The Spectator Australia launches print, poster, online and DM campaign via Matterhorn, Sydney
This week sees the start of a new campaign via Matterhorn, Sydney for The Spectator Australia Magazine, using print, posters, online and DM.
“The Spectator Australia is a unique magazine with an equally unique heritage. It is both provocative and entertaining and has seen an upsurge in sales of over 20% since Rowan Dean took over as editor just over a year ago,” says Matterhorn founder Garry Horner.
“It’s a publication that doesn’t sit on the fence and in these days of political correctness, it’s refreshingly frank and thought provoking, something we wanted the campaign to reflect.”
Says Dean: “The moment the guys presented the ‘Skull’ ad I both laughed out loud and felt immensely pleased that they so clearly understood the style and humour of the magazine…. a magazine that has been provoking people since the days of Napoleon.”
12 Comments
Just because they’re all print ads for the same brand at the same time, doesn’t make them a campaign.
Having said that, as an individual execution, I really like the finger poking the brain. Even better without a headline.
Nice work, love the Brain one, gives a whole new meaning to giving someone the finger.
Nice one Gazmatt. Especially the skull.
About 20 years ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a man with weird white hair called David Abbott would have wearily gazed down at these ads as he filled his pipe. He would have then puffed his lip before bitch-slapping the poor fools who dared to show him such clumsy mediocrity. These ads are now alive and well again and appearing in Australia with an exciting new black and white art direction for a rival British title. Well done everyone.
Nice work guys.
A mag like the Speccie deserves better than these.
Oh brother, these really stink.
I read the Specie and liked them, especially the ‘finger’ one…..
One ad is very good. The others, just nothing.
Good god. Why would ANYONE attempt to rip off the Economist? And for a similar product too?
Skull ad is great and not like any Economist ad i ever seen. Any ad for a magazine that tries to do headline only ads , especially if they’re reversed out of a single colour will inevitably draw the comparisson with the aforementioned publication…the Finn Review did it for years.
The only thing these ads have in common with the Economist is that 3 of them are headline-only. Part of the genius of the Economist campaign was that in its use of the reversed white headline out of red, they simulated the Economist’s graphic style, and in so doing, provided unmistakable branding. This campaign does not do that.
Certainly this campaign for the Spectator has a certain schizophrenic quality to it – an inconsistency in which some ads are headline only, the others graphically visual in style – one of which is marvellously subtle in a Time-Out GGT circa 1982 kind of way. But then, who amongst us isn’t guilty of that in our own work from time to time?
It may have been worth deciding on a more single-minded approach, and I’m sure this occurred to both the creatives and the client, all of whom are seasoned and respected campaigners.
Or will – now that it’s been pointed out by one of their contemporaries…