It's all right Jack

Brand Republic 23-Apr-02, 16:30

The cover says it all. A bikini-clad woman reaches down to pick up a downed airman while an elephant charges in the background. It's no photo, more a pastiche of 50s B-movie 'Attack of the 50-Foot Woman'. It's witty, funny and very, very Jack, writes Michael Byrne.

When James Brown launched Loaded in 1994, he blew apart the men's magazine sector. Before then, there was soft porn or grooming magazines and, er, that's it -- not much of a choice. Loaded quickly went on to spawn a monster. It became a wizened parody of itself and gave rise to such copycats such as Maxim and the revitalised FHM, magazines that had neither the wit, intelligence, self-deprecation nor guts the original Loaded had.

I hasten to emphasize the word "original" as Loaded lost it after Brown walked away. Out went the post-ironic male cover stars and in came B-list TV celebrities in bikinis. Away walked the readers.

Now, as head of an independent publishing group, I Feel Good, that counts Viz, Bizarre and Fortean Times on its roster, Brown is back in the lads mags arena with Jack. Named after Jack Nicholson, one of Brown's all-time heroes, Jack is very much like the original Loaded in its journalistic approach. Whereas other magazines slavishly follow the PR junkets and serve you up your recommended monthly dose of what ever Hollywood star is in vogue, Jack just gives what it thinks is interesting.

The lads have grown up and are looking for something more and that is reflected in the articles, which range from Jon Ronson on how he could have shopped an anthrax terrorist to the FBI to a dissection of award-winning sitcom 'The Office'; an interview with Robert de Niro to Uri Geller's top 10 namedrops; the best mountains in the world to the crazy world of a WWII prisoner-of-war camp in Ireland where Allied and German inmates were allowed out to the pub every night; and the Fonz as a drug dealer to a pictorial feature on lions attacking elephants. Varied and interesting is the catchword.

It's part old Loaded, part National Geographic; part fanzine and part style mag -- it is, to paraphrase its title, a jack of all trades. Aimed at the 25- to 35-year-old market, Jack is a grown-up Loaded -- less hedonism, more heading to Ikea. And about time too. Late-20s and early-30s males are hardly catered for on the newsagents' shelves. Yes, there are lads mags, but they're only of interest to teenagers who have neither the bravery nor height to reach for the top shelf.

Jack does not follow the tired and dull semi-naked model route. Yes, there is a modicum of nudity but it's scarcely noticeable. And Jack's attitude towards women is world's away from Loaded and others. It's not "birds" in Jack, it's girlfriend/wife -- a simple difference, but one that sets a different, more mature tone throughout.

Jack is not a magazine for "men who should know better", it's a magazine for men who do know better. It should be interesting watching the reaction from IPC, Emap and Dennis. With its mix of knowing cool, sparkling writing and intelligent editing, it looks like Brown has a winner on his hands with Jack.

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