MAXUS Mouth » Press

In Defence of News of The World

James Campbell — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:21:12 +0000

Ok, so first up, let’s me just say that of course what they did was bang out of order. Disgusting, grim, puke in the snow, just plain nasty. But was it shocking? From the paper that wheeled out the Fake Sheik? Well, it didn’t shock me. Or at least it didn’t surprise me.

It’s interesting that Twitter has brought down a media empire, but further to Martin’s blog below, I’m not sure if it’s all good. The NOTW was a poisoned brand and needed to close. Fine, and no doubt a replacement will ghost up from its ashes, built on new firm and unflinching journalistic principles. But here’s the thing:

I think we all knew that Bad Things went on at the NOTW and other papers too. We didn’t want this wafted up our noses but every morning we smelt it- and we quietly ignored it because we wanted the stories to keep coming. Partly because we are nosey, but partly because, in a world where politicians, the police, councils, companies and almost everyone in fact, is trying to cloak or spin the truth, it’s a relief to read the words of organisations who make money out of telling the you (largely) the truth.

It’s cracking that the press profits from getting its hands mucky on our behalf, and on countless occasions they have revealed things that the police and other public bodies have not been willing or able to do. They have done this by posing, hacking, lurking, lying and with a kickass dressing up box full of fake tan and adhesive goatees.

Fair enough, the NOTW got lost in its dressing up box and came out looking like Darth Vader. As the whole saga is tucked up to bed, I pray that, in this age of injunctions and twitchy twitterati, editors will have the balls to use their humanity as a lens through which to bend the rules. For instance hats off to Sunday Herald editor Richard Walker for putting Ryan Giggs on its front cover – thereby putting the poor sod out of his misery.

Independent launches i

Tara Calder — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:19:51 +0000

So, the nations beloved liberal-loving paper The Independent is set to launch a new daily title next week with a focus on “time-poor readers who want a quality read.”
i goes on sale nantionwide from Monday 26th of October, with a cover price of 20p – cheap as chips.

Andrew Mullins, managing Director of The Independent, says:
“Quality newspapers provide a highly valuable audience for advertisers, but recently print circulations have been in decline
and the average age of the audience has been increasing” “We are creating a newspaper for the 21st century that is designed
for people who have a thirst for information and entertainment in the limited time they have available. i is a reader-led newspaper
with a broad reach and intelligence,” he adds.

It has been reported that the title, described as a “concise, quality daily paper” will be targeted at readers in their 20’s and
will include new content, seperate from the main title.

Now – I personally don’t feel huge amounts of excitment about this new daily, i’m more of a ‘good book’ reader, but will it work? Will you be buying it?

When you look at Insights such as:1 in 5 YouGov respondents are prepared to forgo paying for newspapers altogether, agreeing with
the statement ‘why pay when I can get one for free.’Is it really possible to revive or create a successful brand to compete and come out the other side victorious?
Looking from a different perspective: Nearly half (44%) of UK consumers prefer paying for a newspaper because ‘the free ones haven’t got as much real content.’ argues a different consumer logic which is in line with the Independents ambitions to ‘compliment and improve’ the need for quality press.

So lovely London Commuters, will you be i-ing it up next week or passing up a new 20p daily bargain?

Answers on a postcard……

Times for a change? A makeover for The Times websites- but will you be handing over your £2 each week?

Nina Christensen - Maxus, Senior Planner — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:36:20 +0000

This week saw the launch of the new-look Times and Sunday Times websites. This marks the first time that the newspaper brands have had separate sites.
They will be accessible for registered users for an introductory four-week period before the paywall comes into effect. Access to the digital service will be included in the seven-day subscriptions of print customers, however, in a month’s time will cost non-subscribers £1 a day or £2 per week.
Search engines will not be able to display articles as the sites will only display their respective homepages to search engines.
News International has not disclosed specific subscriber targets, though it is undoubtedly prepared for a major drop in user numbers of its websites.

Those that choose to enjoy the new-improved sites can make their payment by direct debit and the £2-a-week charge will auto-renew, which is not the case for the daily charge.

I think they’ve done a great job and that the sign looks great- but is it great enough for £104 a year?

Video Killed the Magazine Star

Chris Place - Maxus, Account Director — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:43:58 +0000

Entertainment Weekly in the US is doing something a little snazzy with it’s latest issue by having a video ad in it!

Is this the begining of magazines shifting to a more dynamic creative media solution I wonder?

The ad take the form of an insert so opportunities are limited, plus the production must be eye wateringly expensive but in response to the right strategy for the right client it could be just the ticket.

I wonder which UK publication will be the first to give this a whirl?