To me, the famous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue always meant the possibility of a free phone. I remember spending lazy summer afternoons sprawled out on my parents’ bed watching TV. In between Gilligan’s Island or whatever reruns were on, were tons of infomercials, of which Sports Illustrated was champion.
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| The 2003 Swimsuit Issue |
If memory serves me right, the commercial itself was generic enough—featuring a man in a polo shirt seated on a black leather couch enthusiastically dialing the toll-free number, shown prominently on the TV screen. His year-long subscription, of course included the famous Swimsuit Issue and sometimes a calendar. Glossy cover shots of bathing beauties beamed off the screen, surely enticing many men to pick up their phones. I was never interested in the subscription or the calendar, but the cool touch-tone phone offered as a free gift captivated me. Imagine—no rotary dial!
As an adult woman, I find the Swimsuit Issue offensive. Why does a magazine primarily covering men’s sports need to feature—much less have a separate issue dedicated to—nearly naked women? Sure, sex sells, and it might sell even better when piggy-backing with a strong brand like Sports Illustrated, but it has no logical fit with the magazine’s coverage. SI takes pride in the fact that the Swimsuit Issue reigns as a—if not the—top seller at magazine newsstands, but remember it’s an issue they put out once a year, and Playboy peddles nude women year-round, yet doesn’t market itself under a sports or any other banner.
But I don’t spend much more time being mildly annoyed over the Swimsuit Issue than I do about the mere existence of a restaurant chain called Hooters. After all, a visit to the news racks promises more than a glimpse of skin on the pages of Maxim and other soft-porn publications. Watch a few minutes of MTV, and you may see even more.
Sports Illustrated redeemed itself slightly when I received SI for Women at work. Although my interest in sports only includes recreational running and swimming, I’d flip through it occasionally as I ate my lunch. I thought it was cool that women’s sports warranted its own magazine and that such a huge brand name would get behind it.
So I grimaced when a news release came across my desk a few weeks ago touting the new Sports Illustrated Fresh Faces competition. To mark the 40th anniversary of the Swimsuit Issue (no wonder it seems so dated), SI is beseeching women to enter for the chance to appear in a special issue hitting stands in February 2004. The grand-prize winner also scores a three-year $75,000 modeling contract and a 350Z Nissan Roadster.
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Sports Illustrated Fresh Faces competition |
Interested candidates need only send along pertinent information such as measurements, hair color, weight, a full-frontal swimsuit photograph and a head shot. Oh but wait—they also must include a 250-word or less statement describing involvement or interest in sports. I’m sure that is weighted very heavily.
It gets worse. Finalists will be judged at Association of Volleyball Professionals’ matches—a league I had held in high esteem given that the men and women compete together in the same circuit. The "Nissan Presents Sports Illustrated Fresh Faces Swimsuit Model Search" headlines at four AVP tour events this summer, including Belmar, NJ; Manhattan Beach, CA; and Chicago. When the summer tour ends, the pool will be winnowed to eight finalists, with the winner chosen via voting on SI.com. And thank goodness the AVP is using its broadcast time wisely: Each of the four competitions will be aired as part of the league’s volleyball coverage on NBC and Fox Sports Net. Dateline NBC will even announce the contest winner shortly before the release of the printed issue.
I’ve since learned that Sports Illustrated for Women is no longer. It’s not surprising that such a niche publication fell prey to weak advertising dollars in this economy. But it’s disheartening to know that modeling careers are being launched in the flagship Sports Illustrated while female athletes have lost a valuable resource like SI for Women—and a pro sports league promotes itself with the help of a beach catwalk. And it seems the free-phone-with-purchase offer hasn’t gotten any better—if you order the Swimsuit Calendar, you receive a giant year-at-a-glimpse poster featuring supermodel Yamila Diaz and a desk diary. You’d think they’d be on to cell phones by now.
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