"Open"

20 September 2023

60s

Information Station

The Guardian draw attention to their reader-funded platform in this enthralling commercial. It's becoming increasingly clear that internet users will have to get comfortable with paying for websites they care about - as the algorithmic destruction of once-useable free sites to prioritise data selling demonstrates - and in that sense, the news service are ahead of the curve.

The audience is given reasons to care about the brand's content and its lack of affiliation with news conglomerates in the pacy film, which is accompanied by a voiceover from writer Inua Ellams. Whether articles on the platform challenge, confront, assist, or uplift readers, they plough forward with a commitment to proper journalism.

It lands at the right time, as Rupert Murdoch's retirement (and the rumoured parallels between the Murdoch dynasty and 'Succession') alerts a new generation to the influence of such massive media empires. You may not agree with the Guardian's perspective, the film states, but you should care that it exists - and it makes that case persuasively.

UK

National Newspapers