Artifact: Sony Style Magazine
y2k Brand Synergy
Sony Style was a magazine published by Sony Inc. during the hey-day of Sony, which included, not only its electronics divisions, but also their media wings from music to movies. It’s an interesting editorial artifact to look back on as it seemed to foreshadow much of today’s current branding and advertising ecosystem. Today, terms like “advertorial” or “sponsored content” seem dated and the lines between advertisement and editorial material have been completely obliterated.
The specific run of Sony Style that I am referring are a series of issues that began in the Fall of 1999, featuring a young Jennifer Lopez on the cover and ran into to the mid-2000s. In research, I uncovered a scathing “review” of the magazine archived on the AV Club site full of doomsday language warning of an Orwellian dystopia:
The first issue of the new, Sony-run magazine Sony Style aims to depict the future as a utopia where technology helps everyone, but instead portends a dystopian nightmare in which the tentacles of a giant corporation reach into the lives of every man, woman, and child.
Well, I’m sorry to say we are living in that dystopic wasteland today.
As a millennial who grew up around proud Gen X’ers, it’s easy to be cynical about the blend of product, advertising and “pure” editorial material that “sold out”. But Sony Style is interesting to me for two reasons. First, it is an unabashed package that summed up the Sony universe in one package. Sony, at the time, was at the top of their game from media, products and cultural influence. Sony was synonymous with innovation, culture and style. I wrote about this period of quirky, yet forward thinking product design and the magazine from this period.
Although the design feels dated, the editorial designs show off a holistic brand system and vision that played out not only on the magazine’s pages, but also in ads, catalogs and even instruction manuals. Sony truly had a solid style and the reach to efficiently incorporate all areas of its business into a compelling editorial package that featured artists and actors like Wyclef Jean and Milla Jovovich. So what is these artists had record deals and movies tied to different Sony properties? At least one didn’t have to ponder whether there was a conflict of interest, it was pretty clear in the pages. This sort of brand awareness and efficiency, while capturing a compelling amount of taste, is the second reason Sony Style is a fascinating piece of editorial design.
Nowadays, it’s very hard to believe a YouTuber when they say that they aren’t paid for a review of a digital camera or new iPad accessory. In fact, I find it is sometimes more credible when the reviewer is paid or officially affiliated with the brand they are clearly promoting (this Snow Peak ambassador is one of the most compelling campers out there). Influencers are manifestations of brands and advertising in human form and there is very little “editorial” behind the various flavors of social media personalities.
A few days ago, I was having a conversation with a colleague about what the new version of the “in-house” magazine was. We tried to be optimistic, but we had a hard time thinking beyond a podcast or a TikTok series. I’m not against social media short form, and think there’s plenty of innovation happening in that space, but I do miss me some great art direction laid out artfully across a few glossy spreads.