In an era of political polarisation, the dinner party conversation of choice is how many news apps you have deleted from your phone in the pursuit of personal wellbeing. Ignorance is being spun as self-optimisation. 

While switching off from the news leans into the privilege of being cossetted from the impact of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and polarisation, the desire to dial down the noise is an almost universal human instinct.

At a time when it increasingly feels that listening is a lost art, the latest campaign from Times Radio successfully hits all the right notes.

Created by Mosaic, the dedicated, integrated team within T&P, the campaign’s visual features up close imagery of the mouths of the world’s most recognisable politicians, including Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Keir Starmer. 

The images are accompanied by thought-provoking questioning straplines. These include: ‘When everyone says they're right, who do you believe?’, ‘When the story breaks, who brings perspective?’, ‘When lines blur, can you read between them?’ All leading to a single answer: ‘It starts with listening. Times Radio.’

The strategy underlines the importance of building trusted brands in an era of misinformation supercharged by AI. 

Russell Ramsey, Executive Creative Director at Mosaic, explained: “We live in an era where the loudest voice in the room is rarely the most trustworthy. Politicians shout and audiences are left trying to make sense of a world that seems to get more confusing by the day. Cutting through this noise starts with listening to informed, intelligent debate.” 

The campaign's hero 30-second film runs across three creative treatments, from close-crop politician footage overlaid with voiceover, to Times Radio's own talent, including John Pienaar, Cathy Newman, Stig Abell and Kate McCann delivering the script in direct contrast to the political chaos.

Out of home activity runs across London and Bristol, while a branded Amazon Alexa activation brings an interactive experience to smart speaker audiences.

The media was bought and executed by Mosaic and The Times and Sunday Times' in-house performance marketing team. The campaign will be visible across video on demand, radio, out-of-home and social media. 

The fully integrated campaign spans film, radio, out-of-home, press and smart speaker activations.