Print Catalog of the Year

[ Also won — GOLD: Print Channel | INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES | New Pig Corp., The Big Pigalog, U.K. Edition 2009 ]

As evidence that the Multichannel Merchant Awards competition is not a beauty contest, the 2009 Catalog of the Year is a real pig.

Make that a New Pig — the Big Pigalog 2009 Buying Guide from industrial absorbents and cleanup products marketer New Pig Corp. The company's U.K. edition narrowly beat out its U.S. counterpart to take the top print catalog prize.

WHY IT WON CATALOG OF THE YEAR: The U.K. edition of the 2009 Pigalog does everything the U.S. book does, but deftly speaks to a British audience. For instance, copy is properly Anglicized with terms such as “whilst” and “rubbish.” The book also boasts value-add content for the local market, such as a sidebar on statistics of slips, trips and falls in U.K. workplaces.

Then there's the creative. New Pig always has fun with its covers and hog imagery, and this edition is no exception. The front cover depicts a tattooed, dew-rag-wearing hog on a hog, heading down the highway, looking for industrial spills to help clean up.

“This ramblin' road hog was boar-n to be wild — all muscle and mean about clean,” begins the caption. How fun is that?

Not that New Pig is all fun and games. Inside the catalog, strong grid templates present information effectively. The company describes its product presentations as “energized,” noted one panelist, “which is so true!”

IDEA TO STEAL: When you sell a technical or specialized product line, promote your expertise. New Pig does this with vignettes titled “The Inside Story,” which offer tips and tricks from its staff.— Melissa Dowling

NEW PIG CORP.

Directors: Allyson Bryan, Antonia Carboni, Allen de Koning, Lynsey McIlwraith

Creative director: Beth Love

Product director: Darran Hamilton

Project manager: Krista Rehm

Creative team: New Pig Creative

Copywriter: Elizabeth Gottfried

Photographer: McManus Studios

Printer: Wyndeham