Hey Peeps!

I'm grateful that I decided to keep my Elle Magazine subscription last month. I realized a few of the subscriptions I had I felt as though the covers were all the same either a Kardashian on the cover or a Kendall Jenner editorial at the very end of the page. I'm super excited for the February issue…it screams diversity and change with Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson, and Priyanka Chopra having individual covers in ELLE’s annual “Women In TV” issue!

Olivia Wilde from the upcoming show Vinyl (Who else is stoked for this?) and Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus were also chosen for this year’s edition. This is quite a mix considering covers from last year, all these actresses are different in age, color, walks of life. The cover lineup is one of ELLE Magazine’s most diverse ever, and truly reflects the makeup of actresses in Hollywood.

According to a recent article from Women’s Wear Daily, the Kardashian print influence is dwindling. The trade cites Cosmopolitan's 50th anniversary November issue featuring Kris Jenner and all of her daughters as case in point: the issue sold just 436,500 newsstand issues according to the Alliance for Audited Media. Kylie's solo February cover sold better (495,423 issues), but that is still less than the magazines average for the first half of 2015 (531,086 issues). Three years ago, Kim's solo April cover was the magazine's bestseller of 2013, reaching 1.2 million copies according to Adweek. Meanwhile at Teen Vogue, the May issue featuring Kylie beat the first half of the year's average with 48,237 issues, though that was less than Kendall's September 2014 issue which sold 72,619 newsstand issues, according to WWD.

Yes, we can use the “everything has gone digital” excuse. But maybe, just maybe... consumers who are buying $3.99 for a magazine just want to see more creativity in the cover and stories? Maybe they want to see someone different on these covers they can actually get inspired by? $3.99 can buy a tall latte, cover girl mascara, and two items from the McDonald’s dollar menu. For many, those purchases are more of a satisfaction then reading about Kylie Jenner denying getting her lips done in the latest cover of Allure Magazine. At least with the Women in TV issue, Elle made an effort to include actresses not only from different backgrounds but also have shows that are completely different from the other. Is the consumer who watches Veep on HBO turning into Empire on FOX? Who knows but, bravo to Elle for giving us a different dynamic in 2016!

-xo

Kosi