The "Life Needs Truth" campaign showed that for every part of our chaotic and upended lives, there is a piece of New York Times journalism that helps bring clarity and guidance to it. We wrote a five-verse visual poem, built with words from Times reporting, to capture the feeling of living in America at that time. The rhythm of the poem came to life without any VO or narration to reflect the relationship readers have with The Times as they use it in their everyday lives.

The campaign launched at a tumultuous time in American history: during the height of the pandemic, in the midst of BLM protests and shortly before a critical U.S election. It was a year like no other and a time when life itself had come into sharp focus, and people were turning to Times journalism to help them navigate their chaotic everyday lives

The sound of jazz was chosen to reflect life in all of its unpredictability. Each element of sound design was then taken from real life but designed to be embedded in the track, as if part of the musical performance. The track itself, “Requests” by Makaya McCraven, became the backbone of the poem. The ambition was to make the sound design and music one cohesive piece, and that combination became the rhythm of the poem, taking the viewer on a journey through America at that time. The composition reflected the basis of rigorous journalism with the horns’ question-and-answer structure, alluding to the questions journalists ask as part of the journalistic process.