COUNTRY LIFE hit the ball out of the park in the Editors’ Group Cover of The Month award.
Aside from the fact this issue was up a staggering 93% yoy, the work demonstrates what a team can do when its confidence is high. Everything about this cover points to the values behind the brand.
There is restraint, demonstrated by the elegantly framed picture and cool matt finish. It feels timeless. It’s a collectors’ issue and looks like it. It’s reassuringly expensive, as shown by the embossed gold logo.
But the masterstroke is surely the Royal Crest. Editor Mark Hedges tells me that he had ring up Clarence House to get permission to use it – clearly the Boss was quite happy to take his call. Class.
Ideal Home and Woman’s Weekly picked up the other two spots, and both are well worth their awards.
Ideal Home has been going great guns this year, and this powerful package shows why.
The sense of value is absolutely explicit. There’s a free notebook and a 3 for 2 offer, all smartly presented. But the real work lies in the expert layering of type on the picture.
It looks truly packed, but stops just short of crowded. Colour control is great, with the cover, gift and packaging all working well together.
Woman’s Weekly produced its tribute to Elizabeth Taylor in two days flat. An amazing accomplishment, and one that should bear real dividends on the newsstand.
The cover picture is the winning card here. A perfect choice, well presented. And of course, the decision to publish this supplement is perfectly in line with Stolley’s Law.
Dick Stolley was the legendary editor of People magazine, who drove the title to become the biggest selling magazine in the world. Here is what he said when it comes to choosing his cover subject:
• Young is Better Than Old
• Pretty is Better Than Ugly
• Rich is Better Than Poor
• Movies Are Better Than Television
• Television is Better Than Music
• Movies or TV or Music is Better Than Sports
• Anything is Better Than Politics
• And NOTHING is Better Than the Celebrity Dead