Apologies from the Evening the Standard

Right-wing ‘city rag’ and doom-harbingers, the Evening Standard have decided that in these days of free papery and digital finger-poking, it would be prudent to shake its down-beat winter coat off and come at us from a different angle with a short series of apologetic advertising posters.

London-based ad’ agency McCann Erickson produced the curiously enigmatic and well-thought out campaign. The campaign was commissioned by the new Evening Standard editor, Geordie Greig after ex-KGB magnate, Alexander Lebedev bought the paper earlier this year. Not that I’m complaining or anything (you see I don’t fancy a poison-tipped fag put out on my forehead), but where do all these ex-KGB chaps get their money? Other equivalent secret services don’t run around buying newspapers or footie teams? Hmmm.

Anyroad, this campaign, with its strong and resolute serif typography has been catching my eye around London over the last week. But the one thing that I’ve had trouble noticing is who it was actually for. The adverts are completely devoid of any anchorage apart from the tiny little ‘Eros’ logo that the Evening Standard uses. Therefore, the advert feels as if it is directly apolosgising to its already established readership. A slick tactic for an ailing paper – perhaps specially timed with the growing disdain for Labour’s antics in Westminster.

I’m no Evening Standard reader, but I think in this world of irresponsible faceless communication and unanswerable news dirge, the campaign works because it not only gives the paper a new feeling of responsibility and personality, but it also directly addresses the fundamental problems that readers have with the news at present.

Still, I won’t be buying it. Not even if you do get a free bottle of water.