To help me learn more about what women want, gorgeous actresses and models are asked in each issue for their views on sex and men. I don't know about you, but I have enough things to worry about already - I don't really need to concern myself with what pleases Naomi Campbell. Watching the rest of the magazine industry follow Cosmo's lead is more than a little depressing. Soon Time will be offering Whitewater quizzes for you and your mate to take together, and Sports Illustrated will be handing out tips for hosting the perfect World Cup party. It's such a condescending notion - this idea that we are all too selfish to follow any story unless it applies directly to our own lives, but publishers know the approach works.
Helpful articles sell.
Witness the rise of a magazine like Men's Health. Overflowing with tips to improve your body and your life, it has become one of the most successful magazines around. Meanwhile, magazines like the quirky and often sarcastic Might die unnoticed. The lesson has been learned. The so-called service magazines are the success stories, and all the new magazines are rushing to cash in on the trend.