NEWS: Viz Internet site set up to goad industry to create better ads

Viz magazine this week thumbed its nose at the ad industry with the

launch of a controversial new site on the Internet.

The fortnightly title also threw down a challenge to creatives to come

up with more suitable advertising for the magazine.

The Internet site is aimed at the ad industry and is being billed as

‘anti-advertising, anti-Internet’. It is hosted by the Viz character,

Dickie Beasley, and is located at http://www.viz.co.uk.

The site was set up by the communications company, PPN, despite claimed

opposition from Chris Donald, the editor. ‘The Internet is just a big

electronic postal system for sad bastards looking for pen pals,’ he

said.

Although Donald maintains that the advertising in Viz is ‘boring and

predictable’, he admitted the magazine would like to attract advertisers

in the financial services and automotive sectors.

‘It would be nice to think we could keep milking the advertisers by

hiking the price,’ Donald said, adding: ‘We are also challenging

creatives to come up with advertising suitable for Viz.’

Donald went on to say: ‘Any artist who devotes their talent to selling

products is a prostitute. People higher up the tree, like the Saatchi

brothers, are pimps.’

Viz is published by John Brown Publishing, the company founded by its

managing director, John Brown.

This article was first published on Campaign