Guardian Australia's powerful films highlight the need for independent journalism
Guardian Australia has launched two powerful films highlighting the news brand's progressive role in the country’s media market.
The films explore two divisive and emotive issues within the country: the struggle for indigenous rights and the fight for equality for women.
Featuring news footage of both movements, including the hurdles, challenges and significant moments over the last century, the films aim to highlight the important role that journalism has played in documenting these events, including the Guardian, which launched in Australia in 2013.
The films are the latest stage of the brand’s ‘news needs a guardian’ campaign, which launched in July and was created by Howatson+Company.
The national campaign runs across TV, VOD, cinema, and digital OOH and sees headlines from the news media company appear on high-traffic sites around the country during peak commuter times. It is part of a partnership with JCDecaux that aims to expose the brand and its reporting to a projected 5.2 million Australians.
The campaign films were developed in collaboration with Guardian Australia’s editorial team, academic experts, and representatives from community members and organisations, including Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Aboriginal Heritage Action Alliance, Mervyn Bishop, Mabo family, NFSA, NIAA, PKKP and PKKP Aboriginal Corporation and the Victorian Indigenous Research Centre.
Lenore Taylor, the editor of Guardian Australia, said: “Guardian Australia is a proudly progressive media organisation. That in no way connotes partisanship. It means we believe Australia can be better and fairer. These ads highlight issues where Australia has made progress over its history, where Guardian Australia has focused reporting attention in the almost 10 years we have been working in Australia, but where there is much more to do.”
The brand campaign is a key driver for Guardian Australia’s broader growth strategy, which hopes to highlight the need for independent and factual journalism.
Earlier this year, the Guardian released research conducted by YouGov, which revealed 82% of the population believes media ownership influences the published content. It also found that one-third of the population wants more access to media representing their values.