Will Augmented Reality Rejuvenate the Glossy?

It's my belief that there'll always be room in the market for a high-quality, well-designed print publication. Some reasons why:

• Reading habits are different online vs. offline. Online we skim and multi-task; offline we absorb longer paragraphs and deeper reporting (think investigative news stories). This could change with the technological progression of tablets, but there's still a long way to go in that arena.
• Online isn't the best place to appreciate an aesthetically-pleasing high-res graphic spread. Our experience of ads and art changes from medium to medium; pick up a copy of Monocle or Vogue, then ask yourself whether the images pop the same over the 'net. (Maybe this will change when everybody has a monitor at home that's the size of a plasma-screen TV. But that's not happening tomorrow either.)

Humor me ››

Benetton Tries Mending China and Tibet

30 shots of quake victims interspersed with 30 Tibetan prayers, all in the current issue of Colors magazine.
People can say what they want about Benetton, but I love how it puts its neck on the line to poke at sociopolitical sores we think are none of its business. What better way to leverage the power brands have on those that define themselves by what they buy?
If it also happens to be a great marketing strategy, I'm not complaining.