• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, October 10, 2006

Lad mags--the glossy volumes that hit pay dirt in the 1990s by targeting young men with hot photo spreads, juvenile humor and rampant product placement--are losing their edge. In 2006, ad pages and revenue have dropped significantly at Maxim, Stuff and FHM, and the latest figures from the Publishers Information Bureau (PIB) for August confirm the downward trend. Although industry leader Maxim has worked to stem the tide in recent months, it's clear that the genre is struggling overall.

In August, Maxim's ad pages were down 15.9 percent from the same month in 2005; revenue fell 10.5 percent. Numbers year-to-date weren't much better, with ad pages falling 11.2 percent and revenue down 5.3 percent. The downshift may correlate with poor newsstand results from the first half of 2006. According to the June FAS-FAX report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), single-copy sales dropped 14.1 percent during the first six months of 2006, compared to the same period in 2005.

With its flagship publication threatened, owner Dennis Publishing has acted swiftly to reverse the tide, including the installation of a new Editor in Chief, Jimmy Jellinek. The overhaul seems to be paying off: Ad pages for the mag's November issue are up 26.6 percent over the same month last year. But it remains to be seen whether this turnaround will last. The magazine still has to deliver at newsstands to keep advertisers interested.

The situation looks less hopeful at Maxim's main competitor, FHM--another British import that hit the U.S. market in March 2000. August ad pages are down 8.7 percent and revenue fell 2.7 percent, compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date, ad pages are down 17.1 percent, and revenue is down 12.5 percent. The June FAS-FAX recorded a 6.6 percent drop in newsstand sales, and a 1.8 percent drop in subscriptions in the first six months of 2006.

FHM has remade itself many times. It began as a highbrow fashion publication in the 1980s--and owner Emap is clearly pushing another round of reinvention for the title. But recent changes intended to boost newsstand sales, including cover girls showing more skin, could easily backfire. The magazine must walk a fine line to retain major brand advertisers that are leery of risqué content. Wal-Mart kicked FHM off its magazine racks in 2003, along with other lad mags. In recent months, the landlord of New York's Grand Central Station has seen fit to partially obscure FHM's covers at the main Hudson News retail location.

Another Dennis property, Stuff, has also taken some serious hits in 2006. August ad pages are down 11 percent, compared to 2005, and revenue dropped 4 percent. For the year-to-date, ad pages are down 8.6 percent, and revenue is essentially flat with a 1.8 percent drop. Although these numbers compare with Maxim and FHM, Stuff faces other challenges, including the apparent weakness of the men's shopping category. With marketers abandoning metrosexuals as target consumers and Conde Nast closing Cargo in March of this year, Stuff's market environment is looking considerably less friendly.