To highlight its
growing breadth of multimedia, NYTimes.com has launched a new marketing campaign centering on 12 original unscripted videos with celebrities about their favorite must-visit destinations on the site.
With the star power of an American Express campaign, the personalities include designer Kenneth Cole, Bravo's "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi and actor John Leguizamo.
"The
goal of this campaign is to powerfully convey the wide range of interactive multimedia features that make NYTimes.com much more than just the newspaper online," said Yasmin Namini, senior vice
president, marketing and circulation, The New York Times. "And to do it in a way that is engaging, viral--and, we believe, unique."
The campaign was designed and produced in-house with
the help of Douglas Keeve, a renowned photographer and documentary maker, who directed the videos.
The elements of the campaign are designed to be easily sharable through email and social
networking sites, allowing users to extend the campaign's message. The videos will also be accessible on the Times's Facebook page, and YouTube channel.
Each vignette is complemented by
a drop-down menu that relates to the personalities' interests to illustrate the interactivity between users and NYTimes.com.
In one, chef Eric Ripert discovers that it is unnecessary to stir
risotto by watching a Mark Bittman cooking video. In another, actor Cynthia Nixon fills out an online ballot for a reader poll on Tony Award favorites.
Other personalities include actor and
director John Cameron Mitchell, designer Isaac Mizrahi, actor Bebe Neuwirth and Dr. Mehmet Oz.
According to Nielsen Online, NYTimes.com had 20.3 million unique visitors in the U.S. in October
2008, and was ranked as the top newspaper Web site in U.S.