Sex, Love and Stress on the covers of Redbook
April 24, 2007
Few weeks ago I wrote about the difference between the single copy edition of Redbook and that of the subscription edition. For some time now the magazine has been changing the word SEX on the newsstands to LOVE on the subscribers covers. The May issue goes one-step further. The subscribers, who Redbook assumes they are so stressed that they need to “stop your STRESS 21 smart strategies,” while the magazine asks their counterparts on the nation’s stands “get 10 minutes? say yes, oh yes! to sex.” I have given up trying to come up with explanations for this type of cover treatment, but the only thing I know for sure, it seems to me it is very misleading and very unethical to trick people in buying the magazine knowing that if they subscribe they will kiss SEX goodbye on the covers of REDBOOK. Mind you, it is only the cover that changes…all the say yes, oh yes! to sex is all inside of both editions.
Mr. Magazine 
Here’s my theory. Many subscriptions of Redbook are sold through channels like fund-raising drives and “stamps” programs like Publisher’s Clearing House. Perhaps the demographic who has an in-home copy because they purchased it from the kid down the street who is a member of the high school band is quite different from the person sitting at the check-out counter. Perhaps a lot of complaining about “too much sex” on the cover from the PCH crowd led them to drop the cover reference on home copies. Just a theory…