Breaking its first branding advertising campaign in a decade, The Wall Street Journal has created an effort demonstrating how its content has inspired successful individuals.
Called “Every Journey Needs a Journal,” the campaign features the life journeys of icons in sports, entertainment, business and the arts, and aims to show how the Journal has educated, inspired and influenced each of them on their path to success.
Advertising will run in both print and online media including magazines such as Sports Illustrated, People, Esquire, Time, Newsweek and SmartMoney.
Web Sites such as Yahoo and AOL, and major metropolitan newspapers including the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post will run ads as well.
The campaign was developed by the Mcgarrybrowen ad agency. Original portraits were taken by photographer Platon and the photos are displayed alongside hand-drawn “life journeys” incorporating articles from the Journal.
Celebrities in the campaign include Tiki Barber, former running back for the New York Giants; Jake Burton, founder and chairman of Burton Snowboards; Kenneth Cole of Kenneth Cole Productions Inc; and Sheryl Crow, singer and songwriter.
Other participants are Oscar De La Hoya, Olympic gold medal boxer and head of Golden Boy Promotions; Steven Levitt, University of Chicago professor and co-author of Freakonomics; Maya Lin, architect and designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.; David Neelman, CEO of JetBlue; Paul Teutel Sr., star of the reality TV series American Chopper; and Alice Waters, world-famous chef and founder of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, CA.
The advertising campaign includes banner ads and an interactive Web site developed by integrated marketing firm T3.
The Journal site displays videos of many of the celebrities and can be found at www.journey.wsj.com. Readers are also offered the opportunity to share their own journeys and describe how the Journal has influenced them. All submissions will be considered for possible inclusion in later versions of the campaign.
