The New York Times is launching an expansion of its latest marketing campaign, “Independent journalism for an independent life,” and has turned to the Oscar-winning bandleader of The Roots to front it.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson will be the star of the new phase of the campaign, which will include placement in movie theaters for the first time, kicking off with the Tribeca Film Festival. The Times is also making a national cinema buy for the 60-second spot, with versions also set to run on TV, streaming services and social media channels.
“Whenever we set out to do a campaign for the Times, we do it with the same goal in mind, which is to grow the network of Times readers who believe that journalism is worth paying for,” says New York Times Company senior vp and head of marketing Amy Weisenbach. “We also look for ways to connect what is happening in the culture to the role that Times journalism can play in readers lives to make sure it remains relevant.”
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And so the Times landed on Questlove (Weisenbach described him as “arguably one of the world’s most curious people”), who is permeating the popular culture through his music, his nightly appearances on NBC’s Tonight Show and through films like the Oscar-winning Summer of Soul.
“We spent a lot of time talking with him about the Times journalism he reads, and we tried to capture that,” she says, adding that “he explains how New York Times journalism inspires him, how it fosters a connection to conversations in his life, and even how Wordle basically vexes him each to start his day.”
Yes, it is the first Times commercial to feature Wordle, which the company acquired earlier this year.
“I’m thrilled to be working with The New York Times on this campaign,” Questlove said in a statement. “As a subscriber since 2020, I get inspiration from the journalism, criticism, and even games by the Times. I even use the Sunday paper, which I’ve been reading for years as a touring musician, as a sketch pad to set intentions.”
The new commercials (which were filmed at New York’s Electric Lady Studios) are also tied to the launch of a new interactive feature debuting from the Times today. Called Story Portrait, the experience lets subscribers replicate the headline-driven look of the Times ad campaign by pulling in headlines from Times stories they have read to create their own colorful headline mosaic. Users will be able to edit the headlines that are featured before sharing, of course.
“We try in all of our marketing to stay true and anchored to the work of our journalism itself,” Weisenbach says.
