Rejecting extremism and misinformation, and valuing informed debate, diverse perspectives and nuanced reporting.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age today unveiled Here’s to Reason, a brand and subscriber campaign on the value of balanced, responsible journalism in a deeply polarised world.
The campaign, created in partnership with Publicis Worldwide Australia, speaks to the millions of Australians who reject extremism and misinformation, and value informed debate, diverse perspectives and nuanced reporting.
Here’s to Reason underlines the mastheads’ role as trusted voices for Australians who want not just information, but quality content that provides facts, context, and perspective.
“We know from our data and our research that audiences are hungry for news they can rely on, and we have an important role to play in a world that’s increasingly dominated by extremes,” said Vera Straubinger, head of brand & acquisition at Nine.
“This campaign celebrates Sydneysiders and Melburnians who look to the Herald and The Age for intelligent, responsible reporting. It’s a campaign built with both our readers and our newsrooms at the heart of it.”
The campaign has been produced in two distinct versions, tailored to reflect the character of each city.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age campaign films feature several Sydney and Melbourne subscribers, capturing the nuances of each city’s culture and audience.
The editorial and marketing partnership will evolve this week with a series of content initiatives to launch the campaign, including subscriber notes from editors, and special front pages and wraps for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald print editions, outlining the approach our newsrooms take when bringing balanced perspectives to life every day.
“At a time when the world’s most powerful man wants to sack comedians and pin autism on Panadol, reason is in short supply,” said executive editor Luke McIlveen.
“Now more than ever, our journalism needs to be courageous, deeply reported and always suspicious of government and corporate influence. This campaign reflects The Age and the Herald’s commitment to give readers the full picture – not just a shrill headline or an inflammatory position for clicks.”
Ryan Petie, executive creative director of Publicis Worldwide, said the campaign is a great unifier.
“We might all have different views, opinions, perspectives – but at the end of the day, we all crave balanced news so we can make up our own minds about the issues we care most about,” he said.
“This piece of work is a rallying cry for reason.”
The first flight of the new campaign will run from September 29 to November 9 across television, streaming, cinema, audio, print, digital, social, and large and small format out-of-home channels across New South Wales and Victoria.
Credits:
Nine Entertainment
Director of Audience Growth, Publishing: Aimie Rigas
Head of Brand & Acquisition: Vera Straubinger
Senior Marketing Manager Brand & Acquisition: Kymberley Joseph
Marketing Manager, Brand & Acquisition: Andrew Haughey
The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age Editorial SteerCo
Managing Director, Publishing - Tory Maguire
Executive Editor - Luke McIlveen
Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald - Bevan Shields
Editor, The Age - Patrick Elligett
National Managing Editor - Monique Farmer
Publicis Worldwide Australia
Managing Director: Simone Waugh
Executive Creative Director: Ryan Petie
Associate Creative Director: Christian McKechnie
Senior Art Director: Elle Whittaker
Executive Production Director: Vicki Lee
Senior Producer: Chris Moore
General Manager: Jude Johannesen
Senior Account Director: Mary Graham
Senior Account Manager: Lucy Rodgers
Strategy Director: Swati Shivshankar
Finch
Director/Stills Photographer: Michael Hili
Producer: AnnaTara Clark-Snedden
Managing Director/Executive Producer: Corey Essie
Heckler
Editor: Andrew Holmes
Colour Grade: Matt Fezz
Producer: Coralie Tapper
White Chocolate
Executive Producer/Owner: Chris Grocott
VFX Supervisor/Owner: David Mosqueda
Electric Sheep Music
Creative Director: Glenn Sarangapany
Executive Producer: Kate Stenhouse
Sound Designer: Georgia Collins
Composition: Electric Sheep Music
Stills retouching:
Suriya Black
Media Partner: PHD
Group Business Director: Ali Jones
Business Director: Emily Friedlos
Senior Planning Manager: Patrese Beasley
