magazine.org Spoof Ad Explained [Press Releases and Press Coverage]

Yesterday we emailed our media contacts and subscribers a spoof email advertisement aimed at magazine.org (view the ad). It got quite a response (although not from the MPA). We've had many emails asking questions like: who are you? where are you? would you like to have dinner? and what's your point?

So we thought we'd better explain,

Basically we're a magazine that's online. We believe that, like any magazine in any medium, we survive because of our content. The MPA are trying to tell us that print magazines have some timeless quality that will survive no matter what. A Condi Nast exec recently told our Publisher David McIntyre that he loved the smell of ink on paper. Perhaps the MPA have become addicted to said smell because they seem to be acting like they're under the influence of something.

Our point is that a magazine is a magazine, whether it is in print or online. We're unsure why the MPA seeks to define a format (the magazine) by its medium (print or online) rather than by its content. This seems particularly odd when many MPA members have online editions of their magazines as well as print editions of their magazines (hey MPA member do you know where your subs are being spent?).

What is really fascinating is that the online versions of the MPA ad campaign are more compelling than the print versions. They've managed to create a self defeating ad. We thought it was worthy of a ZOOZOOM Spoof Award.

So what's ZOOZOOM and why are we getting all high and mighty? We're a fashion magazine, high-end, the original online glossy and we take our work seriously. We set out to create an online magazine that is as good as the print magazines we like so much (apart from the smell). We were inspired by the great photographic content in magazines like Vogue, Pop, W and V. We think a good picture is a good picture, in print, online or on a wall. Of course how you display the picture is important so we made ours big: think full bleed or rather full screen. The bigger your screen the bigger the picture. We've taken the quality approach, no banners, no pop-ups. So far we've been nominated for Webby Awards together with British Vogue and Alexander McQueen; we have been named as one of TIME's 50 Coolest Websites of 2005; and we're attracting advertisers online who wouldn't be seen dead in a banner.

The magazine.org Spoof Ad was created by McEye Media Inc.

For more information contact David McIntyre at 212 631 0383.

View our Spoof Advertisement
View the magazine.org Campaign