• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 2, 2011

Men's Health and Women's Health -- Rodale titles known for iconic, ab-centric covers -- are inviting readers to get into the game with a new Facebook contest, seeking the "Fittest Friends of Men's Health and Women's Health," according to Folio. Online voting will choose 10 toned finalists from among the Facebook friends of each magazine on the social network -- males for Men's Health, females for Women's Health.

A panel of experts will choose a winner for each magazine, who will appear on the cover as a fitness model and also receive a free vacation package courtesy of El Dorado Resorts. Other prizes are being provided by New Balance, Micker, MyTrak, and Kor Water.

According to MIN Online, Men's Health already has 137,000 fans on Facebook, while Women's Health has 118,000. The contest, which was produced in partnership with Strutta, will run until July 24; some of the leading entries have already attracted over 1,000 votes on Facebook.

Final judging will be conducted by a celebrity panel including LA Clippers forward Blake Griffin, LPGA golfer Michelle Wie, a representative from modeling agency Wilhelmina, and David Zinczenko and Michele Promaulako, the editors in chief of Men's Health and Women's Health, respectively.

Both pubs got off to a strong start this year, with ad pages growing at a rate exceeding the industry average. Men's Health saw ad pages increase 8.8% to 142 in the first three months of 2011, according to the Publishers Information Bureau, while Women's Health jumped 9.9% to 116. These figures compare favorably with an industry-wide increase of just 2.5%.

Robb Report Debuts iPad App

The Robb Report, covering all things luxury lifestyle-related, has launched a new iPad app in conjunction with its 23rd annual "Best of the Best" issue this June. The interactive app -- which is free for existing print subscribers -- features multimedia, including slide shows, and videos highlighting new luxury product and services from a variety of categories: automobiles, yachts, jewelry, hotels, wines and fashion. When viewed in portrait format on the iPad, the Robb Report app provides a straightforward magazine-style format; when viewed horizontally, the user can unlock a number of interactive enhancements.

Atlantic Digital Properties Boasts Record-Breaking May

The Atlantic's digital properties are blowing up in a good way, with record-setting figures for the month of May. Compared to the same month last year, unique monthly visitors at TheAtlantic.com increased 114% to 8.2 million, while sister site TheAtlanticWire.com increased 131% to 1.8 million.

Digital ad revenues increased 20% from 2010 to 2011, thanks to the same proportional increase in the number of digital ad campaigns --including programs from Accenture, Apple, Bank of America, Cathay Pacific, Goldman Sachs, IBM and Mercedes. Bob Cohn, editorial director of Atlantic Digital, boasted of the sites' editorial versatility: "When a story like Osama Bin Laden's death comes along, we're all over it from every angle -- diplomatic, military, political, technological, and cultural."

Clemons Joins The Atlantic

Steve Clemons has joined The Atlantic as editor in chief of AtlanticLive and Washington editor at large for the magazine. Clemons previously worked for the New America Foundation, a think tank he helped launched 12 years ago to pursue pragmatic, nonideological policy innovation and intellectual entrepreneurship. He will continue to serve as a senior fellow.