Droga5 takes us on a hyperlink trip in The New York Times campaign

We all know the scenario. One moment you’re reading an article about space travel and without even knowing how you got there you’re skimming a recipe for Stanley Tucci’s favourite pasta. The familiar experience inspires Droga5’s latest campaign for The New York Times with director Mackenzie Sheppard, More of Life Brought to Life, which uses a series of interlinked objects to replicate the online reading experience. Bonaparte is the production company behind the campaign with The Mill NY working on post production and VFX.

The campaign is formed of three adverts: Sneakers, Gravity and Time. The campaign shows how a starting point of sneakers can lead us down a journey into the topics of squeaking and hardwood, and onto the climate crisis and deep fakes from there. The idea is to show how a singular piece of journalism can spark further discovery, and demonstrate how relevant stories can deepen our understanding of unexplored subjects.

The spots don’t dive into the related phenomena of doomscrolling – an online behaviour proven to lead to poor mental health. Instead, the campaign shows a range of stories that vary in tone and seriousness to mimic a varied reading history. This is also to illustrate the scope that the Times covers, with the films hopping between breaking news and Cooking to Style and culture, and more.

More of Life Brought to Life launches with two spots, Sneakers and Gravity, with Time launching later in the campaign run. The campaign will live across broadcast, OLV, social, display and audio. Hear more about Droga5’s previous work with the Times in this 2022 Nicer Tuesdays talk with executive creative directors Toby Treyer-Evans and Laurie Howell.