The Washington Post cuts through the bustle of Times Square to focus on wellbeing

The Washington Post is hoping to capture the attention of visitors to New York City’s Times Square—a chaotic plaza that offers visitors nothing short of a tactical assault on the senses—to promote a new push into wellbeing, mindfulness and health. The outdoor campaign, running this week, centers on the Post’s new personal health and wellness section “Well+Being,” which has been live for approximately one month and is dedicated to concepts like emotional wellbeing, nutritious eating and the importance of mindfulness. The creative, developed with Koto’s New York City office, takes the form of stylized thought bubbles addressing questions from “How can I be less of a picky eater?” to “How much vitamin D do I need?” Then, after a cloud of countless pop-ups and emojis fills the screen, the campaign’s tagline “Subtract the noise, add the experts” and the logo of The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos, are both revealed on a blue background. “Times Square is arguably the most hectic pedestrian intersection in the country. It’s a perfect place to interrupt the chaos a day can bring and create space to pause and consider your own wellbeing,” said Perrin Lawrence, director of brand marketing at The Post. “This campaign leans into The Post’s mission to empower people and with Well+Being, provide clarity amid a noisy landscape of ‘wellness’ recommendations—so our audience can make decisions about living well every day,” Lawrence added. The campaign’s tagline is also a nod to The Post’s credibility and use of both journalists and real-world health care professionals in crafting Well+Being content. “Optimal health means nurturing your entire being—caring for the physical body, supporting emotional health and tending to the relationships that matter most in life,” Tara Parker-Pope, the editor of the Well+Being desk, wrote in a Sep. 12 article announcing its creation. “We chose that name because health isn’t achieved only when we seek medical care,” she wrote. The takeover of five video billboards in New York City’s busiest intersection, which will run for a full week, is just one element of The Post’s broader effort to promote Well+Being. Ads for it will also run on transit shelters in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco through Nov. 11 as well as on the newspaper’s owned and operated platforms during that same timeframe. In addition, this morning’s print edition of the Washington Post “will feature a coloring page to bring about a moment of mindfulness,” the company confirmed, with digital ad units on its online homepage also being devoted to the campaign throughout its duration. The Well+Being push comes nearly a full year after The Post debuted its first-ever brand campaign, “Impact,” in October 2021. Handled by consultancy Going Concern and California-based agency Buddha Jones, that marketing endeavor focused on the news organization’s original reporting and laid a foundation “in support of further growth heading into next year,” Kristine Coratti Kelly, chief communications officer at The Washington Post, told Ad Age at the time. (After more than a decade with the paper, Kelly transitioned to a high-level executive role at CNN earlier this year.) It came on the back of rival news outlets making big investments in branding, such as the New York Times "Truth" campaign via Droga5 and CNN's "Facts First."

The Washington Post cuts through the bustle of Times Square to focus on wellbeing

Featured Stories