The once great style magazine The Face was closed down five years ago. Back then, men's magazines were doing alright. Things have moved on a lot. Bauer should move on as well. Wasn't it the company that recently closed Arena finally?The story, in today's Media Week, has it that key executives including chief executive Paul Keenan and Geoff Campbell, the managing director of its men's unit, have signed up former FHM editor Anthony Noguera to oversee the proposals.My guess is that they had a meeting and the word "iconic men's style magazine" was said like, I don't know, a lot.You can imagine the conversation can't you? Errr, no I can't, who would do something so stupid right after they closed down its former stablemate Arena? Do you know the secret reason behind why they closed Arena? I mean the really secret reason? No? Well that's because there isn't one. Nobody bought it. No secret.
The only reason that title was kept on life support for some long was supposed to be that it gave, Emap as it was and now Bauer, access to certain kinds of advertiser, but even that was not enough to keep it going. I don't think the target audience is there anymore.Whatever they do, they should not relaunch this magazine. Certainly not in paper. They are apparently considering relaunching it as a free magazine or a subscription-only title. Neither of these ideas make any sense.A subscription magazine? Why not do a book club. The same people who didn't buy Arena will rush out, yes rush, and not by the Face in equal large numbers.As for a free magazine. The Face was a style magazine. It was good on pop culture. If Bauer want a competitor to Shortlist then the Face is not the magazine for it. That free magazine needs to be broader and more entertainment and not style based. The people for whom the Face had resonance with are long in the tooth and not the 18-34 year old market that free advertisers are interested in. If that is true, then why relaunch a dead brand whose audience is more concerned with Pampers than pop culture?As for Noguera don't get me started. Is this the same Noguera who steered FHM happily along its course of girls, girls and oh, more girls. Under Noguera, FHM's circulation dropped by 13.5% year on year to 272,545. He apparently steered it away "from the lads' end of the market". But look at its website and you get no clue of this. Here are the top links featured on FHM.com when you google it: Kama Sutra, the all-time 100 Sexiest hall…, Keeley Hazell, Kayleigh Pearson and CoverGirls. When you visit the site what do you find -- five showcases dedicated to more of the same. Four showcases dedicated to naked girls and one to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (that looks awesome by the way, might have to go back and read the whole thing).The final option they are apparently considering is a digital option. Okay, maybe, and by that I mean at a push and if you really must, but if that is your only option then really you should do something else.
Here's a thought, Bauer just closed Arena surely that is a better candidate for a digital revival than the dead and buried Face? Like I said, just a thought.
The Face when it was around was often a joy to read. It defined the times. It looked great and often had good writing. Is any of that going to do wonders online? I don't think so.Follow me on Twitter
There's so much interest (both from those who lived through it and those younger) in the cultural time period over which The Face held court that I think the most viable return would be as a high-end (and mainly subscription-based) mag that's equipped to revisit (and often put into a new context) its vast back catalogue of content, plus comment on new cultural happenings in a considered, relevant, none-too-hysterical fashion. If Bauer could make that work in a way that appeals at a relatively niche level globally, perhaps The Face Mk 2 could be a goer.
Save yourself the time and money - buy/read the book instead.
Life in threads by Robert Elms.
Enjoy.
@Andrew - you seem to suggest it would be bought by former readers? My point still stands. They have grown up and moved on.
Robert Elms what ever happened to him? I remember reading a novel of his back in his Face days - In Search Of The Crack. Absolutely terrible.
I got sent some very interesting comments by Neil Dawson, partner at HMDG this morning. Worth posting here I think:
-Although launched in the 70s, the Face defined the youth and style culture of the 80s – consumerism, individuality and style
-From an era when an elite group of ‘opinion-formers’ not only wrote about but determined trends to the extent that one cover could send ripples thru’ youth culture ( see Robert Elms Hard Times cover of 1983 for details)
-Essentially a Thatcherite manifesto
-Struggled in the so-called caring, sharing 90s as rave culture kicked back against conspicuous consumption with its ‘anything goes and anyone welcome’ attitude
-Further undermined by the advent of the Internet as youth culture fragmented in to a myriad of subcultures and its democratising effect on access to previously elite information
- Relaunch won’t work....who needs a style bible when you can write your own
The internet, and the general swing towards exploring/finding your own way over being told what's best from those on high, certainly means The Face would struggle to be in a position to act as a taste-maker if it returned. I think the value would be in The Face's awesome back catalogue of content, coupled with putting that back catalogue in a new context. Granted, it would hardly be mass market (and doesn't sound very Bauer) but I could see there being interest in a quarterly thematic book/mag among Observer Music Monthly and Uncut readers through to Monocle and Wallpaper readers.
Gordon Macmillan
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