They’re calling Richard Branson’s Project revolutionary. And transcendental. And some other things.

Since the iPad came out, traditional print magazines have been quick to adapt their content to the new medium. And while many of them have found innovative ways to add new depth to their substance, they’re still simply iPad versions of the original thing. So it was only natural that someone would eventually decide to renovate the very idea of a magazine.

(Of course, internet-only mags like Seed and Slate did this a few years back, but the iPad presents an opportunity to more neatly mesh the worlds of digital and handheld print.)

But it’s here that we see Project emerge as a Challenger Brand, that is, a brand that redefines the form and confronts long-established industry giants. Because a magazine imagined solely for the iPad format and available only as an iTunes app has the potential to be inherently different from a mere re-rendering.

So when they wheeled Project up to the gates of iTunes last week, what empire-erasing content came bursting forth from its Trojan womb?

Well, Jeff Bridges mostly.

If you were among those who could download it — many had difficulty, a very serious glitch for a download-only magazine — you experienced Bridges on the “cover” zapping in and out against Tron effects. He moves and gestures as though he’s alive in your lap, not unlike a newspaper out of Harry Potter.

Other than that, it’s kind of what you’d expect: graphics you can play with, a virtual tour of Tokyo, fast cars and videos galore. So we’re not ready to say that Project is as revolutionary as Branson wants you to believe. Owing mainly to some major navigational snags, download drama and information overload, it’s very much a project-in-progress.

But Sir Richard did make a few interesting points about the potential love affair between such magazines and ads. And advertisers can certainly imagine a prosperous future where their spots are effective to the point of engagement — ads that provide stimulating and interactive information or entertainment. Because hey, who hasn’t wished they could get more mojo out of a 15-second radio spot or B&W quarter page?

So, at $2.99 a month, is Project a Challenger Brand? Yes — just ignore the fact that Branson has more money than God and focus on the idea of a magazine that only exists on this weird little touch-box.

Will it usher the print magazine industry to its long-awaited death? No — well, at least not until they sign the necessary contracts to get Angelina Jolie on the cover every other month.