Controversial Magazine Covers Are Good For Circulation.

Today, in WH Smith, as my eyes scanned the magazine stand, I paused on the latest cover of Vogue and mentally thought I needed to buy it.  WHAT???!!!  I’ve never bought a copy of Vogue in my life... 

This month’s issue has a cover shot of fat-chick-du-jour Lena Dunham by acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz.  Dunham has risen to prominence in the last 18 months via the success of her HBO series ‘Girls’.  The show has been heralded by many a feminist for its unabashed depictions of the ‘normal’ female form.  Dunham often gets her odd-shaped titties and ass out causing plenty of white middle-class feminists to trumpet the arrival of a new saviour as if she was single-handedly responsible for halting female genital mutilation in the third world.  So, naturally, they are all aghast that she has agreed to be a Vogue cover model and even more incensed she had been airbrushed.

Online feminist rag, Jezebel scored an own goal when they offered $10,000 for the un-airbrushed photos of Dunham.  Publishing them on their own site, they helpfully provided the reader with arrows pointing out Dunham’s physical flaws.  So much for the sisterhood.  A backlash ensued fuelling publicity for the issue which must have seen hard-faced fashion matriarch Anna Wintour rubbing her hands with glee.  The very feminists who had lobbied the fashion industry for years to display more realistic female forms finally had a fat girl on the cover of Vogue and they responded by deteriorating into Mean Girls mode.  The fashionistas are responsible for another eating disorder as fourth-wave feminism began to ingest itself.

Dunham does an important job on her TV show.  Her bold presence has empowered countless chubby chicks against the norm of Baywatch Babes and Sticks In The City.  When she accepted Vogue’s invitation, she showed her true colours.  She is first and foremost a celebrity, rather like Madonna’s humanitarian efforts, her heart is in the right place but money and exposure come first.  The cover of Vogue is way more delicious than any feminist statement.  

The contrived decision to use Dunham as their cover star created a media frenzy which saw this month’s Vogue shot shared extensively.  The free advertising was so effective it resulted in me thinking I wanted a copy.  That’s quite the marketing achievement.

Controversial magazine covers are not new.  People still reference the naked and pregnant Demi Moore Vanity Fair shot and that hit the newsstands more than twenty years ago.  More recently, Rolling Stone’s decision to put Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the front cover showed an appalling lack of taste and was greeted with much opposition.  Protestors called for a boycott and some vendors pulled the magazine from its shelves.  The furore resulted in Rolling Stone doubling their sales compared to the same period the previous year.

It’s not just the celebrity publications who go for the shock factor.  Bloomberg Businessweek raised eyebrows with the cheeky phallic graphic below.  They confirmed that "Over the past two years, our more buzzy covers have had a lift on newsstand of up to about 70% above the yearly average.”  Alec Casey, head of circulation at Bloomberg Businessweek  

Also following a controversial cover, subscriptions can increase by 10%.  Retailer backlash is nothing to be scared of either.  When Time magazine published the cover below of a mother breastfeeding her 5-year-old son, many backward Yankee retailers refused to stock it inadvertently increasing sales at other outlets and ultimately driving up web traffic.

Bold and controversial statements are good for publishing.  As circulation figures continue to decline, it would appear creating a fuss is good for business.  Also using the print form to drive business to the online publication is an ingenious marketing tool.  

The fact Vogue managed to get most of their unpaid publicity this month from one of their biggest opposers is evil genius.  As the moral majority continue to get their sensible mom-sized knickers in a twist and inadvertently boost circulation, expect to see many more questionable covers in the future.