Public relations consultant /blog

It’s hard to believe that back in the early 1990s, Loaded heralded an intellectual revolution in men’s magazines, which were no longer to be pure porn. Loaded was laddish, but in a clever, knowing way. But, rather sadly, as the Britpop culture from which it came died away, so the magazine lost it way. In terms of circulation it’s been long overtaken by FHM and has Maxim breathing down its neck. These titles have concentrated more on girls and the bizarre and have forced a race to the lowest common denominator. It’s now inconceivable that Loaded would have anything other than girls on its cover.

Worse news arrives today with the revelation that Loaded has lost 24 per cent of its readership in a year. It’s suffering from a second revolution in men’s magazines. Weekly title Nuts now has more readers than Loaded which has only a little more than Zoo, the other main weekly. The idea of weekly lads mags brought much scorn at launch, but between them Nuts and Zoo have proved that men have a far greater appetite for magazines than the cynics supposed.

Men’s magazines continue to demand top dollar from advertisers because their readers are affluent young men who watch very little television and don’t buy newspapers. For the same reason, they remain highly attractive targets for media relations professionals. Their narrow focus can make them demanding hard to penetrate, but presented with the right blend of irreverence and fun, the right product can still get through.

Posted at : September 19th, 2005 - 10:05 am
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