New ad campaign for Journal

The Wall Street Journal, which last had an ad slogan a decade ago, is now promoting itself with the tag line “Every journey needs a Journal,” according to an item in the latest Newsweek.

Johnnie Roberts wrote, “The ad blitz begins next week in major publications and Web sites. The ads are essentially celebrity endorsements, highlighting the Journal’s role in the inspiring ‘life journeys’ of a diverse mix of people including singer Sheryl Crow, ‘Freakonomics’ coauthor and University of Chicago professor Steven Levitt and Jack Burton, founder of Burton Snowboards.

“The Journal wanted people who weren’t megafamous but who ‘had an interesting life journey, read The Wall Street Journal and were successful,’ Ann Marks, Dow Jones’s chief marketing officer, tells NEWSWEEK. One featured personality, boxer Oscar De La Hoya, says he got the call out of the blue. ‘They asked if I wanted to participate because of my story, my life, how I grew up from humble beginnings,’ says De La Hoya. ‘Here I am now, a world champ. That’s what the Journal is all about.’ That’s the message the paper wants to pound home with a velvet glove.”

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