It seems like the grown-up male magazine reader is not being served. I just read an article in the New York Times that said a new magazine for the older male will be officially launched May 11 by Rodale, called “BestLife.” (Some copies of the magazine have already been circulated in test markets, including the Twin Cities). From the same company that publishes Mens Health, this magazine, as Dave Carr of the NY Times writes (my favorite description of this target audience), “will seek grown-up men who not only yearn for the reproductive act, but are happy to parent the consequences.”
“Executives at Rodale, which already publishes the successful service magazine Men’s Health, sense that there is room for such a magazine, in part because a retailored GQ has moved away from its longtime competition with Esquire to join the hot pursuit of younger men,” writes Carr.
While geared toward older men, BestLife promises not to be your father’s magazine. It will begin publishing every other month, beginning in the fall. According to the article, this demographic is a hard group to reach. But the demographics also make sense. “There is significant demographic wisdom, if not marketing, behind a magazine focused on older readers. According to the Census Bureau, the median age of the American male will rise to 36 by 2010 from 28.8 in 1980. And those men are notably different from their fathers – more active, more style-conscious and remarkably concerned about trends.”
(OK, I really just wanted to post a photo of Johnny Depp, so Phoebe would think my Web site was cool!)
