Q has beaten some of the year’s very best covers, including a naked Beth Ditto fronting Love and US president Barack Obama looking out from Time magazine, to clinch the top spot.
The category winners were:
Overall Winner – Q (April 2009)
Business & General Interest Winner – Geographical (January 2009)
Celebrity & Entertainment Winner – Q (April 2009)
Fashion Winner – Love (February 2009)
Lifestyle Winner – Clash (April 2009)
Specialist & Hobbies Winner – BBC History (November 2008)
Sports & Men’s Winner – Huck (June 2009)
A spokesman for the publisher said: “Lily Allen is hardly under-exposed, so it was essential for us to come up with something that was both striking and unique. Fortunately for us, Lily whole-heartedly bought into the concept and in doing so helped turn a good idea in theory into a great idea in practise.”
“Patently no one would let us put a pop star within three feet of a man-eating big cat, so an 18-foot high cage separated Lily – and the Q team – from them, and the magic of digital photography put them together. That said, when Lily is in full flow, she could probably do more damage than a pair of panthers.”
Over 30,000 people voted for their favourite covers during the four week period, after a panel of industry and celebrity judges including twice voted ‘Magazine Editor of the Year’ Peter Jackson, Media Week Editor Steve Barrett, model and actress Linda Lusardi and Heart Radio’s Toby Anstis, narrowed down the entries into the short list.
Judging panel chairman, Jim Bilton, said, “A stunning image, strong cover lines with clear typography and an excellent “greatest” list prominently highlighted all adds up to a winning cover creatively and commercially, producing one of the highest copy sales of the year. Lily wasn’t a core artist for the Q readership and had heavy media coverage at the time. The solution - add panthers and a creative photo shot – produced a truly memorable result which is our favourite cover this year!”
Visit the winner’s gallery at www.themaggies.co.uk
The Maggies campaign raised over £6,000 for children’s charity, Rays of Sunshine.
