Stuff magazine sheds lad mag image by dumping cover model
Stuff magazine has canned its sexy cover models after market research showed it was alienating potential readers and was no longer in tune with the publication's tone.
Stuff has used cover models since 1996
Launched in 1996, Stuff was initially a ‘lad’s mag’ but now caters to a 40 per cent female audience. As a result, the models have been deemed inappropriate for the current readership.
Will Findlater, editor-in-chief of Stuff, said: “The magazine was launched in 1996 at the peak of the lad mag era.
“Nearly 20 years on – and with tech now an indispensable part of everyday life - our readership has changed - the covers used to help our position on the newsstand but our research tells us this is no longer the case.”
Alternative covers, without models, were released to four UK regions accounting for twenty per cent of the publication’s coverage.
The uptake for these reworked covers was greater than the traditional ones so from August 2014 they will become the norm.
Rachael Prasher, publishing director of Stuff, said: “While the decision to drop the cover girls from Stuff is based on what our audience have told us through focus groups and cover trials, there is no question that it feels like the right decision to make.
“At the industry level, we see this as a big step forward for men’s lifestyle magazines.”
Stuff magazine is the UK’s biggest gadget-magazine with a monthly circulation of over 77,000.