The Guardian is making a serious play for American attention with its first major U.S. brand campaign, a four-week burst built around an explicit promise: The whole picture. Creative comes from Lucky Generals, led by Executive Creative Director Conner Tobiason, with media planning and buying by PHD. The work positions the 204-year-old, reader-funded publisher as the outsider with context, range, and receipts.
Paid placements concentrate on New York City subways and high-impact Manhattan boards, with audio where people are already listening. Expect Outfront’s MTA network on lines 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, E, F, G, R, L, J, M, plus digital boards in Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station and opposite Madison Square Garden on Seventh Avenue.
PHD’s plan also places host reads across Pivot, Where Should We Begin with Esther Perel, and Today, Explained. On Guardian-owned channels, a campaign landing page, audio, video, newsletters, and site takeovers bring the story to life, including a walkthrough from U.S. editor Betsy Reed. Take a look below:
“For more than a decade, The Guardian has built up a top-tier, thriving edition in the U.S., with coverage of the climate crisis, racial injustice, gun violence, and politics that rivals the top news outlets in America. Over time, we have grown our U.S. audience to more than 40 million, including hundreds of thousands of paying supporters who value our independent, global perspective. Now, with so many U.S. outlets under pressure and others choosing to compromise their editorial independence, we see it as the perfect time to reintroduce ourselves to an American audience, grow our footprint in New York and DC, expand offerings in sports, culture, and how to live a good life, and launch our first-ever U.S. podcasts. We know Americans in this moment are craving just what The Guardian provides, journalism that is global, independent, and free,” noted Katharine Viner, editor in chief, Guardian News and Media
Anna Bateson, chief executive officer, Guardian News and Media, added, “ Ever since we began asking U.S. readers to support The Guardian, our revenue there has taken off, reaching 75 million dollars last year with even higher goals ahead. Now we are looking to take our advertising business to the next level, and I could not think of a better time for our first major U.S. ad campaign. I want to thank our marketing team, the U.S. leadership of The Guardian, as well as our partners at Lucky Generals, for creating and executing such a beautiful, effective, and authentically Guardian campaign. I cannot wait for America and the world to see it.”
“When I first discovered The Guardian on a trip to London in college, I never imagined I would be leading its U.S. newsroom, let alone during a major expansion at a time Americans are craving something new. As other outlets around us have sought to appease Trump by dialing down their coverage, we have held firm, and it has helped cement our identity in the U.S. I am thrilled to be a part of this moment at the Guardian, an outlet that provides American readers with something many other outlets do not, fearless, global and independent journalism, free of charge,” said Betsy Reed.
“Partnering with the Guardian on this campaign was an opportunity to do something that truly matters. In a country overloaded with hot takes, half-truths, and eroding trust in journalism, working together to tell the whole picture felt urgent and important,” concluded Conner Tobiason.
The line is tight, the media plan is brilliant, and the heritage is doing work. The whole picture deliberately echoes the classic Points of View idea, multiple perspectives on one story, refreshed for a U.S. audience that is tired of context-free hot takes. The placements and creative do the heavy lifting while the publisher doubles down on reader support and editorial independence.
The campaign launched on September 22.
Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360 News. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1
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