MarkLives.com • Page 414 of 579 • Independent industry news for marketing, advertising & media execs

#MagLoveTop10: Best international magazine covers of 2013

by MediaSlut (@MediaSlut) Last week, we published our list of the 10 Best South African Covers of 2013, with the SA Rugby August 2013 cover — a collage of 40 000 pictures making up the face of the late Nelson Mandela — taking the no. 1 spot. This week, we’re looking at the 10 Best International Covers of 2013 that were featured in my weekly MagLove column this past year.

During the following weeks, you’ll also be able to see the following #MagLoveTop10s:

Friday, 20 December 2013: Worst covers of 2013 (local and international)
Friday, 10 January 2014: Most shocking covers of 2013
Friday, 17 January 2014: Best food covers of 2013
Friday, 24 January 2014: Sexiest covers of 2013

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

10. Idealog, Issue 46

This New Zealand title, Idealog, called this its “dirtiest cover yet” , and a worthy #MagLoveTop10 contender, I say…!

To illustrate “how to grow a brand”, it took this literally, and here’s the behind-the-scenes video to show how it was done:

Idealog issue 46 sneak peek from Idealog on Vimeo.

9. Time Out (London), 12 February 2013

For Valentine’s week, Time Out London felt a bit naughty when it had a look at “Sex in London”. Simple colours, simple graphics, and you can view and perceive it as you wish…

8. Field, for a collection of covers

Field launched earlier this year, and it’s a free publication filled with soccer-related news. What I really like is the creativity of the logo — the simple design but yet so relevant to soccer.

As you can clearly see, it has a strong identity on each of its covers, and the issues are also clearly marked by the numbers. The coverlines plotted like a game plan is just genius.

7. TIME, 11 March 2013

“Man. Superman. Gunman.” Chilling words. Super cover.

Oscar Pistorius has definitely dominated the news since February 2013, and he’s still featured or talked about regularly in South African media, but this TIME cover has to be one of the strongest that captures the story perfectly.

In our 10 Best South African Covers of 2013, the Business Day Sports Monthly (August 2013) cover with Oscar reached the no.4 position.

6. The New Yorker, 8 July 2013

Same-sex marriage was another topic that was not only debated and voted the past year but also protested (for and against).

To celebrate the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 13 states in USA (at that stage), The New Yorker celebrated this by showing a subtle, yet very effective, image of Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie. Nothing in your face. But everyone knows what it symbolises.

5. New York, 29 July 2013

We’ve seen quite a few very creative sex covers in 2013 (see no. 9 above). A sex issue is always a best seller but how do you ‘illustrate’ that it’s a sex issue without offending too many people, or being banned/censored on-shelf? You do what New York magazine did with its 29 July 2013 issue and use beautiful artwork (Medusa II, 2012, by artist Leah Yerpe)!

It not only looks like an orgy, but it’s also really beautiful to look at. You can view this, and other artwords in this range by Leah Yerpe, right here.

4. Esquire (Malaysia), May 2013

Since the first time I saw this cover, I knew it would be one of my absolutely favourites of 2013, and that it should be shown to the world to spark creativity among others.

When it comes to creative art direction, use of drawing, and clever cover lines that fit into every element on the cover, Esquire Malaysia is the best and should start an academy teaching others…

Great planning and ‘execution’.

3. The Village Voice, 13 February 2013

This cover really made me look, think and want to know more. And then look again. It’s the story of an actual Marine Sergeant (Roman Baca) whose life was changed when he went to Iraq and his story of how ballet brought him back.

The picture doesn’t say a thousand words — it screams it!

2. ShortList

This ShortList cover really struck a cord with me and with a lot of people when we featured it end of April.

For me, I’ve always associated the students who scratch on school desks with bullies and the kind of children whom my parents always warned me against… Just a personal observation.

But ShortList looked at men’s facination with guns (boys’ toys), and if there’s any link. You can read the complete article here.

One of those covers that leaves you cold, and is brilliantly done in every aspect.

1. Boston, May 2013

The Boston-Bombing was one of the main stories of 2013, maybe not in SA but definitely in the USA and in the sporting community. Boston magazine released this cover just a few days after the bombing, and it immediately became a world-wide hit, talking point and a symbol of hope (and love).

The background story to this cover is also what makes it so endearing, and just proves that the smallest idea sometimes has the biggest impact!

A very worthy first place on my #MagLoveTop10 list of Best International Covers of 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!

MagLove 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!

Shelf Life: Ka-ching! Cashing in on deals online

Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland)’s pick of new product, packaging and design launches this week:

international sporting brand Erke launches in South Africa;
Natural Spice spices up its packaging;
a new distributor for Essie in SA;
and another deals portal launches.

A sporting chance

One of China’s best-known international brands, Erke Sport, opened its first store in Africa at the Gardens Shopping Centre in Cape Town last night, Wednesday, 11 December 2013.

Erke managing director Jeffrey Li explained that the SA store opening marked Erke’s “first step” onto the African continent.

“South Africa is significantly remarkable for it announces Erke’s first step onto the African continent. Since 2008, with initial overseas stores opening in Lebanon, Erke has successfully expanded markets in Europe, South America and Asia. At this time of challenging market conditions, we’ll keep moving on to enhance the brand wherever the market is accessible.”

The Erke brand, based in China, was established in 2000 and is now spread across 40 territories with a distribution network in over 30 countries. It specialises in the manufacture, R&D, marketing and sales of apparel, shoes and accessories.

The star product is an ultra–light sports/leisure shoe in bright fashion colours, weighing only 120g.

The brand is also a sponsor of the Olympics and tennis tournaments and is China’s top tennis brand.

Erke means ‘To be number 1” and this is central to its branding campaign and the Olympic marketing strategy it launched in 2007.

Spice up your cupboard

Local brand Natural Herbs and Spices has undergone a packaging revamp and embarked upon a consumer-awareness campaign.

The new packaging, by Fab Design in Cape Town, will be on shelf by end-January.

Kiki Neill, group marketing manager for Natural Herbs and Spices, explains: “The basic idea behind it is that we wanted to pull the brand together… have a synergistic look and feel. We explored numerous concepts, from bringing in the artisanal look and feel to a more organic one, and then decided to go with a look which is clean, contemporary and lasting.

“The most important lesson we learnt was that what works in design doesn’t always translate to an effective on-shelf product.”

Natural Herbs and Spices provides a range of 100% natural, steam-pasteurised, preservative- and GMO-free range of herbs and spices; and also exports to Australia, Japan, US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and rest of Africa.

The range consists of 29 grinders, six salt seasonings, 12 sachet seasonings (including pestos and bread dippers), 27 herbs and blended spices, and ceramic grinder options. Consumers are able to track Natural’s offerings, from source to table.

It is available through all major retail outlets, including Pick ’n Pay, Spar and Dis-Chem.

L’Oréal to distribute Essie

The L’Oréal Group has acquired American professional nail brand Essie internationally, so L’Oréal South Africa will take over the distribution of Essie to all retail businesses: Edgars, Dischem, Clicks, Stuttafords and others from 1 April 2014.

Sparkle Cosmetics, the existing distributor of Essie in SA, will continue to service the professional element of the Essie business, such as the beauty salons, including the Sorbet Group, spas and nail bars.

L’Oréal SA and its new partnership with Sparkle aim to strengthen and grow the brand’s professional footprint in South Africa.

Festive deals

Another new discounts-and-deals portal for online shoppers in SA has launched with festive season deals. Hypertext Media launched deals.htxt this week– a SA collection of local and international discounted deals on a wide range of products — just in time for the festive season.

The deals site is being launched off the back of htxt.africa, Hypertext’s tech news site which began publishing daily news, features and reviews six months ago. deals.htxt will feature a minimum of 10 hot deals a day.

Says Hypertext founder Brett Haggard: “[D]uring the festive season in 2012, many large retailers experienced year-on-year growth of between 30-90%, with even bigger numbers expected for 2013 as more people are online. Google, for example, is predicting at least 25% growth in online sales for the whole year.”

So it makes perfect sense to cash in! Ka-ching!

Shelf Life by Louise Marsland is a weekly column on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.

Louise has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 18 years of her 25-year media career as a former editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing, as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. She currently edits the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper; and is the co-founder and publishing editor of South Africa’s industry trendwatching portal, TREND. at www.trendlives.info, in partnership with MarkLives.com.

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

South Africa’s top 10 trending videos on YouTube in 2013

South Africa’s top 10 trending videos on YouTube in 2013:

1. Shocking Pinetown truck crash footage — ENCA.com

2. Ylvis — The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) — TVNorge

3. Halls — Klein Kimmie — Halls SA

4. Jaguar Attacks Crocodile — National Geographic

5. How Animals Eat Their Food — MisterEpicMann

6. 7 year old girl steals iPhone — Jessica Ostrin

7. Dove Real Beauty Sketches — Dove United States

8. British Airways — Man vs Plane — British Airways

9. Exclusive video footage on the Westgate attack — CCTV Africa

10. Biker riding unsafely with small child — Rad Bonos

SA: top 10 trending music videos on YouTube in 2013

Miley Cyrus — Wrecking Ball
Miley Cyrus — We Can’t Stop
Katy Perry — Roar (Official)
PSY — GENTLEMAN M/V
Robin Thicke — Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell
Rihanna — Stay ft. Mikky Ekko
Ylvis — The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)
Rihanna — Pour It Up (Explicit)
DJ Ganyani ft FB — Xigubu (Official Music Video)
P!nk — Just Give Me A Reason ft. Nate Ruess

#AdoftheYear: South Africa’s 10 Best Ads of 2013 (Part 2)

by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) [2nd 5 of 10] And the winner is… Here is the second half of my entirely subjective countdown of the best of the Best Ads of 2013 — see here for the first half. It was a good year, so everyone’s a winner (as they say).

Want to view all the Ads of the Week at a glance? See our Ad of the Week Pinboard!

5. When Vampires Attack — Tabard

This print campaign, produced by Volcano with illustrator Gabby Correia, relied on a simple, but very strong, set of images to convey a message.

Featuring three famous vampire characters, the principally black-and-white pictures play with size and perspective, portraying mosquitoes as bloodthirsty vampires piloting tiny aeroplanes, looking down on their targets: people in bed, on a couch or at a campfire. The slogan reads: “Because you never know who’s up there.”

It’s artfully executed, with a spooky yet humorous appeal. The principally black-and-white aesthetic is dramatic and complements the theme, and allows for the colours of the pack to ‘pop’. Funny, effective and powerful.

4. A Secret Gardener — Coca-Cola

In a time when everything revolves around profit, corporate growth and return on investment (ROI), it’s good to see a campaign that goes beyond the obligatory corporate social responsibility gambit. And that’s exactly what Coca-Cola’s ‘Crazy for Good’ campaign seems to do.

The campaign is all about ‘passing it on’ — people who perform random acts of kindness for the good of society.

This global campaign, which was developed at Ogilvy Brazil, Sao Paulo, highlights these special, giving people, such as the young Capetonian woman, Lea du Plessis, who calls herself a ‘secret gardener’. She identifies places in the city in need of greening, and then under cover of night — along with some volunteers — she plants trees, shrubs and flowers.

“I plant trees because people need greenery around them,” she explains. “They can’t live in concrete blocks and towers — they need some nature, because we are, after all, part of nature.”

Another is Tom Hewitt, who has become something of a local legend in his hometown of Durban by teaching street-kids to surf. Some of them have gone on to become surfing instructors, lifeguards and surf-store assistants — Tom has had a real impact upon these lives, saving them from crime, prostitution or early death.

Coca-Cola helps by publicising these projects, and it does the brand a world of good by being associated with good people. Draftfcb is the local agency.

3. Yawn for a Cuppa 24/7 — Douwe Egberts

For many FMCG products, the best way to win customers is to let them experience the brand directly. To interact with it, taste it, touch it and, hopefully, to watch as people come away with an enjoyable, happy memory of the experience.

In Douwe Egberts’s recent activation, conceived and produced by Joe Public, the ‘zinger’ was the addition of technology that allowed users to interact with the brand in a fun way.

A coffee machine with Douwe Egberts branding was placed at OR Tambo International Airport. But there was no coin-slot. All the tired travellers had to do was what comes naturally after a long and exhausting flight: yawn.

Facial recognition software would then trigger the mechanism, and the free coffee would be dispensed. The cups were custom-branded with the Douwe Egberts logo and the slogan “Bye bye red eye.”

I think it was a very smart experiential marketing exercise, as it allowed the public to taste the product in a familiar environment and, in all likelihood, talk about the experience for some time afterwards.

Fun, funky, exciting, interactive: great ingredients for an uplifting brand activation.

2. For Doctor’s Ears only

This was a direct campaign that managed to cut through the clutter and engage directly with its target audience. And the target audience is perhaps one of the hardest, most stressed, hard-working and difficult people to reach — doctors.

Africa Health Placements recruits doctors internationally to work in underserviced communities in South Africa. The campaign took the form of packages that were delivered directly to doctors.

In the package was a plain wooden box containing a hessian ‘envelope’, inside of which was a card labelled “Place stethoscope here.” A pressure activated device triggered a low frequency MP3 that is only audible through a stethoscope. A short message appealed to the doctor to visit the website to find out about work “that gets your heart racing”.

The agency Boomtown won a silver Clio Healthcare award for the campaign. As readers know, the Clio Awards is one of the world’s most recognised awards competitions for advertising, design and communications in various sectors.

A perfect example of targeting a difficult-to-reach segment.

1. When a brand invests in the human spirit — Absa

And, finally, we come to no. 1 — my personal best ad of the year. This campaign featured some of the activities that the red bank supports but, instead of talking about the “greats” — the sporting heroes, the lauded artists — the ad examines the human spirit.

The idea is that by sponsoring sport and art, the company is not investing in only the winning team, or the ‘hero’ who scores the goals: it is investing in each individual.

Whether you’re a child, a teenager or an adult; whether you’re in the premier league or playing in a dusty rural field; whether you prefer dancing or acting; the human spirit is what we have in common.

The Absa ad, created by The Jupiter Drawing Room Johannesburg, is an inspiration for our times. It speaks to a magnificent quote by author, political activist, and lecturer Helen Keller, the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, who said: “No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.”

Even looking at it now, nine or so months after it first launched, I still find it inspiring.

So there it is, the Top 10 Best Ads of the Year, brought to you by some of the best agencies in the world. Although I have relationships with some of the agency owners in SA, I have tried not to let these cloud my judgement, and speak rather to what has made an impact on me and served best (in my humble opinion) to build brands.

Have a great festive season, and I’ll be back next year.

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.

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

Nelson Mandela: how news sites broke the story

As news of the death of Nelson Mandela spread across the globe MarkLives Editor-at-Large Simone Puterman took screen grabs of how news web sites broke the story.

International news sites:

South African news site:

SABC

The Citizen

The Herald

The Witness

Volksblad

BDLive

Cape Argus

Cape Times

City Press

Daily Maverick

ENCA

Eyewitness News

IOL

Isolezwe

Mail & Guardian

News24

Also see:

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. 1918 — 2013.
Ten powerful front page tributes to Tata Madiba #NelsonMandela
#RIPMadiba: Newspaper front pages — international
#RIPMadiba: Newspaper front pages — South Africa

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

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. 1918 — 2013.

“Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity.” — Mandela, 1994 (The Authorised Book of Quotations)

by Herman Manson (@marklives) There are few occasions when the media — cynical, analytical, often aloof and, for the sake of the sanity of journalists, often removed from the raw emotion of the moment — suspends all that which separates it from us. But it does happen. It’s supposed to be happening now, at this moment. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela has left.

As the news arrived, so did a deluge of stories, special broadcasts and dedicated microsites. But they rang false. I know those words, “He is dead,” had been written months ago, while he lay in hospital. The websites had been coded, the productions wrapped, ready to come alive, ironically, on the news of his death.

On the morning after his death, I had to turn away from the media onslaught. I did not want to read the beautiful words of literary geniuses or the Twitter tributes of celebrities. The endless looping of archived video and preprepared ‘tribute’ shows didn’t appeal.

I had been on leave in the Eastern Cape. I walked away and onto a deserted beach. The grey of the sky and the ocean set a sombre tone, and an honesty I missed in the initial flurry of media activity. Later I would see the front page of Die Burger headlined with the simple words “Hy is weg” (He is gone) — the first time any media production would touch an emotional nerve.

The point I’m making is that the media can’t afford to live in the same bubble our elected representatives seem to have wrapped themselves. While slick production has its pros, it can’t be bested by authenticity. I think the man we prepare to honour proved that better than most.

Mandela was a remarkable leader, a representative and living embodiment of our shared hopes; but the struggle for equality and the protection of basic human rights were fought by many fathers, mothers and children, and is far from ended.

In “Conversations with Myself,” a memoir based on a collection of Mandela’s journals and letters, he is quoted as writing, “One issue that deeply worried me in prison was the false image I unwittingly projected to the outside world; of being regarded as a saint. I never was one, even on the basis of the earthly definition of a saint as a sinner who keeps trying.”

His words serve as a reminder of the complexities of the man and how he viewed his own place in the world. We would do well to honour its wisdom as we pause to consider his life and legacy, and the state of our people and country.

Nelson Mandela. Free at last.

Hermaneutics is a column by MarkLives.com editor Herman Manson (@marklives). It indicates opinion as much as reporting.

Ten powerful front page tributes to Tata Madiba #NelsonMandela

Ten powerful newspaper front pages pay tribute to the life of Nelson Mandela.

Het Parool, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The New York Times,New York, USA

Die Burger, Cape Town, South Africa

(‘Hy is weg’ / ‘He is gone’)

Rapport, Johannesburg, South Africa

De Standaard, Brussels, Belgium

Diario Catarinense, Florianópolis, Brazil

Washington Post, Washington, USA

El Espectador, Bogota, Colombia

Montreal Gazette, Montreal, Canada

Duluth News Tribune,Duluth, USA

International news pages courtesy Newseum.

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

Caxton buys Habari Media

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Media group Caxton has acquired a 100% stake in online sales house Habari Media. Habari Media is a sales partner for Facebook in sub Saharan Africa. Its sales portfolio also includes BBC.com, LinkedIn, MTV and Vodacom. Financial details of the deal hasn’t yet been released.

The Habari Group was launched by Adrian Hewlett in 2004. In 2012, it was split into two separate companies, Habari Media housing the sales

Wayne Bischoff - Managing Director, Habari Media — Wayne Bischoff – Managing Director, Habari Media

house and ad agency Machine. Habari Media is active in online and mobile media sales as well as content marketing.

The operational management team of Habari Media will remain in place. They are Wayne Bischoff – Managing Director; Garth Rhoda – Sales Director; Byron John – Insights Director and Marius Greeff – Commercial Director. The company employs around 40 people.

Hewlett says as the digital advertising environment is getting more competitive, independent sales houses are becoming more vulnerable. The option was to either acquire media assets or sell to a media business. The deal will secure a long-term future for the company, says Hewlett. The deal also ends any perceived conflict of interest with the ad agency.

In a statement just released by Habari Group Hewlett says: ‘The company [Habari Media] can continue to grow and enhance their existing offering by combining all the elements that have made the business so successful over the last nine years with the additional firepower and media assets within the Caxton group. Habari Media, and its ambitious team, will benefit immeasurably from being within the Caxton stable, a company which is not only committed to, but has the means to, make a meaningful impact on the digital market in Africa’.

Machine is not affected by the Groups’ sale of Habari Media and will now be the sole focus of Hewlett’s attention. The fast growing BTL agency already employs 110 people.

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

Smart Africa TV: Eryca Freemantle on beauty brands in Nigeria

by Russell Southwood (@BalancingActAfr) In this interview, Eryca Freemantle (ErycaFreemantle.com) talks about:

how the international makeup brands are investing in Africa;
why women of colour spend more on beauty products than their white counterparts;
the kinds of beauty products the international brands have for women of colour;
local beauty brands in Nigeria; and
the massive interest from Nigeria in a competition for hairdressers and makeup artists.

Russell 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”.

#RIPMadiba: Newspaper front pages — international

Screengrab Twitter Search Mandela front pages

A selection of posts collating mainly international newspaper front pages from today, Friday, 6 December 2013, reporting the death of Tata Madiba, Nelson Mandela.

In no particular order. Sourced by Twitter Search.

Poynter.org: ‘The Lion Sleeps’: Nelson Mandela front pages
The Guardian: Nelson Mandela’s death: the newspaper front pages – in pictures
USA Today: Front pages mark Nelson Mandela’s death
Huffington Post: Some Of The Beautiful Front Pages Remembering Nelson Mandela
Blue Bus: Midia internacional – front pages sao tributo a Nelson Mandela, veja
Buzzfeed: Nelson Mandela’s Death, As Told By Newspaper Front Pages
World Crunch: Goodbye, Mandela – 59 Front Pages From Around The World
City Press: Pics – Mandela on the front pages: ‘President of the world’

#RIPNelsonMandela – this is how UK newspapers are marking Nelson Mandela’s death pic.twitter.com/kkjZ2PKg11
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) December 6, 2013

Mandela: British newspaper front pages @AFP pic.twitter.com/Kfg2fzLN6i — Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) December 6, 2013

Love the New Yorker cover of Mandela. They portrayed him as a young man. Not the media icon, safe, elderly, smiling pic.twitter.com/Lbm7Aaixnq — Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) December 5, 2013

Mandela: British newspaper front pages @AFP pic.twitter.com/Kfg2fzLN6i

— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) December 6, 2013

Tweets about “front pages mandela”