Choosing the perfect moment to make your point is a valuable asset in advertising. Lucky Generals New York and The Guardian have chosen now (an extraordinary time in the history of America’s First Amendment) for a campaign, The Whole Picture, and an OOH stunt featuring heavily redacted copy.

The campaign aims to get American curious about The Guardian’s thorough news coverage versus the reductive, partisan stories that are typical in the US with assets spread across New York City streets, transit hubs, and digital platforms.

The interactive OOH stunt, The Partial Picture, is the attack weapon in the campaign. A street-level billboard in the meatpacking district of NYC will appear on September 24, its copy partially covered with black tape, obscuring key parts of the message. Passers-by can peel the tape back to read the full story. The billboard reveal, a metaphor for the kind of independent, globally minded journalism the Guardian provides, will be captured in a recap film and amplified across social, digital, and audio platforms. A network of independent journalists and “newsfluencers” will cover the stunt in real time to drive further conversation.

Betsy Reed, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, stated, “As other outlets around us have sought to appease Trump by dialling down their coverage, we’ve held firm, and it’s helped cement our identity in the US. I’m thrilled to be a part of this moment at the Guardian, an outlet that provides American readers with something many other outlets don’t: fearless, global and independent journalism, free of charge.”

Lucky Generals US ECD, Conner Tobiason, added, “Starting off at Lucky Generals with an iconic brand like the Guardian is a dream scenario. In a country overloaded with hot takes, half-truths and deteriorating journalist integrity, launching a campaign that tells The Whole Picture was too good to pass up.”

The Whole Picture is the Guardian’s first brand campaign since 2023’s Not for Sale which centred on the Guardian’s reader-funded model that allows it to be open to all, but beholden to no one. It was inspired by The Guardian’s most famous campaign, Points of View, that multiple perspectives on a single event to demonstrate the Guardian’s balanced approach to journalism by highlighting the dangers of prejudice and importance of understanding the full story.

The full campaign will cover OOH in Outfront’s MTA subway advertising network, plus digital billboards in key New York locations, paid audio ads on The Vox Media Podcast Network’s biggest programs and creative across the Guardian’s own channels, including a landing page, Guardian audio, video, newsletters, and across the Guardian’s digital sites.