Hilary Fine
LIFESTYLE
It is often difficult to characterise the individual players in this rapidly evolving genre of men’s general lifestyle magazines. All of them contain a standard mix of men’s interests: sport, money, cars, health, IT, music, movies and, of course, sex. All the local editions claim to be injecting their already successful international formulae with local flavour. So, what secret ingredient makes one package different from the others?
After some financial hiccups and a change of investors, the publication of the South African edition of Maxim magazine has gone ahead. Maxim will be elbowing in to claim a space for itself on the already overcrowded magazine sales racks this month.
In typical masculine style, Maxim boasts it is “the biggest” – “the biggest men’s magazine in the world”. One cannot be sure if this vague statement refers directly to readership or sales. Maxim certainly adopts a bigger format than the South African magazine standard. Publisher and editor Bernard Goldring clarifies the statement by saying, “Maxim is the best read men’s magazine in the world.”
South African men are becoming spoiled for choice with a number of specialist publications and a couple of general lifestyle packages already available. Goldring says: “Maxim is so different to other men’s lifestyle books” because rather than “fixating on only one element of a man’s life”, Maxim “covers everything that is essential and important to your life”.
If the content of Maxim is anything to go by, then the most important thing in men’s lives is sex. For which women are preferred. Maxim celebrates the importance of females – predominantly gorgeous, famous ones – to males. Women are everywhere for the man with a keen eye.
The launch of Maxim promoted Lara Croft, the large-breasted gun-wielding warrior of Playstation’s popular game Tomb Raider. The virtual cyber siren has been reformed as flesh in the shape of the pouting and tempestuous actress Angelina Jolie, who stars in a soon-to-be-released movie version of the game. Every man’s fantasy.
In the first issue of Maxim, Wonderbra model Caprice poses in underwear, swimsuits and electric tape – her strategic bits always covered. The photospread is a “little risqu”, according to the model, as she is not the type of woman to show “anything private”. The aim here is mere public titillation.
For all things private men should refer to soft porn rags. The men who read Maxim aren’t that sleazy. As Goldring points out, the market is those men who possess “impeccable taste”. Men with standards want to look at classy women, women who don’t give it all up immediately. Maxim is appealing to a readership which sees itself as more caddish than laddish – style counts. It’s a more upmarket package.
It seems that although Adam was, and continues to be, charmed by Eve, something was missing from his existence. Men needed other pastimes. Today, remarks Goldring, “we have so many interests and so little time”.
Maxim markets itself as “The best thing to happen to men since women”. Although pictures of beautiful women and sex- related articles (69 Sex Tips for Hardened Lovers) fill a large proportion of the pages, there is plenty of macho advice on how to drink with dignity, blow smoke rings, wrestle a crocodile, etcetera. The features are sensationalised tales of manly bravado in exotic locations.
Titbits include a test-your- ability-as- a-man by judging whether the breasts in “Booby Traps” are real or false, and the “News of the Weird” round-up of odd human behaviour, reminiscent in style of the Darwin awards which annually do the e- mail rounds.
The requisite South African flavour that separates the local edition from its international parent is provided in a chatty column, Mouth Park, by John Vlismas and a feature on South African serial killers. “She wants you” features a local lass looking for a date, presumably as a customer service. Goldring insists that it’s all good fun: “Humour ensures that we don’t take ourselves too seriously.” Another common claim of many men’s publications.
The publishers of Maxim are confident that their package is unique. “Satisfaction [is] guaranteed, or your old life back,” chirps Goldring. If South African men buy tickets to the ride at R19,95, it better offer the MAXIMum. Else, they’ll be demanding a refund.