Project type: Mock Rebrand + Relaunch campaign
Client: Jet magazine
Services: Copy, Design, Art Direction
Goals:
- Develop a teaser ad campaign that builds excitement for the return of Jet
magazine. Design full-page, social, and banner ads for print and web placement
- Devise messaging that connects authentically with young (ages 18-32) black readers, engages with and acknowledges their broad range of interests, media
savvy, cultural diversity, and intellectual curiosity.
- Pitch Jet as both a destination for new movements in arts and entertainment and a hub for vibrant social discourse.
Solution:
- Context
As evidenced by the resurgence of youth-centric political action, it’s clear young readers are craving thoughtful content and a sense of purpose. In that sense, it’s important that the new Jet tap into the magazine’s immense political and historical legacy. Few publications can boast the kind of social impact Jet has had over the years. This is the magazine that published arguably the single most pivotal image of the Civil Rights movement: David Jackson’s searing 1955 photo of Emmett Till’s open casket.
- Messaging
To infuse that essence with new energy, I felt the best solution was the simplest, starting with the tag line. What is Jet? It’s all things black, period. “Black” boils the brand down to its bare essentials in a way that’s both powerful and wry. A play on the color jet black, it’s a coded one-word response to a complex question; it both answers and refuses to answer. Instead, it challenges the reader to explore further, to reconsider what ‘black’ means and who gets to define it.
- Visual Design
The visual design features salient images of black culture, faces from the past and present. It also pairs historic icons with kindred spirits from the current generation. Frank Ocean carries the torch for the late Marvin Gaye. Phylicia and Debbie swap sister stories with Solange and Beyonce. The campaign tag, ”then. now. always,” is a nod to progress and a challenge to conventional wisdom about millennial marketing. Rather than accentuate the generational divide by saying, ‘This is not your parents’ magazine,’ the new Jet seeks to bridge the gap. The message is: “this is your parents’ Jet; and, just like those mint vintage jeans from your mom’s closet, it’s yours now too.” Same soul, new voice.
