The New York Times Launched 175th Anniversary Campaign

The newspaper is celebrating its milestone anniversary with a marketing campaign featuring historic advertisements.

Updated on Sept. 24, 2026 in Advertising

Screen-print poster illustration of a neat stack of blank newsprint, invoking the newspaper's 175-year historical legacy. — The New York Times has launched a marketing campaign marking its 175th anniversary, featuring historical advertisements and digital experiences. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you believe advertising helps sustain the quality of independent news reporting?

The New York Times has launched a marketing campaign to celebrate its 175th anniversary. The campaign, which includes a film, a digital experience, and a print spread, highlights the newspaper’s history of journalism and advertising.

Why it matters

The initiative serves to recognize the newspaper's long-standing role in the advertising industry. By revisiting historical ads, the paper connects its legacy of journalism with its commercial evolution over nearly two centuries.

The New York Times has been in operation for 175 years, dating back to its founding in 1851. The campaign highlights milestones including Tiffany & Co advertisements in 1851, Ford in 1909, and the 2014 launch of T Brand Studio.

The players

The New York Times

This American daily newspaper is based in New York City and is widely considered a newspaper of record.

Studio Dumbar

This is an international design agency that partnered with the newspaper to create the anniversary campaign film.

T Brand Studio

This is the branded content division of The New York Times that was established in 2014.

Ford Motor Company

This is a major American multinational automobile manufacturer that ran advertisements in the newspaper in 1909.

IBM

This is a global technology corporation that used the newspaper to highlight its role in the NASA space program in 1966.

The details

Developed in partnership with Studio Dumbar, the campaign features a film and digital experiences that reproduce significant advertisements from the publication's history. These include historic placements from brands like Ford Motor Company and IBM, showcasing the evolution of corporate messaging alongside the paper's reporting.

The New York Times was founded in 1851.
Ford Motor Company advertised in the newspaper in 1909.
Heinz began advertising in the newspaper in 1925.
IBM advertised its role in the NASA program in 1966.
The newspaper launched T Brand Studio in 2014.

Market Landscape

The anniversary campaign reflects the newspaper's ongoing effort to position its historical authority within the modern competitive landscape of digital media. This strategy underscores the enduring value of legacy brands as they continue to integrate commercial content with traditional journalism.

Readers and subscribers can expect to see these commemorative print spreads and digital experiences integrated into the newspaper's current platforms. The campaign provides a historical look at brand evolution without impacting subscription pricing or core service accessibility.

The takeaway

The campaign demonstrates how long-standing institutions utilize their vast archives to build brand identity in an increasingly digital era. Readers can observe how corporate messaging has mirrored the country’s industrial and technological development over the last 175 years.