Zoomer magazine capitalizes on Downton with split-run covers of 78-year-old stars

Zoomer magazine is doing a cross-border split cover run hinged on the hit show Downton Abbey, whose 3rd season is absolutely not coincidentally debuting this April on VisionTV, a ZoomerMedia property. 

The April issue split run features a cover with Dame Maggie Smith (the Dowager Countess) in the copies going to Canadian subscribers and Shirley McLaine (Mrs. Levinson, the mother-in-law) on the U.S. newsstand copies. Canadian newsstand buyers will find both versions. A release said:

"Breaking taboos as well as age barriers, the actresses, both 78, appear in character on the cover of Zoomer, wrinkles and all – familiar images to the legions of dedicated viewers who have made Downton Abbey the television phenomenon that it is. In the accompanying cover story, Zoomer’s deputy editor and best-selling novelist Kim Izzo celebrates the return of the battle axe, reflecting on what makes these two seasoned stars, and the tough-as-nails matriarchs they portray, resonate with viewers, young and old."