Maxim Finally Grows Up With New Redesign
The former lad mag isn't just about sex anymore
Once-hot laddie mag Maxim is trying to shed its frat-boy image with a head-to-toe makeover that makes its official debut today.
Once-hot laddie mag Maxim is trying to shed its frat-boy image with a head-to-toe makeover that makes its official debut today.
The redesigned magazine—editor in chief Kate Lanphear's first full
issue—targets an older, more affluent audience to match the magazine's
core readership, which has seen its average age increase by 10 years
over the past decade. "Our guy has grown up," said publisher Kevin
Martinez. "He's 33, starting to make money and looking at his life
differently."
Founded in 1995, the 2 million-circulation title was an early hit but
has struggled to maintain relevance as young men turn to the Internet,
not the newsstand (where Maxim's circulation fell 33 percent in the
first half of last year), to fill their appetite for salacious pics and
lifestyle content.
Last year, investor Sardar Biglari bought the title and, in an effort
to revitalize the brand, hired Martinez away from his job as publisher
of Details to run the magazine's advertising side. Several months later,
Bilgari made the surprising announcement that Kate Lanphear, the
well-respected style director at T: The New York Times Style Magazine,
would become Maxim's new editor in chief.
