GET SOME COMMONS SENSE
Challenge
Britain had news, but it needed clarity.
Brexit had turned Westminster into a daily feed of rows, resignations and unrelatable rubbish. Everyone was drowning in political news. Few people felt any wiser.
The Times and The Sunday Times needed to show why proper journalism was worth paying for: calm, clear reporting in the middle of the mess.
Solution
Politics. Tamed.
Treat Westminster like what it had become: a badly managed zoo.
Politicians were cast as unruly animals. The Times and The Sunday Times became the trusted voice making sense of the noise.
Releasing the campaign into the wild.
The campaign launched across London with digital outdoor, taking over Tube, rail and cross-track formats.
We teased the idea with Westminster zoo-style signage, released on the day of a major Brexit protest. Handy timing.
As the drama unfolded, we kept pace with topical press, digital and paid executions tied to the biggest Westminster moments.
The media mix spanned addressable TV, geo-fenced cinema and outdoor, first-party data and retargeting, reaching commuters, protestors and passers-by in the thick of it.
Results
The numbers were anything but tame.
Over ten weeks, the campaign reached 19 million adults, lifted key brand metrics by more than 20% and increased new subscriptions by 25%.
It was later described by the client as the most powerful creative the brand had tested with System1, improving perceptions and positively influencing site visits, engagement, subscriptions and churn.
25%
Increase in subscriptions during campaign period
19m
UK Reach
Awards
D&AD
WOOD PENCIL: Film Advertising / TV Commercials 21-40 Secs
SHORTLIST: Animation / Visual Effects Animation
SHORTLIST: Sound Design and Use of Music / Adapted Music
Creative Circle
BRONZE: Press Craft – Best Image Manipulation (single)
BRONZE: Outdoor Craft – Best Image Manipulation (single)
Kinsale
SILVER: Music & Sound Sound Design
SHORTLIST: Music & Sound Best Re-Record of Licensed Music
EPICA
BRONZE: Media
SHORTLIST: Topical & Real-time
Campaign
AD OF THE DAY: Feb 19, 2019
AD OF THE WEEK: Mar 7, 2019
ThinkBox
WINNER: Best TV ad Jan/Feb 2019
Credits
Agency
Pulse Creative – The&Partnership
ECD
Robin Garton
Russell Ramsey
Creatives
Andy Peel
Paul Alderman
Head of Design
Matt Hunt
Designers & Retouchers
Ralph Pederson
Bob Hanson
Tristan Dunk
Stu Hudson
Motion Designers
Perter Lourenco
Matt Brumwell
TV Producer
Betsy Kelly
Production Company
Framestore
Music & Sound
Jungle & Native
© 2009–26 Andy Peel