TORONTO—Toronto-based Contempo Media is attempting to drive home a victory for itself and an automotive advertising partner with a new cover concept.

The September 2011 cover of Sharp magazine features an image of actor Hugh Jackman; when a flap is opened on his chest, the hood of a BMW is revealed with the words "the future" across the grill. Similarly, when a flap is opened across the last two letters on the banner, it changes the title Sharp to 'Shape', together forming 'Shape the future".

When the magazine is flipped open to the BMW ad on the inside front cover spread, it completes the message with the words: "By creating it".


“We are constantly looking for new ways to enhance the magazine experience,” said John McGouran, Sharp’s publisher and co-founder of Contempo Media. “And this means not only creating compelling print content, but also working with our advertising partners to enrich the way our readers interact with their message. We’re confident that this issue of Sharp continues to lead the way for print innovation in Canada, and we’re thrilled to partner with BMW on it.”

Noah Vardon, strategy manager at Media Experts who worked with Contempo Media on the execution, explained BMW, the creative agency (Cundari) and Sharp "were on board from the beginning and the final result is an execution that plays in a space (the title) that has never been advertised in before – not something you can do every day. It’s something that really engages and connects with the reader, which is a big win for the print medium.”

Michael La Fave of Contempo Media noted the magazine's printer is St. Joseph, "and they handled it under direct supervision from our production department. A lot of care was put into the die cutting and [the] amount and placement of glue so that both the advertising and cover were preserved."

Sharp is published six times per year and covers men's fashion, grooming, watches, personal tech and automobiles. Sharp’s September 2011 issue hit newsstands Sept. 5 and will be distributed to select Globe and Mail subscribers across Canada Sept. 8.