Instead they churn out titillation, throwing in the odd serious feature like some half-hearted sop to men's ''sensitive side.'' In the United States, which caught the lad mag trend later than Britain, Maxim is still riding a circulation high of 1 million. Details, meanwhile, which tried a last-ditch makeover as macho magazine with disastrous results, has been closed for refurbishment. Peres intends to woo this man with a magazine that goes uptown and downtown, covering art, crime, fashion, architecture, design, politics and sex. For a start, put a girl in a bikini on the cover and you alienate every gay man, and as an editor I can't afford to do that,'' he said. Part of the problem with the existing market is they try to appeal to either gay or straight men.
Fashion is the other major hurdle to be tackled in order to win over today's male.
So, they wouldn't wear it, but they've seen it. They know it exists. They are in the loop.