The national daily title, which was founded by John Edward Taylor, was first published on May 5th, 1821 as the Manchester Guardian.

The newspaper which is owned by Guardian Media Group (GMG) was renamed The Guardian in 1959. The title’s sister papers, The Observer and The Guardian Weekly are both owned by GMG.

The Scott Trust, which is the owner of GMG was created in 1936 to secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian. The trust became a limited company in 2008 but the same protections still apply with profits going to journalism rather than shareholders and owners.

OOH signage will be installed across London and Manchester. Image: The Guardian

The campaign focuses on the slogan “A work in progress since 1821” and includes billboards, banners, posters, and more.

The billboards have been designed to highlight the title’s evolution of typography and “longstanding challenger voice”, and the signage features playful designs including one billboard with half the vinyl missing, showing the wooden frame, with the words: “A work in prog…”.

Across London and Manchester, 230 outdoor signage will be installed including a banner at Manchester Piccadilly which will be treated with pollution absorbing coating.

The billboards demonstrate The Guardian’s evolution of typography. Image: The Guardian

Annette Thomas, chief executive of Guardian Media Group, says: “Two hundred years since its foundation, the Guardian continues to thrive and grow our reach and impact.

“Our business is in a strong position and our unique reader relationship model has proved successful, with a record increase in reader support in 2020.”

The Guardian achieved 268,000 new digital subscriptions and recurring contributions in 2020 which is an increase of 43%.

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