Clarity over cleverness
Client: USA TODAY | 2025 | Copywriting, campaign work, strategy, creative conception
Brief:
Reinforce USA TODAY’s reputation for clear, accessible reporting in a way that's bold and eye-catching.
Insight:
In a world where news often reads like a vocabulary contest, audiences crave clarity over cleverness. The smartest message is often the simplest one.
Idea:
I played with contrast (literally). By crossing out jargon-filled headlines and replacing them with USA TODAY’s plainspoken truth, I spotlighted the brand’s value:
no pretension, no fluff, just news that gets to the point. The result? A campaign that cuts through the noise by cutting down the BS.
On Sundays, we clean up everyone else's mess. The Clear Cut is a newsletter that takes the week's most complex stories and boils them down the facts and why they matter.
While this never came to fruition, the idea is smart. “Too much noise? Step in for a 60-second overcomplicated news detox.” VR or a large screen plays a looping 60-second “clarity reel”: real stories simplified, narrated in a calm, confident voice.
