What’s on TV, Nuts and Look are the IPC Editors’ Group covers of the month for June, with What’s on TV as the overall winner. Editorial development director Andy Cowles explains why the IPC Connect weekly got the vote:
All three covers of the month are top notch, but I am delighted that What’s on TV edged it to become the overall winner this month. Although What’s on TV is not at the ‘glamour’ end of the business, it produces genius pieces of work, like this cover. As a brand it completely defines the budget TV listings market. Often copied, but never bettered: it invented the conventions, adheres to them and constantly enhances them to maximum effect.
The content pops from a blue back plate. And here, the glow adds an additional level of movement and feeling. The yellow splash is present and correct, but the black outline has been turned all the way up to eleven. You could see this coverline from space! It’s important to visualise the price clearly, which is why green is such a shrewd move. It stands out from all the other colours, yet never gets in front of the content. Dark blue and magenta add accents, but overall, the colour palette is pretty restrained to let the splash stand out.
The lines are really good too. Absolute brevity and focus on what’s important, which in this market is ‘Family’, closely followed by ‘Tragedy’.
Nuts and Look snagged the other two spots, and both really deserve the recognition.
Nuts had the true splash of the month with their timely presentation of Imogen, Ryan Gigg’s ‘young lady’.
This is quality ‘talk-about content’. And it’s testament to the power of the brand and the skill of the team that it’s Nuts that Imogen chose to favour with her, ahem favours. Fantastic work.
Look is now published as part of IPC Southbank, so this is its first cover of the month as a Southbank title.
The true art to this cover is the tension between juicy celeb gossip and tons of affordable fashion. You’ve got to pack it on and heat it up, whilst never letting go of fashion authority, which is the key to unlocking the value of the brand.
And here, they’ve done a great job. The cast list is fresh, the lines compelling, and the fashion desirable. On top of that, the discounts are strongly presented without messing up their aesthetic corridor too much!