October that Droga5 had added The New York Times to its client roster and the agency launched its “The Truth is Hard to Find” campaign for the client in February with a minimalist spot which made its broadcast debut during the Academy Awards and related print, digital and OOH efforts.
For the next phase of the campaign, Droga5 and The New York Times worked with director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler, Requiem for a Dream) on a series of more visually-focused ads continuing the themes of the importance of journalism in finding truth and difficulties that go into such reporting.
The new ads focus more on the work individual journalists put in to bringing stories to light. In one 60-second spot, photojournalist Bryan Denton describes covering military action in Iraq when the car in front of him suddenly exploded.
Another spot shows how fellow photojournalist Tyler Hicks arrived at an iconic image of refugees arriving in Lesbos, Greece. Two future ads will showcase Daniel Berehula‘s work documenting ebola in West Africa and Andes bureau chief Nicholas Casey and contributing photographer Meridith Kohut‘s coverage of the economic collapse in Venezuela.
The approach calls to mind The&Partnership’s “The Face of Real News” campaign for The Wall Street Journal last month. Aronofsky’s visual style help set the ads apart, however, and the new spots make for a much more dramatic communication of the campaign’s message that “The truth is hard to find” than the launch effort.
“Photojournalists risk their safety, their minds and often their lives in order to capture what is really happening in the most tumultuous parts of the world,” Aronofsky said in a statement. “They rush face first into war, disease and human plight to capture the horrors that are unfolding on and to our planet. Many of their images end up changing us and how we treat each other. Instead of being maligned and mistrusted, journalists should be respected and thanked.”
“For me, it was an honor to speak with them about their methods and some of their toughest assignments,” he added. “I hope the commercials pay tribute to the important work these men and women have done and continue to do.”