The New York Times ran its much-talked-about “The Truth Is Hard” advertisement during Sunday’s Oscars telecast.
The hard-hitting ad promotes the idea of quality journalism in an era of “alternative facts” and “fake news” and is a thinly veiled reference to the newspaper of record’s ongoing feud with President Donald Trump.
The ad is the Times‘ first television advertising since 2010 and is also its first brand-focused television ad in a decade.
The 30-second spot, which debuted online last week and has already been viewed over 4 million times on YouTube, was strategically placed to air during the second-biggest TV event of the year after the Super Bowl.
According to AdAge, The New York Times paid ABC somewhere between $2 million and $2.5 million for the spot.
