THIS Motor Boat & Yachting cover is excellent, but intriguingly similar to their November 2010 cover of the month. Well, it worked once, it’ll probably work twice! Here’s what I wrote back in 2010:
“There is a certain convention to motor boat magazine covers. I remember years back, looking at a title called Sportsboat, which had, as convention decrees, the sharp prow of the boat looming out toward me. And perched right on the tip of it, was a very pretty blond girl.
Motor boats and sex have always been inextricably linked, at least in the minds of men. James Bond is a well understood example of that, creating an aura that a generation of Essex builders have attempted to recreate ever since. ‘Ullo darlin, fancy a ride on my big ‘ole boat?’ But of course failing to mention that the craft in question is moored in the arse end of the Crouch, and has not seen a human aboard for several seasons.
But to Motor Boat and Yachting, and their excellent cover of the month. I assume the readers of this title own a boat or, more likely, 
fantasise about owning a boat. This cover features a boat that is so distinctive, so desirable and so easy to talk about, that it transcends its specialist nature. This is a boat that everyone can have an opinion on, a vessel so absurd but so ‘Rock Star’, that the fantasy of whom one might be whilst driving such a machine really is quite extraordinary.
The execution is great. When was the last time we ever saw PINK used on such a title? Talking a leaf from Nut’s recent playbook, this is a great example of a title redefining the colour palette used to attract men. It’s the use of colour that truly defines this as a modern title.
The photo itself is amazing. With the overhead view, its possible to see every part of the machine, much like it were a toy. In fact, the view from above suggests that it is the gods themselves that are looking down on man and his bonkers boat. I may be getting ahead of myself here, but the suggestion of immortality feels almost…reasonable.
If I have a complaint, it’s the drop-in of the other two boats in the bottom corner. I am sure there are good commercial and newsstand reasons why this had to be done, but it does take the legs away from the splash. If I know the names of these boats, I’ll pick it up. If it’s really about Aft Cabins as a genre, then I’d want to see those words bigger than the 12pt within the pink bar. But if it’s still all about the fantasy of what kind of man I truly imagine myself to be, then looking at these two ugly caravans on a keel just doesn’t do it!”
To be honest, much of those observations still apply. Art Direction, colourway, and typography are all just as good, and just about the same. But there are two significant improvements worth noting. Firstly, the panel holding additional boat pics looks really well integrated here. It demonstrates how you can add loads of visual value without denting the premium feel one jot.
Secondly, and I think this is a first for an IPC title, there is a pink button advising the reader to ‘get MBY on your iPad’. The genius of this is not that anyone will go to the link and download the app, but that it is a staggeringly clear message that the readers of MBY all have iPads. If you’re a brand loyalist you’ll be flattered, if you have an iPad, you’ll see yourself reflected in the cover, and if you’re an advertiser you’ll see that MBY is genuinely right out in front.
I’M delighted to see TV Times up on the IPC café wall. It’s a brilliant title, with a high level of cover craft. Well loved people, well shot are the key to their success. This is no exception, it’s fun, it’s friendly and it’s only in TV Times.
LOOK makes the wall for the second month running with the confident assertion that Ange really is furious with Brad this time. Of course she is. But I would encourage the reader to go past the headline and look instead at the fantastic way the colours are managed.
The logo is beautifully rendered with many shades of pink, the fashion splash is black, but the outline lets it pop, and the blue of the Tulisa drop-in makes it clear that this is another story without denting the weekly fashion magazine aesthetic. Nice work all round.