A truly self-congratulatory press release from ITP to announce the launch of Harper's BAZAAR.
Editor Rachel Sharp (formerly at the helm of the twin fabulousity of Ahlan and Grazia) says: "Everybody in the fashion industry that I speak to in Milan, Paris and New York is desperate to be involved in the excitement of Dubai. It is a huge market for them and they are delighted that a magazine with the authority of Harper's BAZAAR is launching in the city."
Sadly, in a city full of superlatives, George J. Green, president of Hearst Magazines International, who have licensed the title, was neither desperate nor delighted, but merely "pleased" to be working with ITP.
Thank goodness for Walid Akawi, one of ITP's titans, who finished off the press statement with a worthy flourish. Just take a moment to absorb the glorious poetry of his quotes, as well as the EXTRA EMPHASIS provided by superfluous upper case.
"They were dazzled by the energy and enlightenment of Dubai's people, and were convinced that the city's women would fall in love with the style and authority of Harper's BAZAAR. When we showed them that cities all over the Gulf, including Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha and Oman were developing with the same passion, they knew that they had to bring a Middle East edition of BAZAAR to this market."
If a PR company had sent out a press release this gushing, it would have been deleted or slated by the media, most notably former ITP title Campaign. And then there's the notion of the "enlightenment" of Dubai's people - a questionable claim at the best of times.
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16 comments:
I'm curious to see some jabs taking at ITP from the Campaign team, now that they are with Motivate.
I wonder..
But does that mean DeMotivate publications are now shielded from criticism?
anonymous said...
***** is a jerk. Very, very slimy guy.
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Comment edited (apparently the person mentioned is litigious).
Blunt speaking from Rachel Dull. How exciting. What a worthless exercise, what a waste of a life.
Horror indeed.
I'm not sure who they're fooling .. themselves or .. themselves ..
enlightened and passionate Dubai?
please .. the passion here couldn't be more dry and stale and less stimulating ..
they should just shove it and move on .. try to actually form personas on their own ..
Harper's Bazaar .. will indeed be the next sad thing to hit Dubai ..
Surely the real question is how on earth a city of just over 1 million people can support yet another women's fashion/lifestyle/pictures of anorexic celebrities in designer shoes magazine? Does anybody actually read any of them, or are advertisers just being mislead?
No - no-one reads them, but they are published on such a shoestring that they still tend to be profitable.
Many of the magazines are simply exercises in vanity publishing though.
whichever way you look at it, the costs of Harper's Bazaar will be much more than VIVA - through bigger pagination, production costs etc. That means it will have to secure significantly higher revenue than VIVA, which my sources tell me is losing a fair amount.
That's a really horrible thing to say. It's sadly all pretty true though.
Harpers Bazaar Dubai - what a complete insult to the Harpers Bazaar Brand! Bazaar UK and US are true fashion bibles and highly respected within the fashion industry and indeed the publishing industry. How could Hearst International trust their amazingly brilliant title to a bunch of cowboys in Dubai? Conde Nast were certainly smart to never release their top title to Dubai!
My Advise for all expats living in the UAE head to your nearest BORDERS Book store and pick up Harpers Bazaar UK or US - for top quality fashion news - certainly more bang for your buck!
What's it like at Harper's Bazaar now?
Yeah, I'm interested in knowing too! What's it like now? Should I apply for an internship there because I'm really trying to get my foot in the door of the fashion industry, and this may just be the most reputable fashion magazine here, despite its many flaws.
Yay or nay for applying to the magazine? Let's take a vote!
I'd just like to say that I'm not sure what all these comments have to do with the mag itself, Harper's Bazaar Dubai is just about the best magazine on the shelves in the UAE at the moment.
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