The New York Times: The Truth Can Change How We See The World by Droga5
- Location:
Janelle Monáe stands in a bay in Virginia, the waves lapping at her feet. She is not there as a star on the red carpet – instead she is an advocate for social justice.
The commercial, for The New York Times’ ‘The 1619 Project’ finds Monae at the water’s horizon off the coast of Hampton, Virginai, at Point Comfort, the site where the first enslaved Africans were recorded being brought to Britain’s North American colonies; this same location inspired the cover photo for ‘The 1619 Project’ magazine issue.
In her short monologue, she states “No aspect of the country we know today has been untouched by the slavery that followed.” The viewer is left to ponder that thought as they stare at the gray bay. It then types in “Words from ‘The 1619 Project: How Slavery Shaped America’.”
‘The 1619 Project’ and its impact is the centerpiece of the next wave of ads from The New York Times’s ‘The Truth Is Worth It’ brand campaign. The commercial will premiere during the Oscars on 9 February and feature singer, actor and producer Monáe.
Credits
Client The New York Times
Agency Droga5 NY
Creative Chairman David Droga
Global Chief Creative Officer Neil Heymann
Co-Chief Creative Officer Tim Gordon
Co-Chief Creative Officer Felix Richter
Group Creative Director Toby Treyer-Evans
Group Creative Director Laurie Howell
Creative Director Marybeth Ledesma
Associate Creative Director Stacey Smith
Copywriter Stacy-Ann Ellis
Design Director Chance Medder
Chief Creation Officer Sally-Ann Dale
Director of Film Production Jesse Brihn Associate Director of Film Production (All Films) Ruben Mercadal Producer, Film Sophie Paton
Producer, Film Jake Herman
Celebrity Talent Relations Lead Whitney Vose
Senior Business Affairs Manager Ann-Marie Turbitt
Senior Business Affairs Manager Paul Van Dorpe
Global Chief Strategy Officer Jonny Bauer
Head of Strategy Harry Román-Torres
Group Brand Strategy Director Nick Maschmeyer
Strategist Carmen VonPatterson
Head of Communications Strategy Dean Challis Group Communications Strategy Director Samantha Deevy Communications Strategy Director Hillary Fink
Executive Group Account Director Courtney Russell
Group Account Director Alex Woods
Account Director Ola Abayomi
Account Supervisor Tehjal Suri
Associate Account Manager Vanessa Foinquinos
Senior Project Manager Theresa Ganchorre
Project Manager Amanda Cohen
Music Supervisor Mike Ladman
Client The New York Times
Meredith Kopit Levien EVP & Chief Operating Officer
David Rubin Chief Marketing Officer
Amy Weisenbach Senior VP, Marketing
Iain Newton Brand Strategy
Sabena Gupta Director, Brand Strategy
Laura Forde Executive Creative Director, Marketing
Taylor Gandossy Senior Writer, Brand
Janis Huang Executive Director, Media Strategy
Peter Lauer Senior Manager, Media Strategy
Blair Ecton Senior Project Manager
Brenda Hutchings Photo Editor
Aaron Tejada Photo Editor
Production Company Iconoclast
Director Jenn Nkiru
DOP Jody Lee Lipes
Executive Producer Valerie Romer
Producer Nanette Nelms
Editorial Lost Planet
Editor Saar Klein
Assistant Editor Danny Conner
Executive Producer Krystn Wagenberg
Producer Casey Cayko
Post Production Blacksmith
Executive Producer Charlotte Arnold
Producer Tina Chen
Lead Compositor Joey Deady
Compositors Danny Morris, Christopher Memoli, Jeremiah Morehead, Tim Regan
Colorist Mikey Pehanich
Music Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans
Sound Sonic Union
Mixer Rob Ballingall
