SMH and The Age campaign ‘a rallying cry for reason’

September 29, 2025 12:01

An outdoor example of the new Age/SMH campaign

Nine Entertainment’s The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald have rolled out a subscriber and brand campaign under the banner, “Here’s to reason”.

The campaign was designed to reinforce the newspapers’ stance as credible sources in a climate of misinformation. “Here’s to reason” comes in two iterations — one for Sydney and the other for Melbourne — to cater to the different mastheads and markets.

Publicis Groupe-owned advertising agency Publicis Worldwide Australia helped develop the platform.

“This campaign celebrates Sydneysiders and Melburnians who look to the Herald and The Age for intelligent, responsible reporting. It’s a campaign built with both our readers and our newsrooms at the heart of it,” Nine’s head of brand and acquisition, Vera Straubinger, said in a media release.

“We know from our data and our research that audiences are hungry for news they can rely on, and we have an important role to play in a world that’s increasingly dominated by extremes.”

Both publications’ campaign films target Melbourne-based and Sydney-based subscribers. The campaign’s creative deploys black-and-white portraits to reflect diverse perspectives and a common need for “balanced news”.

“Reason is the great unifier. We might all have different views, opinions, perspectives – but at the end of the day, we all crave balanced news so we can make up our own minds about the issues we care most about,” Publicis Worldwide executive creative director, Ryan Petie, said in the same release. “This piece of work is a rallying cry for reason.”

On top of brand films and creative, “Here’s to reason” is also being deployed through content initiatives, such as wraps and front pages for its respective newspapers, and editorial subscriber notes.

The first set of campaign assets will play in the News South Wales and Victorian markets from September 29 to November 9, via small and large out-of-home channels, digital, audio, streaming, social, television, print and cinema.

“At a time when the world’s most powerful man wants to sack comedians and pin autism on Panadol, reason is in short supply,” executive editor Luke McIlveen said in the same release.

“Now more than ever, our journalism needs to be courageous, deeply reported and always suspicious of government and corporate influence.

“This campaign reflects The Age and the Herald’s commitment to give readers the full picture – not just a shrill headline or an inflammatory position for clicks.”

Credits:

Nine Entertainment

Director of Audience Growth, Publishing: Aimie Rigas

Head of Brand & Acquisition: Vera Straubinger

Senior Marketing Manager Brand & Acquisition: Kymberley Joseph

Marketing Manager, Brand & Acquisition: Andrew Haughey

The Sydney Morning Herald & The Age Editorial SteerCo

Managing Director, Publishing – Tory Maguire

Executive Editor – Luke McIlveen

Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald – Bevan Shields

Editor, The Age – Patrick Elligett

National Managing Editor – Monique Farmer

Publicis Worldwide Australia

Managing Director: Simone Waugh

Executive Creative Director: Ryan Petie

Associate Creative Director: Christian McKechnie

Senior Art Director: Elle Whittaker

Executive Production Director: Vicki Lee

Senior Producer: Chris Moore

General Manager: Jude Johannesen

Senior Account Director: Mary Graham

Senior Account Manager: Lucy Rodgers

Strategy Director: Swati Shivshankar

Finch

Director/Stills Photographer: Michael Hili

Producer: AnnaTara Clark-Snedden

Managing Director/Executive Producer: Corey Essie

Heckler

Editor: Andrew Holmes

Colour Grade: Matt Fezz

Producer: Coralie Tapper

White Chocolate

Executive Producer/Owner: Chris Grocott

VFX Supervisor/Owner: David Mosqueda

Electric Sheep Music

Creative Director: Glenn Sarangapany

Executive Producer: Kate Stenhouse

Sound Designer: Georgia Collins

Composition: Electric Sheep Music

Stills retouching:

Suriya Black

Media Partner: PHD

Group Business Director: Ali Jones

Business Director: Emily Friedlos

Senior Planning Manager: Patrese Beasley