The project was launched with a series of print editorials in The Guardian’s Weekly Magazine to bring its mass readership to the online site.

Once on the desktop or mobile site, the user can move through videos, elegantly written editorial stories, custom illustrations, and interactive polls with real time infographics. The environment reorganizes content upon interaction allowing the user to explore and consume content thematically based on each sin; from the gluttony of instagramming food, to the lust of extramarital online dating. The taboo nature of each story and video begs for self reflection and social sharing.

By combining documentary storytelling and meaningful journalism in a digital setting, the living documentary was created. An evergreen content piece that is always topical by using real-time audience engagement. This story grows as attitudes shift, forming a dynamic new discipline in journalism.

Metrics:

The site had over 415,000 views with over 60,000 shares. At launch, users spent an average of 26 minutes on site

Since its success, Seven Sins has evolved beyond digital and now tours film festivals with a live screening performance that features audience polling and interaction.

The result is a multi-platform piece that has been seen in every country, but two.

In an age where news has become an ever-evolving, real-time concept, the focus on meaningful long-form print journalism is fading. How do traditional news gathering organizations utilize their powerful assets to create long-lasting content that truly showcases their journalistic integrity and editorial prowess?

Since this dilemma centered on digital life, perhaps digital life itself would provide some clues. Greed, sloth, gluttony, lust, pride, envy, and wrath. Identified as the Seven Deadly Sins, these vices of humanity were categorized back in the fourth century... but today’s digital world brings a whole new set of moral dilemmas: texting, piracy, food porn, real porn, humble bragging, cyber bullying—these are all grey areas in our emerging age of digital morality. And so we created Seven Digital Deadly Sins. Pioneered by a co-branded partnership that combines the best of documentary video storytelling with world-class news editors to create a unique, new form of journalism.