Maxim (magazine)
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File:MaximMEW.jpg Mary Elizabeth Winstead on the cover of Maxim in 2007. | |
Editor-in-chief | Jimmy Jellinek (May 15, 2006 - present) |
---|---|
Categories | Men's |
Frequency | Monthly |
Publisher | Dennis Publishing, Inc. |
First issue | 1995 |
Country | ![]() ![]() |
Language | English, many others |
Website | www.maximonline.com |
Maxim is an international English language lad mag (men's magazine) based in the United Kingdom and known for its revealing pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models.
In the United States, Maxim is an industry leader, reporting a circulation of 2.5 million readers which they claim is enough to outsell leading competitors GQ, Esquire, and Details combined. The magazine is now using the brand name to market a myriad of other magazines and projects.
Overview
The first issue of Maxim was released in the United Kingdom in May 1995 with Lisa Snowdon on the cover. The first American issue was released on April 1, 1997 with Christa Miller as the cover model.
The magazine is known for its extensive pictorials of scantily clad women. The U.S. version of the magazine, unlike foreign versions, does not allow the depiction of nipples or genitalia. In the U.S., Maxim is readily available from most newsstands and retailers. A notable exception is Wal-Mart, the country's largest retailer. Wal-Mart has gone to great lengths to promote itself as being "family-friendly", and although Maxim does not contain total nudity, its sexual suggestiveness caused Wal-Mart to not sell the magazine in the United States.
For the UK version, prior to 1997, the magazine seldom shot their own cover photos of female models. When they did, the models were generally not well-known, although some did become famous later on; for example, for the July 1996 cover, Maxim editors used the then Wonderbra model Sophie Anderton. Most of their cover photos, though, were pre-existing photos which they brought or paid royalties for. One of the most famous "bought" cover photos was the classic black and white photo of Ursula Andress from the 1962 Bond film Dr. No; this photo was used as a reference for a Bond girl feature in their August 1995 issue. These earlier issues tended to be article heavy and coverage of scantily clad women was kept to a minimum (this was before FHM magazine made the use of scantily clad celebrities popular).
Aside from pictorials, features of the magazine include short articles on subjects such as sports, movies, television, video games, fashion, relationships, cars, crime, and alcohol—subjects considered to be of interest to the magazine's primary audience of men between the ages of 21 and 45. Every issue also features extensive reviews and endorsements of new products in these fields.
Maxim competes with several lad mags including Stuff (owned by the same company) and FHM. It has proved particularly successful in the United States, and is the best-selling men's lifestyle magazine in the world[1]. However, Maxim's sales (still very significant) in its country of origin are dwarfed by those of FHM; during the first half of 2006, FHM outsold Maxim by almost 3:1 in the UK market.[2]
Expansion
Due to its success in its primary markets, Maxim has expanded into many other countries, including Argentina, Canada, India, Indonesia, Belgium, Romania, the Czech Republic, France (marketed under "Maximal"), Germany, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Russia (where it stands now as the most popular men's magazine), Serbia, Montenegro, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, and Portugal. A wireless version of the magazine was launched in 2005 across cellular carriers in twenty European and Asian countries.
In 1999, MaximOnline.com was created. It contains content not included in the print version and focuses on the same general topics, along with exclusive sections such as the "Girls of Maxim" galleries and the "Joke of the Day". "Maxim Video" contains video clips of interviews, music videos, photo shoots, and original content. The success of this website inspired Dennis Digital to create sites for its sister publications, such as Blender.
In January 2002, Dennis Publishing established an online and retail video division, Dennis Media Group.
On February 5, 2005, Maxim launched their own radio channel, Maxim Radio, on Sirius Satellite Radio.
On June 5, 2006, the magazine announced plans to build a casino on the Las Vegas Strip north of Circus Circus, but the casino plan failed after local condominium owners complained that the proposed casino ruined their view. The land was sold to MGM Mirage.[3]
Criticism
Maxim was protested by the gender issues department of Thunder Bay, Ontario's Lakehead University during an on-campus "Maxim Coors Light Girl Search".[4]
In 2003, after receiving phone and email complaints from a "well-organized writing campaign"[5], Maxim issued an apology for a cartoon[6] depicting Mahatma Gandhi being beaten, kicked and bloodied. The apology did use the word "sorry" but was more of a defense than an apology, discussing that they had chosen Gandhi not because he was Indian or "of color", but because picking him as a target of aggression was ironic and akin to picking Ted Kennedy to be your designated driver.[7]
Maxim was criticized by Sports Illustrated model Veronica Varekova for using her photo, without permission, on a cover. Maxim maintains they obtained rights to the photograph.[8]
In January of 2006, Southern Indian actress Khushboo filed a complaint with local police against the magazine for using and doctoring her image without her permission in the Indian edition of the magazine. Her picture was used as part of a running "Women You Will Never See in Maxim" series featuring doctored photos of prominent celebrities.[9]
Celebrities
For a full listing, please see:
- List of People in Maxim Magazine 1997 to 2006, 2007-present
Many celebrities (singers, actresses, models, etc.) have posed for Maxim over the years. Examples include:
FILM:
- Tara Reid (December 2000, March 2002)
- Rebecca Romijn (June 1998, July 2000, November 2002)
- Brittany Murphy (July 2001, May 2005)
- Lucy Liu (September 2002, July 2003)
- Jennifer Love Hewitt (November 1999, March 2005)
- Shannon Elizabeth (January 2000, December 2003)
- Jessica Alba (October 2000, November 2003)
- Sophia Bush (November 2006)
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead (March,2007)
MUSIC:
- Jessica Simpson (January 2002, June 2004, July 2006)
- Christina Aguilera (December 2002, January 2003, March 2007)
SPORT:
- Anna Kournikova (August 2003, August 2004)
TELEVISION:
- Carmen Electra (September 1997, December 2002, July 2005)
- Christina Applegate (September 1998, December 2002)
- Kim Smith (February 2000, November 2000, July 2004)
- Laura Prepon (January 2001, November 2004)
- Jamie-Lynn Sigler (September 2001, May 2006)
- Eva Longoria (January 2005, September 2006)
- Vanessa Minnillo (October 2005, October 2006)
See also
- Glamour photography
- List of men's magazines
- List of people in Maxim magazine 1997 to 2006
- Maxim Radio
References
- ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/17/60II/main584067.shtml, retrieved October 26, 2006
- ^ http://www.abc.org.uk, retrieved October 26, 2006. Sales figures (Jan-Jun 2006) of 146,043 (Maxim) and 420,688 (FHM) may be confirmed via search.
- ^ Stutz, Howard (April 19, 2007). "MGM buys parcels for new center". Las Vegas Review-Journal. pp. A1+A8.
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- ^ Maxim Magazine, April 2003, p.40
- ^ Maxim Magazine, February 2003, p.74-78
- ^ Maxim Magazine, April 2003, p.40
- ^ http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/05/16/supermodel_snippets_veronica_varekova_ka
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4666278.stm