The Winter 2012 issue of Food & Drink, which I picked up at the LCBO, along with a nice bottle of Grey Goose vodka, has an absolutely mouth-watering cover.
Liberated of the need to compete on cluttered newsstands for a “sale”, the Ontario government-owned publication can eschew coverlines, and just make me salivate by tempting me with gorgeous photography so mouth-watering, and receipes so beautifully presented, that I almost reflexively grab a copy the minute it appears.
The quality of the magazine, from the trim size, to perfect binding, to the cover stock and interior stock, to the art direction by Karen Lim, to the writers like James Chatto and Lucy Waverman, are all first rate, and even put to shame venerable brands from the United States.
Compare and contrast to another state-run magazine, October Magazine, published by the recently liberated government of Eygpt. Last summer, they ran a cover story on Anne Patterson, the Obama administration’s new envoy to Eygpt, headlined, “The Ambassador from Hell Who Ignites Tahrir Square.”
Apparently, the magazine’s editor was upset that the Obama administration had spent $40 million, since Egypt’s pro-democracy revolution toppled the corrupt Mubarak regime, on civil society organizations that promote democracy and human rights.
Well then.
Looks like Eygpt has a long road to travel before we can expect to see magazine covers that promise a delicious recipe for a Mojito cocktail rather than a Molotov cocktail. But hey, at least they use cover lines.
