How did the king of men's magazines fall so far, so fast?
Written: Aug 17 '08 (Updated Aug 17 '08)
Product Rating:
Trendiness:
Pros: breezy pop culture style; obscure news; cool technology info (sorta); the covers
Cons: articles too succinct; too bourgeoisie-oriented; no longer funny; no more amateurs’ pics
The Bottom Line: Maxim used to be funny and sexy, now it’s a boring hybrid of Playboy and Men’s Health. If I wanted those magazines I would’ve subscribed to them!
Here’s irony for you: I’m going to criticize Maxim magazine for being entirely too mature. That’s right; this magazine’s inherent flaw is that it’s no longer the “Frat Boy Monthly” it used to be. Why is that bad? Because Maxim was the original American men’s magazine that catered to our id with sexy photos of some of the hottest female celebrities; articles about weird, trivial, niche, nostalgic and just plain bizarre news; affordable “geek” toys and gadgets; and an overall lowbrow (but brilliant) sense of humor.
This was during Maxim’s prime years, from the late 1990s to the mid 2000s. Today, Maxim still has the same general appeal as it did, but the content has seen a huge makeover. Apparently, the editors or publishers thought they were selling too many magazines, or were getting sick of the imitators, or just wanted to be taken more seriously as a source of news, fashion, entertainment and pop culture. Well, congratulations Maxim - you’re now a second-rate hybrid of Playboy and Men’s Health. Sure, you’ve matured in recent years, but you no longer have the appeal you used to have.
MAXIM: THE GOOD
BREEZY STYLE
With the advent of the internet and the ever-dwindling attention span of the American male, magazines have realized they can’t be hung up on details. Probably nothing turns off a prospective buyer more than flipping through a magazine seeing a lot of text. We want to see catchy layouts; funny and weird photos; and of course funny headlines and quips for captions. On this notion, Maxim definitely delivers.
It’s clear the content is aimed at a mass audience and wants to convey some kind of obscure or irreverent information quickly and easily. Honestly, there are very few tasks that are easier to do than to read a Maxim magazine.
POP CULTURE LISTS
Nearly every month, Maxim publishes an article that lists “The Best” or “The Worst” of a niche section of entertainment, pop culture or sports. Although I almost never agree with the order of the lists (or even their categories), I still find they make for interesting reading. Maxim isn’t exactly known for its intelligent criticism and discussion of the arts - so they don’t really expect us to take their lists seriously, do they? If someone ever tries to rationalize a certain film or album or event because it appeared in a Maxim list you should laugh in their face.
SEXY CONTENT
As recently as five years ago I probably would have lead with this, but Maxim is no longer the source of wanton carnality it used to be. Not that Maxim was ever straight-up pornography, but it always came pretty darn close to it. In fact, I always felt Maxim’s pictorials were much hotter than Playboy’s. I’ve always found their method of titillating the reader with scantily-clad women rather than flat-out nudity to be much more interesting.
Additionally, Maxim always has at least one sex-related article every issue. Whether it’s a survey of people’s sexual lifestyles and fantasies, or advice on how to spice up your sex life, these articles make for interesting reads. The only problem is the approach is way too generalized. It’s like they assume both men and women are all gorgeous and can have sex with whomever they want whenever they want. As “sexy” and “provocative” as Maxim purports to be, they really don’t touch on any sexual taboos or niche lifestyles. Compare a piece of sex advice from Maxim with Playboy and you’ll see their advice isn’t always realistic, either.
MAXIM: THE BAD
SENSE OF HUMOR (OR LACK THEREOF)
I think the appeal Maxim had during its prime was its overall comedic approach to nearly everything that appeared in the magazine. It was as if Steve Stiffler (from the “American Pie” movies) wrote and edited this magazine. Everything was fodder for jokes and all the content was humor-oriented. Almost every “news” article that appeared was of something bizarre that you never saw anywhere else, and it was handled in a light-hearted, humorous manner.
Now Maxim just comes across as a has-been comedian, repeating the same jokes over and over again. Perhaps this is just my own personal growth and maturity at work here rather than a decline in their quality. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but when I read Maxim today I find their jokes to be callus and unoriginal. As much fun as it was reading the Stiffler approach, it now comes off as a Stiffler impersonator.
Although Maxim still has a very breezy layout and succinct articles, as a whole it no longer has the comedy-first attitude it used to have. Now it’s content-first, lame jokes second. And yes, these jokes are getting lamer every month. Just the fact their captions and headlines are flat-out puns makes them difficult to read. Puns are fine if used sparingly and in the right context, but in the hands of the current Maxim editorial staff it’s like the whole magazine is assembled by your uncle or that lame guy in your office.
NO MORE CONTESTS!
There used to be a time when every other page of Maxim was a contest of some sort. They were always giving away cool prizes simply for answering trivia questions or coming up with a funny idea. They still have their “Beat This Caption” contest, but that’s about it. What happened to the “Found Porn” column?
EDITORIAL DIRECTION & ATTRITION
Maxim originally started off as a total copy of “GQ” in 1994 until it finally developed its own style during the aforementioned “prime years.” Why they felt the need to return to their unoriginal roots is beyond me. I might chalk this up to the fact they have played musical chairs with their editor-in-chief over the years. What is going on at the upper management levels? Why is the editor-in-chief replaced on an annual basis? That’s like a sports team replacing their coach every year and wondering why they never win a championship!
But this total change in style is just a general example, a more specific one (among many) would be the fact Maxim did away with its letters section for quite a while but then brought it back. What the hell? Make up your minds!
SEXY CONTENT
I put this as an attribute, mostly because it’s Maxim’s selling point, but it also belongs in the demerits section. Having been a regular reader of Maxim for about 10 years I can tell you the pictorials section has significantly reduced in size. For years we would see not only the cover model’s pictorial, but many additional pictorials of up-and-coming stars and models.
Additionally, Maxim would publish many reader-submitted photos, such as women in their boss’s office or the “Battle of the Hometown Hotties.” Half the appeal of reading Maxim was the thought that if you had a hot enough girlfriend you might be able to get her picture in your favorite magazine. In fact, I knew many women who read Maxim and had the same dream of seeing themselves in it. Now, all amateur sections are a thing of the past and even the celebrity pictorials have been whittled down to just the cover model, whose section has also been severely trimmed.
And while we’re at it, let’s look at who’s made the cover the last few years. There was a time when the biggest stars would scratch and claw their way to get onto the cover of Maxim, but not any more. In fact, in a given year I’d say only two or three cover models could be considered A-list stars, with the majority of the others being former A-listers still trying to be considered hip (i.e. Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Kournikova); or B and C-list actresses and models trying to make a name for themselves.
ALL THIS RIDICULOUS “STUFF”
Does anyone remember “Stuff” magazine? It originally started out as a special section in Maxim dedicated to the latest in high-tech gadgets, electronic and cars – you know, the kind of stuff the average Maxim reader cannot afford but loves to look at. I used to subscribe to “Stuff” too, but it ceased publication about two years ago and was merged back into Maxim.
When “Stuff” was its own magazine, the technology section of Maxim was fairly mainstream and affordable. I used to really get into these sections because I felt the items being discussed were within my league. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.
It’s not that I have a problem with expensive, high-tech gadgets and electronics in and of themselves. I don’t; in fact, I always get a kick out of seeing what technological leaps and bounds we have taken even if the price is ridiculous. What I do object to is that nearly everything now included in Maxim is of this bourgeoisie class and approached as though these items are affordable by the average reader. How good can a magazine be if it makes you feel like a failure if you cannot afford nearly ANYTHING it covers?
And as interesting as it might be to read about such expensive novelties, there comes a point where you suspect the products “reported on” in Maxim are just advertisements in disguise. Let’s not kid ourselves, Maxim isn’t exactly “Consumer Reports.”
THE FASHION SECTION
At least with the “Stuff’ sections there’s a curiosity factor at play no matter how much the merchandise might be out of your price range. But when it comes to the fashion section, which typically makes up the last 10-20 pages of the magazine every month, you KNOW it’s product placement.
In my 32 years on this planet I have never relied on a magazine for fashion advice. Mostly because I find the fashion to be totally bourgeoisie; insanely expensive and just ridiculous-looking. Even when a celebrity I like is modeling a certain fashion I might think it looks good on them, but I know it wouldn’t look good on me.
I wish Maxim would just dump the fashion section and use that space for something more substantial but I know they won’t. It’s just total product-placement in addition to the abundance of advertisements. In fact, I’d say half of Maxim’s content is advertising (more than half if you include the fashion and technology sections).
FINAL THOUGHTS
Maxim isn’t all bad. It is still readable and fairly interesting for the most part. I can still flip through any given issue and read it from cover to cover, but I’m not nearly as entertained as I used to be. Despite its reputation, Maxim is just an average men’s magazine that tries to appeal to everyone and as a result comes across as bland, mainstream and non-controversial. What happened to the edge Maxim used to have?
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