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New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who mocked the Obama Men's Vogue cover and wrote in April, "John Edwards has reminded us that even — or especially — in the age of appearances, you must not appear to care too much about appearances," opted to save her insights for an Edwards column in the works. On June 20, she ridiculed Obama again, this time for doing a GQ shoot. Though a GQ spokesman declined to comment on any upcoming content, several sources said GQ contributing editor Ryan Lizza is on the story. (GQ and Men's Vogue are, like WWD, owned by Condé Nast Publications Inc.)
Told of the GQ shoot, Ornstein's first question was: "Well, what was he wearing?" (Ralph Lauren, according to Dowd). — Irin Carmon
DREW'S TURN: For the first time, Gucci has tapped a celebrity for one of its ad campaigns. Drew Barrymore will underscore the importance of the luxury brand's fine jewelry line with color images shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin in a Paris studio.
"Drew brought wonderful energy and excitement to this project. She is such a strong and confident woman, but her humor and sensitivity made her completely disarming," said Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, who was directly involved in everything from the makeup to the backdrop setting.
Giannini added that she chose the Dutch photography duo for its ability to portray a classic image with a modern edge after several seasons of still-life ads. The campaign's surroundings re-create a sensual environment as Barrymore lays on a golden beach decked out with lavish jewelry. Fine jewelry is a fast-growing category for Gucci, one that accounted for 4.5 percent of the company's revenues of 2.1 billion euros, or $2.82 billion, last year.
The campaign launches in the September issues of fashion books worldwide. — Alessandra Ilari
SWEET DEAL: In another example of multiplatform media expansion, NBC Universal Digital Media struck a deal with Sugar Publishing, the network of gossip, beauty and fashion Web sites that include PopSugar, BuzzSugar and FabSugar. The partnership will allow Sugar to share content with NBC-owned iVillage.com, while NBC's Digital sales team will be the exclusive sales force for PopSugar. Through iVillage, which carries content on love, health, sex and parenting, NBC already reaches more than 17 million users a month; their median age is 37. The partnership expands NBC's online network to include PopSugar's younger, 4.5 million unique users. The median age of its visitors is 27.
Told of the GQ shoot, Ornstein's first question was: "Well, what was he wearing?" (Ralph Lauren, according to Dowd). — Irin Carmon
DREW'S TURN: For the first time, Gucci has tapped a celebrity for one of its ad campaigns. Drew Barrymore will underscore the importance of the luxury brand's fine jewelry line with color images shot by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin in a Paris studio.
"Drew brought wonderful energy and excitement to this project. She is such a strong and confident woman, but her humor and sensitivity made her completely disarming," said Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, who was directly involved in everything from the makeup to the backdrop setting.
Giannini added that she chose the Dutch photography duo for its ability to portray a classic image with a modern edge after several seasons of still-life ads. The campaign's surroundings re-create a sensual environment as Barrymore lays on a golden beach decked out with lavish jewelry. Fine jewelry is a fast-growing category for Gucci, one that accounted for 4.5 percent of the company's revenues of 2.1 billion euros, or $2.82 billion, last year.
The campaign launches in the September issues of fashion books worldwide. — Alessandra Ilari
SWEET DEAL: In another example of multiplatform media expansion, NBC Universal Digital Media struck a deal with Sugar Publishing, the network of gossip, beauty and fashion Web sites that include PopSugar, BuzzSugar and FabSugar. The partnership will allow Sugar to share content with NBC-owned iVillage.com, while NBC's Digital sales team will be the exclusive sales force for PopSugar. Through iVillage, which carries content on love, health, sex and parenting, NBC already reaches more than 17 million users a month; their median age is 37. The partnership expands NBC's online network to include PopSugar's younger, 4.5 million unique users. The median age of its visitors is 27.
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