Grey London launched the inaugural Irish editions of The Times & The Sunday Times this week with a campaign comprising brand and product TV ads, print and radio advertising, in a move following a failed legal bid by the Irish Times to stop News UK using the words “The Times Irish Edition” to promote the new title. The campaign celebrates the paper’s 200-year-old brand of fearless journalism through a spoken-word manifesto based on the 26 letters of the alphabet (the same tools they have used to talk to the world since 1785) and introduces a new one: the new digital edition for Ireland. The publication’s new Irish edition builds on The Sunday Times’ strong existing presence and sales figures in the country and is available as a seven-day subscription package. Subscriptions will cost €5 per week.
Grey London launched the inaugural Irish editions of The Times & The Sunday Times this week with a campaign comprising brand and product TV ads, print and radio advertising
A seven-day app and standalone website have been created, with a substantial percentage of original Irish editorial driven by a dedicated, 30-strong team of journalists based out of Dublin. It will also include world news and tailored UK coverage and is the first substantial investment in the Monday-Saturday Irish market in recent years. The launch TV ad (below) features a series of cinematic snapshots from Ireland and the world against a backdrop of rich, intricate sound design. It’s narrated by a spoken-word manifesto that tips its hat to the 26 letters on a QWERTY keyboard, which The Times & The Sunday Times have used to inform, provoke, question and entertain for 200 years: Editor Richard Oakley said of the tablet-only online edition: “The launch is a positive milestone for Irish journalism and represents one of the most significant investments in the sector in recent years. We have hired some of Ireland's most renowned journalists and secured a range of innovative partnerships to deliver the first product of its kind in Ireland. Combined with exclusive membership benefits, we feel we have a really compelling offer and are enthused by the positive reaction we have received to date.”
The campaign was created by Dominic Butler and Liam Riddler at Grey London and was creatively directed by Dave Monk. It was produced by Glenn Paton, Head of Film at Grey London and directed by Man vs Machine through Friend. It launched with the following message: “We’ve been questioning the world and encouraging restless thinking for two hundred years. Serving up unbiased, intelligent opinion, political analysis and sport. Delivering fearless, genuine, honest journalism. And now we’re bringing our knowledge and learning from the Euro zone to Generation X, with cultural views and balanced news to a modern Ireland, every day. And we’ll never stop. We’ve used these tools to talk to the world since 1785. Now, we’re introducing a new one.”
A seven-day app and standalone website have been created, with a substantial percentage of original Irish editorial driven by a dedicated, 30-strong team of journalists
Oakley is a former news editor of the Irish edition of The Sunday Times. Other members of his team include deputy and business editor John Walsh and political editor Niamh Lyons. Columnists include Ann Marie Hourihane, Colm Tóbín, Jason O’Mahony and commentator Justine McCarthy. The new Irish edition will also be able to draw on 350 journalists in London and 36 foreign correspondents across six continents. The title claims to be the first of its kind in Ireland, through which subscribers will be able to watch video highlights while reading match reports, access over 9,000 interactive puzzles, view image galleries and watch other exclusive video content.
