Campaign Issue 12

We were commissioned by ICAD to design and produce the relaunch issue (Issue 12) of Campaign — the last issue of which appeared in 1963. The publication is aimed at the Irish advertising and design industry. As such, it enjoys a visually sophisticated audience. The tone and remit of the essays differ significantly from the original incarnation of Campaign (which was a quarterly publication) in that the relaunched Campaign is a yearly publication and therefore is less ‘newsy’ and more academic by necessity.

The original Campaign journal was unafraid to take critical stances within Ireland’s small and intimate advertising and design industry. This lack of sentimentality (lack of politeness) informed the visually austere treatment we developed for Campaign 12. Due to the lack of (or inconsistent quality of) visual assets to accompany the essays, we commissioned photographer Aisling McCoy to expand upon this visual theme of 'austerity'. Using specially designed and fabricated unlit neon tubes (often associated with early advertising), Aisling created a suite of still life images — studies in shades of grey and white. Campaign 12 had to accommodate new essays alongside archive material from the original issues of Campaign. We included an 8 page insert of facsimile reprints (printed 2 colour) of important articles from the original issues of Campaign.