The Sunday Times Rich List celebrates 35 years and counting

The Sunday Times is celebrating 35 years of the Rich List in a campaign to promote this year’s anniversary edition of the supplement.

The campaign takes a light-hearted look at the consistent reader reactions to the Rich List over the past 35 years. The advertisements feature reader “quotations” as headlines accompanied by cartoons of people reading the publication. 

The campaign was a collaboration between Pulse Creative - News UK’s in-house agency operated by The&Partnership - and editorial staff at The Sunday Times.

One execution shows an alarmed woman sitting in an armchair saying, “How much!!?”. Another shows a man riding on a spin bike getting increasingly exercised, saying, “I had that idea”. A third shows a man at a drinks party looking smug and explaining to two other (disinterested) guests, “I went to school with her”. A fourth shows a couple at a dinner table; one is reading the Rich List while the other asks sarcastically, “Am I on it?”. The Sunday Times Design Editor, Russel Herneman, created the cartoons.

There are six executions in total and the campaign is running in press, social media, email and online display.

The Sunday Times Rich List is the definitive guide to wealth and the wealthy. As well as listing the richest people in Britain, it is a 35 under 35 list and list of those who give the most money to charity.

The Sunday Times Rich List is available to read online on Friday 19th May, and the print supplement is published on Sunday 21st May. 

Louise Agran, Marketing Director of The Times and The Sunday Times, says: “The Sunday Times Rich List is a perfect example of the kind of in-depth reporting our readers value and this campaign tries to step into their minds and capture their thoughts.” 

Russell Ramsey, Executive Creative Director of Pulse, says: “A lot has changed in the 35 years The Sunday Times has charted the world of wealth. Fortunes have been made and lost. There have been booms, busts and credit crunches. But for this special edition we focused our campaign on the enduring reactions of the readers.”