magazine featuring Phoem Baranda with a swimsuit. There’s an ongoing discussion in the advertising and magazine industry (mostly in the latter) of how putting sexy women on the cover becomes an effective marketing tool to sell. This comes from the notion that the largest demographic of mag readers are male.
Apparently, this formula seems to work because some statistics show that putting women in the cover of magazines contribute to better sales. The formula goes:
Increase in women’s cleavage = Increase in sales
The general question therefore is does sex really sell?
Though it may be a sweeping generalization, there actually may be a direct relationship between putting a an outrightly sensual image of a woman on the front cover of a magazine. However, my boss did once say that if this were the case, then why are the top five magazines in the world not sexy mags? Though there may be some differences, here are the top five mags according to the Chicago Tribune:
1. WIRED
2. Real Simple
3. The Economist
4. Cook’s Illustrated
5. Esquire (perhaps the “sexiest” you can get among the 5)
Other magazines that made it to the “top 5” survey include Wytch (a children’s mag), Reader’s Digest, TIME, and Men’s Health. Where is FHM? Where is Playboy?
But consider this point:
Outside creative director Hannah McCaughey says artistic inspiration rather than newsstand calculation is responsible for her magazine’s recent spate of scantily clad covers.
“We always meant to shoot [Carlson] with the garden variety rock climbing clothes on but … I was worried I’d come back with super bland film,” McCaughey says. “For whatever reason it just felt so pedestrian and not like a cover should feel. The
11 replies on “m|PH is sizzling this April”
Yup, I think this is m|PH’s hottest cover yet.
Very well said- and yes, this is the sexiest nga talaga ng MPH (2nd yung kay Pia Guanio, hehe)
I was looking for a discussion on this sa MPH blog and MaPalad eh but wala. I think there’s a topic on this sa Pocentral pero im not a member eh.
ah i guess its because i didnt state the obvious 🙂 that it was our first sexy cover, albeit relatively.
yes.. sexxy 😛
and i love the swimwear. mine na lang? haha! lol
hay naku, I’ve been reading articles about “sex sells” lately..coz my thesis is all about that eh.
Did I hear a defensive note somewhere? 😛
It’s cool, Jayvee, on how you tried to clarify this issue since it is rather ambigious sometimes and mostly over-rated that people tend to overlook it or shrug it off.
You’ve made an astounding point. 🙂
Hey, Jayvee,
Maybe the 5 magazine thing is because the cover makes a promise of what’s inside. The girl says “fun” and those mags aren’t.
hi! nice informative posts! i’m bloghopping and just checking your blogsite. Keep the blogs rolling!
Hi 😀
[…] Several months ago I wrote a post that explored the statement “sex sells” in commercial print publications. Though it may be true that “sex does sell” I also clarified that “so does other things.” Here is an excerpt: So when is it okay to put a “sexy†lady on the front cover? The guideline we live by, at least here where I work, is that everything should be in context. Phoem is wearing a sexy (but elegant) swimsuit because it’s summer. She’s holding an Olympus mju series camera, known to be an all-weather resistant model. Hence, she took it out to the beach. […]
[…] About a year ago I wrote an entry on why or why we should not have sexy girls grace the cover of gadget magazines. […]
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