Ad of the Week: Be the man you want to see (Sapeurs)

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Too often, one finds that creative directors try to manufacture emotion in the ads they produce. And, if I get the feeling I’m being manipulated, I tend to switch off. Not always literally but figuratively. Then again, when something does come along that strikes a nerve, and cuts through the dross, it really makes me take notice.

The Guinness Sapeurs spot by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO — celebrating a Congolese social phenomenon called “Sapeur” — is a case in point. It’s fresh, fun and inspiring. And I think it does wonders for the brand.

Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO ad for Guinness: “Sapeurs”

The sapeur culture might seem familiar to urban South Africans; it’s highly reminiscent of the “swenkas” who have been featured in documentaries, books and ads in recent years. Like swenkers, sapeurs dress up in expensive and ostentatious suits, sometimes with incredible colour combinations, and always plenty of ‘bling’.

Ad of the Week Guiness Sapeurs screengrab 4The origins of the sapeur date back to Mobuto Sese Seko, the dictatorial leader of the DRC in the ’60s and ’70s, who called himself the ‘Father of the Nation’. Many people had become enamoured of the French sense of style, and travellers to France would return with clothing that they would show off to friends.

But Seko was fiercely Africanist, and banned western clothing, because it symbolised the country’s colonial past. Instead, men were forced to wear a Mao-style tunic, and could be beaten or arrested for wearing a suit.

What had originally been a fascination with French culture became a symbol of resistance against the Mobuto Sese Seko regime. It was only in April 1990 that Seko reformed the laws, allowing sapeurs to wear their fancy threads openly.

Ad of the Week Guiness Sapeurs screengrab 3“One who creates ambience”

The name comes from the acronym SAPE, for Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes. (An ambienceur is a local neologism for “one who creates ambience”.)

Sapeurs are often invited to weddings and funerals to create a mood of elegance. They form into ‘gangs’ who meet regularly to compete but there is no violence — these dashing dandies are the embodiment of the term ‘gentleman’.

“The Sape is most definitely an art,” stresses premier-league sapeur Hassan Salvadore, the respected leader of The Piccadilly Group of Bakongo, in the Sabotage Times. “I learned how to dress from my father [well-known sapeur Hassan Malanda] but also by observing how television news presenters dress. It is always different for each individual.”

Ad of the Week Guiness Sapeurs screengrab 1Buzz on the internet

The Guinness ad is not the first time they have been featured on TV: a while ago, Solange Knowles shot a music video featuring a few of these stylish gents, and since then the sapeur subculture has become better known internationally. And the Guinness ad has already created a buzz on the internet.

The commercial was shot in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, written by Nicholas Hulley, art directed by Nadja Lossgott and directed by Nicolai Fuglsig through MJZ.

The opening scenes show men at work, and it’s beautifully gritty stuff: cane farmers, an ice delivery man, a welder — all sweaty and dirty from a hard day’s work.

“In life you cannot always choose what you do,” says a husky narrator, “but you can always choose who you are.”

Ad of the Week Guiness Sapeurs screengrab 5Sets the tone

This sets the tone, as we watch each of the men wash and transform from workers into the most elegant, the most colourful, the most distinguished of characters. They all meet in a beer-all, and receive warm ovations from each other and the people present, as they take turns to strut their stuff.

Part of the tradition is to pose and show off the specific aspects of an ensemble: a jacket is removed to reveal braces that match with the tie and socks; a man in a kilt with matching bowtie pays homage to Prince Charles. Colours that should clash, such as pink and orange, somehow just work… it’s a festive celebration of life.

And all the posing and peacocking makes for a visual feast.

The Guinness is almost incidental: as a product, it is integrated into the scenario, in an unforced, natural way, without detracting from the subject matter.

A great ad for a great brand

The narration concludes: “You see, my friends, with every brace and every cufflink, we say, ‘I am the master of my fate — I am the captain of my soul.’” This spirit individuality is probably what resonates most for the viewer, and reinforces the Guinness promise of “Made of More.”

A great ad for a great brand.

There is also a short documentary called ‘The Men Inside the Suits’:

Oresti Patricios

Ad of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research.

If you are involved in making advertising that is smart, funny and/or engaging,
please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.

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Grubstreet: 2014 — the year of epic media battles and empire building

by Gill Moodie (@grubstreetSA) 2014 is promising to be a year of epic battles and empire building in the South African media sector.

startoyPowerful new player

While the industry watches for a pattern to emerge in what kind of media owner Dr Iqbal Surve will be — and what he will do with Independent Newspapers after a fiery start that saw Cape Times editor Alide Dasnois shafted in controversial circumstances — we have a powerful new player in the market last week: Johann Rupert’s Remgro that is part of a consortium taking over ElementOne in a R2.3bn deal.

ElementOne is an unlisted investment holding company that holds a 39.38% stake in Caxton, the owner of printing presses; newspapers, such as The Citizen; and a swathe of community titles. Caxton, which is owned and run by Terry Moolman, also has a 20.62% stake in ElementOne plus a  stake in Times Media Group (TMG).

ElementOne has a complex shareholding structure but that doesn’t obscure the significance of the billionaire Rupert’s  move into media. (Remgro also owns a stake in Sabido, the parent firm of e.tv.)

Don’t underestimate

While Caxton has been careful to point out that Moolman is still very much at the helm, you cannot underestimate the influence of his new business partner. And Moolman and Rupert are united in an intense dislike for Media24 — the owners of the Afrikaans press, Daily Sun, City Press and a large magazine house.

I’ve heard tell that Moolman never got over the fact that Media24 beat him to snapping up The Witness newspaper  but the companies compete fiercely on many fronts: in printing, in community titles (in KwaZulu-Natal) and in magazines — and now we have Caxton leading the charge at the Competition Commission against Media24 in a predatory-pricing investigation and with Moneyweb pitted against News24 in the courts over content aggregation tha tCaxton claims is copyright infringement, plagiarism and unfair competition.

The Caxton deal may be small potatoes for Remgro but  Alec Hogg reminded us all last year that Rupert is “still smarting” from a  bust up with Koos Bekker, the CEO of Naspers, owner of Media24, in the early days of pay-TV so I think we can expect the battle between Caxton and Media24 to intensify.

Here, below, are the other big battles, moves and plays to watch out for this year:

1. Transformation

On the subject of Caxton v Media24, I think we can expect to see these companies — and TMG, the owners of the Sunday Times,  Business Day and the Sowetan — to come under more pressure to transform in both ownership and editors. The Movement for Transformation of the Media in South Africa that popped up out of nowhere amid the Dasnois saga has already said it will target TMG on this score.

2. Independent Newspapers: tiffs, tantrums and greater competition

I’m sure more tiffs and tantrums — but also greater competition — are coming from Independent Newspapers’ quarter. Surve has made few friends in the industry, making wild allegations about the Mail & Guardian, Business Day and TMG  but there are also signs that he plans to jump into territory long dominated by the other players. He has said he wants to go aggressively into digital — where Media24 reigns — and open more vernacular titles, and the Eastern Cape looks like the first play.

TMG dominates with the Daily Dispatch and The Herald in this region. Personally, I’d love to see someone invest properly in an Eastern Cape vernacular tabloid and test the research done by other media houses that says there is no market for this is this marginalised region.

I think we can also expect to see the exit of more Indy editors this year and a change of guard in the management of the company.

3. TMG explorations

TMG is certainly exploring TV and radio more confidently (with Business Day TV as its base). It has bought significant stakes in a Ghanaian TV and radio operation and a Mpumalaanga radio station but cross-ownership restrictions will make a more concerted radio play difficult in South Africa.

TMG’s attempt to expand its magazine division with a deal with RamsayMedia  (torpedoed by 30% Ramsay-owner Caxton) may not yet be over. It’s quite possible that Caxton may make a side deal with TMG on Ramsay, although Grubstreet understands that Moolman and TMG CEO and owner Andrew Bonamour are not hitting it off.

4. Kagiso moving into TV

On the subject of TV, Kagiso — the owner of radio stations such as East Coast and Jacaranda — is moving into this space with Glow TV on the new OpenView HD satellite bouquet owned by Platco Digital, a sister company ofe.tv.

Kagiso is a very nimble, forward-thinking company, so watch it  carefully. This is  part of a much bigger play, as not only does Kagiso have content-producing capability in Urban Brew, it is also bidding for a pay-TV licence.

5. eNCA to shift from DStv to OpenView?

Meanwhile, there is speculation that eNCA (sister operation of e.tv) will move from Naspers’ DStv to OpenView, while SABC GCEO Lulama Mokhobo made it clear at the launch of SABC’s 24-hour news channel last year that the plan is for it to move to digital terrestrial television after it finally arrives in South Africa. The international deadline for the final switch over from analogue to digital is June 2015.

6. Media24’s push into e-commerce

It is well worth watching Media24’s push into e-commerce starting with Spree.com — which is part of a bigger expansion globally into this sector at Naspers level  — while apps such as My Edit are clearly part of a larger exploration into delivering newspaper and magazine content digitally.

Also at Naspers level, it is reportedly in talks with both Telkom and Vodacom about mobile TV, while Naspers’ DStv Explora decoder means that subscribers are  already watching “Catch Up” on their iPads. Way cool!

7. Keep an eye on Given Mkhari

In the radio space, Given Mkhari is the man to watch: his Power FM is certainly all over social networks and I’m sure the audience figures will be good once they are in. Mkhari, whose consortium also owns the successful Capricorn FM station in Polokwane, is also bidding for new FM licences in the Eastern Cape and the Free State.

Grubstreet

South Africa’s leading media commentator Gill Moodie (@grubstreetSA) offers intelligence on media, old and new. Reprinted from her site Grubstreet.

 

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The Dissident Spin Doctor: 10 things I learnt in 2013

by Emma King (@EmmainSA) This time of the year is rife with all the predications of what the ‘trends’ will be this year. But just as helpful is to be reflective and to look back at what’s happened over the past year and to think about what has been learned.

And, sometimes, it’s not a new skill but the insights into human nature and oneself that can be the most useful.

Here are a few, seemingly random and not necessarily deadly serious, things that I learnt in 2013:

Emma King1. Finding employees (or colleagues) that you want to work with is sometimes more important than finding employees (or colleagues) that know the most.

As impressive as someone’s CV and as long as his or her list of achievements are, no one wants to work with a pompous ass, an arrogant sod or a lazy mofo. You spend a good eight hours or so, at least, a day with your colleagues, five days a week — much longer than you probably spend with friends or loved ones. And who wants to spend the majority of their time with someone who makes them miserable?

When I’m looking for people to employ, skill is absolutely paramount — but I’d rather spend time up-skilling someone who is enthusiastic, bright and fun than labouring with a skilled bore.

2. That whole client-being-a-bully thing is still a ‘thing’ and didn’t get left behind in the ’80s.

Who would have thought? Let’s make this ‘trend’ something we left behind in 2013.

3. Some of the young talent coming into the industry is damn good.

After years of bemoaning the general uselessness of the youngsters entering the industry, last year we had to bite our tongues.

We’ve been inundated with young faces in and of our doors since ‘Intern Season’ (declared open each year like ‘Hunting Season’) kicked off several months ago. And some of whom we worked with last year have been damn good.

I’m excited to see the new energy that is entering the industry and I hope that we look after them well and don’t scare them off.

4. Having said that, being able to string a sentence together and understanding grammar are actually covetable skills.

Apparently there is a dearth of copywriters entering the industry, obviously something to do with social media and text speak and all that malarkey.

I’m eternally grateful to my first-year UCT English lecturer who hammered the finer points of proper English grammar into my reluctant skull; and to my parents for allowing me to be a bookish nerd when I was younger. Because at least I know not to split an infinitive and how to format an argument — a skill worryingly scarce in an industry that is supposed to be about communications.

5. The kind of clients whom you want to work with are not those with the most money.

Tempting as it is to chase the dollar signs, these clients are not necessarily the ones whom will build your business. The ones who will are those who treat you like a consultant, rather than an agency; who trust you to fight for their brands; and who push you to be brave.

These clients will make you famous and will make your staff work well for you.

6. There are a lot of people out there pitching themselves as experts. And clients are falling for it and parting with lots of money.

This has been the year of the charlatan. I’ve lost count of the ‘strategic PR’ agencies and ‘social media and content gurus’ whom I have seen clients waste money upon.

The sad reality is that anyone can set themselves up as an expert, and a million one-man-band, fly-by-nights are popping up all over the place. Not that they are all bad; of course not.

But I’m sad to see how many clients — often small brands with small budgets that shy away from bigger, more-established offerings — who are being sucked in by the BS.

7. Just because someone has access to social media or a platform to air their views doesn’t mean that they should.

No explanation needed.

Likewise with brands which think that they need a Facebook page, Twitter handle, Google+ account, Pinterest page, blog from the MD, Instagram feed and daily newsletter — despite their being a combine-harvester manufacturer targeting middle-aged farmers in the Free State.

8. Just because someone has a blog does not make them important. Or an ‘influencer’. In fact, it’s often the opposite, despite what they may think.

Again, no explanation needed.

9. Being unique and true to oneself is the biggest selling point there is.

There was a time when I first started out that I desperately tried to be like all the other cookie-cutter PR chicks out there. The Pink Pashmina Brigade, I called them begrudgingly. Yet there’s a certain peace in realising that people — employers, clients — generally respect and want to work with people who are unique and interesting to work with, who bring something out of the ordinary to the room.

So embrace your inner weirdo. Just take a look around you at who’s being successful — because they are.

10. Learn when to fight your battles. And when to drink wine and have a bloody big laugh about it all.

I believe that, if you are successful, you need to have courage in your convictions and fight for your ideas when you are right. But having said that, one of the things about growing up is knowing when to let go.

Sometimes the client wants that rubbish colour or the big-ass logo and, guess what, it’s not the end of the world. Walk away when it’s not important and keep the fight for when it is. When all else fails, a glass of wine while laughing it off with a bunch of friends does the job.

On that note, cheers to 2014!

Emma King (@EmmainSA) is head of PR at The Jupiter Drawing Room (Cape Town). She contributes the monthly “The Dissindent Spin Doctor” column on PR and communication issues to MarkLives.com.

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EXCLUSIVE: John Dixon to join BrandsRock as CEO

by Herman Manson (@marklives) John Dixon, the outgoing Draftfcb Group Chief Executive Officer, will join BrandsRock as CEO, effective 1 March 2014. He will also be a shareholder in the BrandsRock business. Current MD Michael Joubert will head strategy and new business development.

BrandsRock is a full service agency (75% of its business is through-the-line) that was launched in late 2009 by Joubert. It has offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, where it employs 34 and seven staffers respectively. Key clients include Harley-Davidson, Jose Cuervo, eBucks, KWV, Nando’s, Puma, Brandshouse and Levi’s.

Joubert says he and Dixon have known one another for some time. The agency has been on a roll over the past year, tripling revenue year on year and winning significant business, which lays the foundation for Dixon to take over and build out its Johannesburg base.

The agency follows a one-agency, two-offices model, with a single CEO in Dixon. Joubert says the aim is to build out the Johannesburg office into the primary office of the agency. It recently moved into new offices in the Design Quarter, Fourways.

Joubert says he values the leadership capital Dixon brings to the business and that this is in line with changing client demands. “You can’t fudge leadership,” says Joubert, who argues Dixon’s appointment will attract more talent to the agency, and consolidate its growth path.

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EXCLUSIVE: Management restructure, new CEO at Draftfcb Group

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Draftfcb Group chief executive officer, John Dixon, is leaving the agency, a business he joined 11 years ago [you may find out where he is going here — ed]. Brett Morris, currently chief creative officer at Draftfcb, will become CEO of Draftfcb South Africa as of 1 March 2014.

Mohale Ralebitso. new group chairman and Brett Morris, new group chief executive officer, Draftfcb South Africa.
Mohale Ralebitso. new group chairman and Brett Morris, new group chief executive officer, Draftfcb South Africa.

Graham Vivian, the group’s chief financial officer, is promoted to chief operating officer. Marketing and advertising veteran Mohale Ralebitso joins Draftfcb as group chairman. He replaces Nkwenkwe Nkomo, who stays at Draftfcb South Africa as a non-executive director (he plans to retire in the near future).

Morris was appointed executive creative director of FCB Johannesburg in 2003. He joined Nando’s as global chief creative officer in 2007 before launching The Scoville Unit in 2008. In 2009, he rejoined Draftfcb as chief creative officer for South Africa.

Ralebitso was formerly marketing communications & corporate affairs director at Old Mutual Emerging Markets; managing executive at Absa Private Bank, group marketing executive Absa Group and chairman at The Jupiter Drawing Room.

Vivian joined Draftfcb South Africa as chief financial officer of the holding companies and its operating divisions in 2010.

Cell C moving to Draftfcb Group

The news of the management restructuring follows shortly on the heels of an announcement by Cell C that it is moving its advertising account from Ogilvy Johannesburg to Draftfcb Group.

In a media statement, Draftfcb’s worldwide CEO, Carter Murray, said: “The South African operation is one of the network’s star performers and I believe it is poised to reach even greater heights in 2014. Brett, with his strong creative reputation and intimate knowledge of the brands and business, is a perfect choice to lead the charge.

“Add to this the strength of someone as accomplished as Mohale, who has been a top agency leader and brings a wealth of client experience, and we have a formidable combination.”

Merger of roles

Morris told MarkLives that his appointment will see the merger, to some extent, of the chief creative officer and CEO roles at the agency. Morris will continue to look after certain client portfolios in the short term and will remain the chair of the group’s creative executive committee. He expects to influence the creative product from the inside out.

“Recent client wins puts the agency in a good space,” says Morris. “The challenge now is to make sure we deliver on our promise [of producing great work] and to keep raising the bar at the agency.”

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Agency Leaders: 2013’s most-admired ad agency in Johannesburg

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Every year, MarkLives polls the country’s agency leadership to find out whom agency executives think of as their competitors, whom they see as effective managers and great creatives, and where they believe their future competition is likely to come from. Today, we reveal the results of our poll among Johannesburg-based ad executives.

Last week we revealed results for our regional Cape Town poll. Results for our overall national poll will be revealed on January 27.

Recap

Ogilvy Cape Town saw a clean sweep in our Cape Town poll, taking top honours as the most-admired agency in Cape Town (as voted for by its peers in Cape Town), while its chief creative officer Chris Gotz emerged as the city’s most-admired creative director. Its former MD, Gavin Levinsohn, was named as the most-admired agency exec in the city. Machine emerged as the ‘One to watch’ — the one agency rival execs are keeping a close eye on.

Jozi’s agency leaders were also invited to nominate their most-admired agency based in the city, the most-admired creative director working in the city and the most-admired boss of a Joburg agency. We also asked them which Johannesburg agency did the best at digital integration and which local agency they saw as the one to watch in the future.

Nobody could nominate his or her own agency or staff. All the nominations were then tallied up to see whom adland’s highest decision-makers most admire*. You may view the 2012 results here.

Most-admired agency

Joe Public
Most admired: Joe Public.
Runner-up: Ireland-Davenport.

For the second year running, Joe Public  was voted the most-admired ad agency by its regional peers. In 2012, the agency successfully managed rapid growth — revenue jumped over 100% while its staff numbers climbed by 60%. In 2013, it won Tempest Car Hire, as well as Steers. It also opened an agency in Cape Town and another in Namibia. Revenue grew by 89% and staff by 42% in 2013.

Runner-up Ireland/Davenport is a boutique advertising agency and is part of the WPP group. In 2013, it won the massive Vodacom advertising account. Draftfcb had held that piece of business for 19 years.

Joe Public took 54.5% of the nominations, Ireland/Davenport attracted 27.3% of the vote and Black River FC attracted 18.2% of the vote.

Most-admired creative director

Pepe Marais
Most admired: Pepe Marais, founding partner & CCO, Joe Public.
Runner-up: Ahmed Tilly, ECD/CEO Black River FC.

Pepe Marais is chief creative officer at Joe Public, the agency also voted as the most admired by its peers in Johannesburg.

Marais produces consistently excellent campaigns that often speaks to a sense of shared humanity that allows the people behind the brands to connect with those behind the consumer label. His much-lauded campaign for Tracker repositioned what was a product into a service. Recent campaigns included well-received spots for Clover and an innovative brand activation for Douwe Egberts.

Ahmed Tilly, ECD/CEO Black River FC, is the man behind some of the best advertising in the country through Nando’s, including the “Last Dictator Standing” and our Ad of the Year for 2012, the Nando’s diversity advert. The agency, however, lost Nando’s as a client to MetropolitanRepublic late in 2013.

Marais took 66.5% of the vote and Tilly 33.5%.

Most-admired agency boss

Gareth Leck
Most admired: Gareth Leck, CEO, Joe Public.
Runner-up: Graham Warsop, founder & chairman, The Jupiter Drawing Room.

Ogilvy Cape Town did a clean sweep in Cape Town — Joe Public pulled a similar achievement in Johannesburg. After taking the title of most-admired agency in Johannesburg, Joe Public also won most-admired creative director with Pepe Marais and now CEO Gareth Leck has taken the “most-admired agency boss” title.

Runner-up Graham Warsop, the founder and chairman of The Jupiter Drawing Room, was inducted into the Loeries Hall of Fame in 2013. He also continues to grow the Jupiter brand into the rest of Africa — the group has already achieved significant success in Zimbabwe.

Most integrated

No award

No Johannesburg agency received significant support in this category.

One to watch

Quirk
One to watch: Quirk.

Among Johannesburg agency bosses, Quirk stood out as the agency to watch. The digital-centric agency last year appointed Fran Luckin ECD to broaden the creative scope of its work.

*Only agencies or agency staff who received more than a single nomination were included when we worked out voting percentages.

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Smart Africa TV: The Internet no longer only for urban elites

by Russell Southwood (@BalancingActAfr) In this interview we talk to Indra de Lanerolle, lead researcher on the South African Network Society Survey, a user survey of African internet use. De Lanerolle also teaches television and mobile media at Wits Journalism.

We discuss:

  • the findings of a survey he carried out with Research ICT Africa in 12 Sub-Saharan African countries:
  • the spectrum of Internet use across the different countries;
  • what Africans are using the Internet for;
  • who the new users of the Internet are;
  • what Africans are using; and the impact of language on internet use.

Smart MonkeyRussell Southwood is the founder of Balancing Act and the web TV channel Smart Monkey TV, and has been an analyst in telecoms, internet and broadcast in Africa for the last 14 years. Smart Monkey TV aims to capture the energy at the crossroads between African culture and technology. MarkLives is syndicating content from Smart Monkey TV on a weekly basis for the column “Smart Africa TV”.

Cell C statement: Cell C appoints Draftfcb Group to partner its brand

Read our story on the account move here.

cellcMedia statement: Cell C

Cell C is pleased to announce it has appointed the Draftfcb Group, through one of its subsidiaries, as the agency to partner the company on the next leg of its brand journey.

“We were looking to find a creative and strategic partner that could deliver cutting edge communication that can give our brand a leading edge in a busy category. I believe we have found that in Draftfcb,” says Cell C Acting CEO, Jose Dos Santos.

The Draftfcb Group will be responsible for Cell C’s integrated marketing communication account, which includes brand, product, retail, digital, PR and media. The agency will commence its service to Cell C immediately, focusing on future campaigns, while Cell C’s outgoing agency, Ogilvy, will continue to service the existing campaigns over a three-month handover period.

“We are delighted with the win and are looking forward to offering Cell C truly integrated marketing solutions,” said Derek Coles speaking on behalf of the Draftfcb Group.

Cell C would like to thank Ogilvy for the work it has done for Cell C and wish the agency well in its future endeavors.

 

#MagLoveTop10: Best food covers of 2013

by MediaSlut (@MediaSlut) Just like food, covers for foodie magazines may be off-beat, arty and/or just plain smart. This week, we’re looking at the #MagLoveTop10 Best Food Covers of 2013, both local and international.

This is the fifth part of our #MagLoveTop10 magazine cover series, which includes:

Want to view all the covers at a glance? See our MagLove Pinboard!

10. Taste Magazine Australia, September 2013

Taste Australia, September 2013

Not just a cover with a cupcake with a twist (with popcorn!) and “good enough to lick” but also a great cover with a strong social media campaign behind it!

Readers were invited to take pictures of their own cover-cupcake-creations (attempt, rather…), create a mini-magazine-cover on the website, and then tweet #tastemagcover.

9. Bon Appétit, December 2013

Bon Appetit, December 2013

It’s a very arty-food cover, with different lines and shapes printed not only on the plate but also the cookies.

A ‘desserving’ Top 10 cover, as the plate draws your eye to the ‘holiday cookies’, and the cover is also clean without cover lines cluttering it all.

8. House and Leisure, The Food Issue, 2013

House and Leisure Food, 2013

Last year, House and Leisure’s Food Issue of 2012 reached the no. 2 position on our Top 10 Food Covers list!

This year, it’s come in at a respectable no. 8 with yet another strong cover, with colours and textures and prints just jumping out at you!

7. Lucky Peach, Spring 2013

Lucky Peach, Spring 2013

How do you marry a food magazine with a travel issue? By playing with food, of course!

I just adore this fun, quirky, different and playful cover ! Especially the little man rowing… hopefully not into cereal trouble!

6. The New York Times Magazine, November 2013

The New York Times Magazine, 3 November 2013

A very strong conceptual cover to illustrate its main cover story, “Broccoli’s Image Makeover”. Enough said!

5. VARA GIDS, 13 July 2013

 VARA GIDS, 13 July 2013

And a clever and fresh cover by using actual fruit to create the British Flag (in celebration of The Great British Bake Off…). Even its logo and cover lines were created using cake-decorating tools.

It’s not a new concept at all, but I think it iced this cover! 

4. Woolworths TASTE, March 2013

Woolworths TASTE, 2 March 2013

This is definitely one of my favourite cake-covers of 2013: it’s so simple (looks so easy to make!), on such a plain background (pure white…) and looks very classy with the strong typography and layout.

Nothing better than a chocolate cake, I say!

3. Food & Home Entertaining, June 2013

Food & Home, 6 June 2013

This Food and Home cover also made it to no. 9 in my #MagLoveTop10 South African Covers of 2013, so it’s only right that it takes no. 3 on this list!

It’s one of my favourites for a number of reasons: it’s of international standard, it’s a massive leap from its previous covers, it’s quirky (spot the little piglets on the pie), and it’s drool-worthy.

2. Texas Monthly, June 2013  

Texas Monthly, June 2013

This cover really has a lot of meat on its bones, not only literally but also when you look at all the different elements and details. These include the logo and cover lines written in BBQ sauce — the detail of “Texas” being wiped out to make way for “In the World” — and everything happening on tray paper, on a tray, on a table.

It’s this level of detail that makes it a winning cover, and definitely worthy of the no. 2 spot!

1. Cuisine, July 2013

Cuisine, July 2013

And at no. 1 is Cuisine for its brilliantly executed conceptual July 2013 cover, where it displayed the main cover image and articles from the issue all in a book form (well, you know what I mean…).

It works extremely well, especially with “Cuisine” looking like its ornaments on top of the book shelf!

A very smart idea, executed excellently — my no. 1 Food Cover for 2013!

Find a cover we should know about? Tweet us at @Marklives and @MediaSlut.
Want to view all the covers at a glance? See our MagLove Pinboard!

MediaSlutMagLove by @MediaSlut is a regular slot featuring the best local and international magazine covers every week, recognising well thought-out, powerful and interesting (and hopefully all three-in-one) covers and celebrating the mix of pragmatism, creativity and personal taste that created each of them. The (for now anonymous) blogger behind MediaSlut knows way too much for his own good about media in South Africa, magazines in particular. His mission is to show when SA magazines fail but, most importantly, also when they succeed. If you’re looking for a library about SA magazines and news, this is your one-stop pitstop.

— MarkLives’ round-up of top ad and media industry news and opinion in your mailbox every three work days. Sign up here!

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