will.i.am makes time for Wall Street Journal in global campaign

Client: The Wall Street Journal

Agency: The & Partnership

Market: Global

Campaign scope: Digital, social media, print, outdoor, TVC. The media plan includes digital billboards and outdoor signage in Hong Kong and Singapore; billboards in the Marunouchi area of Tokyo; as well as broadcast TV, print and direct marketing in the US, APAC and EMEA.

Background: 'Make time' features ambitious, successful and intellectually curious readers who make time to read the WSJ. The campaign is set to run through 30 June. The aim is to illustrate the essential personal and professional value of a subscription.

Starting off the campaign are Tory Burch, chief executive officer, designer and philanthropist; Bill McDermott, Chief Executive Officer of SAP, entrepreneur and author; and will.i.am, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Additional WSJ readers will be joining the “Make Time” campaign during its run, including Mike McCue, co-founder and chief executive officer of Flipboard, and Zhang Xin, co-founder and chief executive officer of SOHO China, the largest prime office real estate developer in China.

The campaign was developed under the direction of award winning film director Tom Carty and world-renowned photographer Brigitte Lacombe.

Press release quotes:

“This campaign highlights the value of making time to read the Journal, no matter how busy people are,” said Suzi Watford, chief marketing officer at Dow Jones. “It also confirms that subscribing to the Journal puts you in a community with other ambitious people who prioritize being at the top of their game. Our subscribers are in very good company.”

“The world’s busiest and most ambitious people, who have the least time to spare, still make time to read the Journal,” said Isaac Silverglate, executive creative director at The & Partnership. ”For us, highlighting this truth was the most compelling way to show the Journal’s true value.”

Campaign Asia-Pacific’s comments: The video featuring will.i.am is simple and sleek. In the 30-second footage the message is clear: even high-powered, creative business people make time to absorb good content. Why? Because it’s a kind of self-nurturing process that enriches them rather than disturbing their schedules. In other words, it's “needed” and even "essential". The funky bass-line from a track will.iam appears to be working on in a studio adds just the right amount of personality and underscores the “quiet time” he gets at the end of the video. We only wonder why he didn't wear his Beats while reading in order to shut out the outside world.