"VoiceYourView," developed in partnership with creative agency BBH New York, showcases the Guardian's “distinctive editorial voice and ground-breaking model of open journalism” to US readers and advertising agencies.
Building on the award-winning "Three Little Pigs" and "Own the Weekend" campaigns, the outdoor ad campaign uses the illustrations of Noma Bar to depict both sides of a core political debate in the US: individual freedom versus government regulation. The campaign addresses internet privacy, gun control, women in the military, and the use of condoms in the adult film industry. Each illustration represents one side of each issue; when flipped it illustrates the opposite view.
The campaign integrates mobile and social elements: viewers can take photos of which side of the issue they support and upload them to Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #VoiceYourView. A microsite (voiceyourview.guardiannews.com) will capture viewers' submissions and track their votes in real time. The microsite will include Guardian coverage of these issues to help readers and advertisers build a broader understanding of each issue and the Guardian as a whole.
The outdoor ads will appear at targeted locations in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Guardian is also planning in-agency "Lunch & Learns" for media executives and planners to increase campaign engagement and brand awareness.
"The Guardian has championed open, collaborative and innovative journalism," said Jennifer Lindenauer, director of marketing & communications for the Guardian US. "This campaign embodies that spirit with provocative illustrations that engages our readers on a set controversial issues. It is a reflection of our commitment to covering the whole picture."
"The campaign is designed to get people to voice their opinion about controversial issues at the heart of the political debate in the US," said Caprice Yu, creative director for BBH New York. "As the Guardian's first US campaign, we wanted to engage viewers by blending outdoor ads, social media and the provocative illustrations of Noma Bar in a way that's never been done before," she added.
In January, the Guardian announced record-setting US traffic, which topped 12.5 million monthly unique visitors and is growing at a year over a year rate of 31%. The latest figures surpassed the Guardian's previous US record of 11.8 million monthly unique visitors in October 2012, and is up from 10.9 million unique visitors in December 2012.
