An interesting coverwrap on Sport magazine today. It takes the form of the outside of a cigar and shows readers where to roll up the magazine to make it resemble a large cigar, with a “label” bearing the name of the sponsor, Intercasino.
Now, I’m not suggesting that Intercasino or Sport are trying to advertise tobacco (which is banned) but it seems like an odd choice to associate your brand with anything connected to smoking publicly. After all, sport and smoking – do they really go together?
Not sure that this really fits the type of intelligent, upscale male image that Sport tries to cultivate; this is a bit ‘old school gambling’ rather than forward thinking. The “roll up” technique suggested on the cover is a nice interactive touch for a coverwrap though…..shame about the subject matter.
It isn’t the first time that Intercasino has flirted with controversial advertising – its ads featuring a cigar-smoking dwarf were banned in 2008 by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Will this approach have the same effect? You can see a scan of the cover below or if you want a better look, check out the digital magazine version of Sport here.
