The New York Times has marked its 175th anniversary by turning the spotlight on the advertisers, launching a campaign exploring how advertising has documented (and foreshadowed) major cultural shifts.
New York Times Advertising (NYTA) has launched ‘175 Years of Advertising’, a campaign built around a nine-page print spread featuring seven real advertisements pulled from The Times’ archives, spanning from 1851 to 2026.
The campaign features ads from brands including Tiffany & Co., Ford Motor Company, Heinz, IBM, Delta Air Lines, E*TRADE and L’Oréal Groupe, with each advertisement accompanied by context around the cultural moment in which it appeared.
The archive begins just three months after The New York Times published its first issue in 1851, when Tiffany & Co. advertised its jewellery, watches and clocks as holiday gifts for readers.
In 1909, Ford used the newspaper to promote its Model T as “the $850 car that won the New York to Seattle race”, at a time when the automotive industry was beginning its shift from luxury vehicles towards mass production.
IBM’s 1966 advertisement highlighted the company’s involvement in the NASA space program and its work “helping the NASA team put a man on the moon”, three years before the Apollo 11 mission successfully landed astronauts on the lunar surface.
Other examples include a 1994 Delta Air Lines advertisement promoting its plan to become “the only U.S. airline that flies totally smoke free”, as smoking restrictions were becoming an increasingly prominent public issue.
The campaign was developed after Tusar Barik, SVP of Marketing at New York Times Advertising, toured the publication’s physical archives, which contain millions of pages of historical print material.
Barik initially envisaged a campaign demonstrating how advertising formats had evolved, from dense blocks of copy in the 1800s to photography and, eventually, digital and audio formats.
However, reviewing the advertisements revealed another narrative: the way brands’ advertising often reflected broader social and technological changes.
“Reviewing our expansive archive revealed a clear pattern: advertising often foreshadows significant cultural moments, from scaling the adoption of personal automobiles to the emergence of online banking,” Barik said.
“This insight shaped our campaign, which is grounded in The Times’s history and the evolution of advertising, while also acknowledging our long-standing client relationships and advertising’s role in supporting independent journalism.”
The seven brands were selected from thousands of potential advertisements based on their design and cultural relevance, with NYTA also choosing companies that continue to operate today.
All seven brands agreed to be featured in the campaign and were not charged a fee.
Andrea Davey, global CMO at Tiffany & Co., said the brand was honoured to be included given its longstanding connection to New York.
“Warmest congratulations to The New York Times on celebrating 175 remarkable years,” Davey said. “Born and rooted in New York City, our shared heritage runs deep. We are honoured to celebrate this milestone together and to continue a partnership built on a relentless commitment to craft, culture, and iconic storytelling.”
The print spread concludes with a message from Joy Robins, global chief advertising officer at The New York Times, examining advertising’s role in supporting independent journalism.
The campaign extends beyond print, with NYTA launching a digital ecosystem including custom digital ad units, audio spots featuring Robins, and a dedicated digital page documenting advertising milestones from across The Times’ history.
Media for the campaign will run through September 30.
