Sink me, it's Britney!
Heavens to murgatroid. On The Atlantic's upcoming cover. Advertising Age is all over it. Which means it can't just be an early April Fool's joke (can it?).
What next?
(On second thought, we're not going to speculate about that.)
Admittedly, the ever-growing celebrity journalism industry is worthy of being discussed seriously. But how about this cover treatment, folks?
What next?
(On second thought, we're not going to speculate about that.)
Admittedly, the ever-growing celebrity journalism industry is worthy of being discussed seriously. But how about this cover treatment, folks?
posted by Jon Spencer at
8:19 pm
3 Comments:
It's appalling but in some ways, inevitable. You have to go for the shock, pop-culture value if you want to grab more numbers (especially with the never-ending elusive "youth" market). At the same time, while the cover story means a lot, I hope it doesn't mean everything. I'm sure the rest of the Atlantic book is up to its usual political/social journalism standards. So use Brit to bait them, and the "real" stuff to keep them hooked.
I applaud the Atlantic for risking it because while some changes in this world generate spectacular failures, we all know it's necessary to create spectacular successes as well.
It's a such a weird play.
Newsstand shoppers looking for Britney are probably not looking for the Atlantic and newsstand shoppers looking for The Atlantic are probably not looking for Britney.
Plus, Rolling Stone and Blender both just did in-depth cover stories on Spears and I'm pretty sure at least Blender is still on the stands (and therefore competing for Britney-buyers).
All that said, as an Atlantic subscriber who has up to now avoided all Britney coverage, I will almost surely read this cover story.
I have great admiration for Vanity Fair's ability to mix-and-match the celeb trash with some real journalism.
But they're known for that. I think what I find weird about this situation is that The Atlantic ... isn't.
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