This type doesn't turn anyone on yet
Ringier is focusing on Swiss content for its men's magazine *Type* in French-speaking Switzerland, thereby risking boredom
Ringier Romandie relies on Swiss content for the men's magazine Type and risks boredomBy Sabine Lüthi With Type, Ringier Romandie is entering the world of men's magazines. The magazine offers a lot of calculation, even more clichés and yet 30 pages of advertising. The luck of the brave or the beginner? The answer will be provided by the domestic competition in March.
Three flips, four pages of Tyler Brûlé. One empty swallow. If the interview with the trend guru at the start of the first issue of the French-speaking Swiss men's magazine Type doesn't even appeal to women, what about the supposed stronger sex? Is the battle for male attention at the newsstand not yet tough enough? Then why not a 50-page special on James Bond: the US magazine GQ is leading the way.
For Type, on the other hand, a Swiss aspect must be visible in every story and every picture. This drastically restricts the choice of topics and makes the glossy product (initial print run is 80,000 copies) not exactly exciting, let alone surprising. All the same, subscribers to the Ringier magazines Edelweiss and L'Hebdo receive the magazine free of charge.
Nevertheless, Ringier deserves credit for launching a men's magazine despite the poor economic data. As the little brother of the women's magazine Edelweiss, it shares a noble appearance with its older sister as well as its origins.
The cover with Ken and Barbie in the chairlift is somewhat reminiscent of PR-heavy inflight titles or the latest PKZ fashion catalog, fur department. With just under 100 pages, Type is too thin (also in terms of content) to be considered a substantial magazine and too transparent to appear mysterious.
A lifestyle-oriented general store without a USP
Do emancipated Swiss men today really still want to read that 80 percent of them don't know what a clitoris is (a conversation between three women about the first time with every new man)? Or do they really have to be told by fashion journalist Brûlé that they dress "assez choquante"?
But Type has actually dedicated himself to the beautiful, traditional and capital-intensive side of being a man. That would be: fast cars, expensive watches, high-snobiety in the Swiss mountains and seven wellness resorts in French-speaking Switzerland - all presented in a chic, no-frills snack style. Articles worthy of the name, on the other hand, are rarely indulged in.
Regardless of this narrow focus, editor-in-chief Renata Libal raises all kinds of expectations in the editorial. Type is a companion, a friend and a confidant, thanks to whom life becomes more amusing, more interesting and simply more beautiful. None of this is included in the six francs you pay at the newsstand, at least in the first issue. On closer inspection, the suspicion grows that not only Libal, who also chairs the Edelweiss editorial team, but also the other contributors only produce type when they have done their homework. This is indicated not only by the unkind style, but also by the fact that the editorial team is made up of journalists from various Ringier titles "who enjoy the Swiss lifestyle" (media release).
There is also no recognizable image philosophy of its own. No wonder, as the photos, which are far too small, are clearly subordinate to the advertising. And the models look into the camera as if they have been waiting ten minutes for the releasing click of the shutter. Even the Howell shoes are photographed in such a way that you can only guess at their style, and the "dossier" on the new après-ski fun bores you for five pages with undercooled drawings instead of entertaining you with atmospheric snapshots.
The competition is already dragging its feet
If, despite these obvious teething troubles, Ringier's newcomer is nevertheless successful, Switzerland's largest publishing house will probably be tempted to bring Type to readers on this side of the language border four times a year. Initially, however, two further French-language editions are planned for 2003.
Meanwhile, the competition has not been asleep: "Bo - Bolero for men" will be published for the first time on March 7, 2003. And Eric Valette, head of Audace Publishing (including Profil Femme), is already working on a successor to Untell, the men's magazine that was discontinued in February. This promises even more and hopefully deeper insights into the world of men and answers to the difficult question: do men really want to be entertained like this or perhaps in a completely different way?
Three flips, four pages of Tyler Brûlé. One empty swallow. If the interview with the trend guru at the start of the first issue of the French-speaking Swiss men's magazine Type doesn't even appeal to women, what about the supposed stronger sex? Is the battle for male attention at the newsstand not yet tough enough? Then why not a 50-page special on James Bond: the US magazine GQ is leading the way.
For Type, on the other hand, a Swiss aspect must be visible in every story and every picture. This drastically restricts the choice of topics and makes the glossy product (initial print run is 80,000 copies) not exactly exciting, let alone surprising. All the same, subscribers to the Ringier magazines Edelweiss and L'Hebdo receive the magazine free of charge.
Nevertheless, Ringier deserves credit for launching a men's magazine despite the poor economic data. As the little brother of the women's magazine Edelweiss, it shares a noble appearance with its older sister as well as its origins.
The cover with Ken and Barbie in the chairlift is somewhat reminiscent of PR-heavy inflight titles or the latest PKZ fashion catalog, fur department. With just under 100 pages, Type is too thin (also in terms of content) to be considered a substantial magazine and too transparent to appear mysterious.
A lifestyle-oriented general store without a USP
Do emancipated Swiss men today really still want to read that 80 percent of them don't know what a clitoris is (a conversation between three women about the first time with every new man)? Or do they really have to be told by fashion journalist Brûlé that they dress "assez choquante"?
But Type has actually dedicated himself to the beautiful, traditional and capital-intensive side of being a man. That would be: fast cars, expensive watches, high-snobiety in the Swiss mountains and seven wellness resorts in French-speaking Switzerland - all presented in a chic, no-frills snack style. Articles worthy of the name, on the other hand, are rarely indulged in.
Regardless of this narrow focus, editor-in-chief Renata Libal raises all kinds of expectations in the editorial. Type is a companion, a friend and a confidant, thanks to whom life becomes more amusing, more interesting and simply more beautiful. None of this is included in the six francs you pay at the newsstand, at least in the first issue. On closer inspection, the suspicion grows that not only Libal, who also chairs the Edelweiss editorial team, but also the other contributors only produce type when they have done their homework. This is indicated not only by the unkind style, but also by the fact that the editorial team is made up of journalists from various Ringier titles "who enjoy the Swiss lifestyle" (media release).
There is also no recognizable image philosophy of its own. No wonder, as the photos, which are far too small, are clearly subordinate to the advertising. And the models look into the camera as if they have been waiting ten minutes for the releasing click of the shutter. Even the Howell shoes are photographed in such a way that you can only guess at their style, and the "dossier" on the new après-ski fun bores you for five pages with undercooled drawings instead of entertaining you with atmospheric snapshots.
The competition is already dragging its feet
If, despite these obvious teething troubles, Ringier's newcomer is nevertheless successful, Switzerland's largest publishing house will probably be tempted to bring Type to readers on this side of the language border four times a year. Initially, however, two further French-language editions are planned for 2003.
Meanwhile, the competition has not been asleep: "Bo - Bolero for men" will be published for the first time on March 7, 2003. And Eric Valette, head of Audace Publishing (including Profil Femme), is already working on a successor to Untell, the men's magazine that was discontinued in February. This promises even more and hopefully deeper insights into the world of men and answers to the difficult question: do men really want to be entertained like this or perhaps in a completely different way?
