ANGELINA JOLIE REIGNS AS QUEEN OF MAGAZINE COVER GIRLS

However, dear Aussie, Nicole Kidman, country star Carrie Underwood, and Rachel Weisz were the least. That said, the losers shouldn’t bare the entire burden, we must look to out constant blame hot topic (the economy) to take the heat  off our leading cover girls! A sure  and safe strategy in these times.

Several of the worst-selling issues fell in January, which is typically a soft month for newsstand sales, or around the holidays, when consumers were dealing with more pressing economic concerns. Like, trying to put food into their bodies, and keep the roofs over their heads..  not learn about a fad diet in a magazine. Dieting was  compulsory in January for a lot of American women! Sad but true.

At Vogue, the October issue with Weisz on the cover was the magazine’s poorest seller, with 276,000 copies, while September, unsurprisingly, was Vogue’s best seller at 559,000 copies. The fat fall fashion issue featured Keira Knightley (Perhaps because  Knightly is an anorexic, starving herself, when American women were trying to stop their kids from going hungry, that Kiera resonated so strongly!) Keira was their motivator to provide!

At Elle, Beckham was the title’s best-selling subject last year. Her January cover sold 413,000 copies.  That Vicky B is surprising! She kind of just creeps up on you, like  that unsuspecting striker in a soccer match that wins the winning goal in the world cup,in the last 30 seconds. Yeah, she’s learnt from David Beckham,how to do that. And we like it! The worst was December’s Underwood, registering 253,611. Why is carrie Underwood not selling? Don’t country folk buy magazines and support their country stars> No! Carries is gorgeous, humble, beautiful, talented and young. Oh, there’s not scandal in her life! I forgot, cos scandal sells.

Jolie’s July cover of Vanity Fair and her November cover of W were the titles’ best sellers for the year. Vanity Fair’s July issue sold 504,785 single copies, while W’s November issue moved 78,000 issues. “Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl was Vanity Fair’s slowest seller, selling 314,000 copies in January. Poor Katherine Heigl, because after Angelina Jolie, Heigl is the hope of glamorous Hollywood in that old school tradition, so she got a raw deal here.

Hilary Swank was the worst performer for W, compounded by the January timing, selling 27,000 on the newsstand. I totally get that, how Swank can do so few films and have two Oscars, is her reward in this life. After that, um, can’t relate at all, to the toothy yet pretty star. I also did not dig the way, she sold out her hubby as a cover story on Vanity Fair to get ahead when he was struggling with cocaine addiction. She proved she was a star that only thinks of herself! She was not there  for him, when the moment called, but he’d always been there for her.  I’m not surprised Swank does not sell… it’s like empathy factor = zero from audiences towards her.

[Photo By: Courtesy Photo Eva Longoria for In Style was one of the best-selling magazine covers of 2008].

In Style’s March issue with Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria Parker outsold the rest of the year’s copies, with 888,912. She’s a total winner! Very humble for who she is and what she is capable f achieving. There is nada that Longoria can’t do, if she sets her mind to it. Determined to make a difference, Longoria sells well with Latino women and all women here in America. 25% of all kindergarten children in the US are Latino, so mami knows how to work it, in the consciousness of the American women. Lopez does too.

The underperformer was July with Anne Hathaway at 585,170 issues. Anne Hathaway, is great, but not necessarily strikingly pretty as a cover girl. She’s better animated then frozen in a still. She’s funny and quirky! but so is Kathy Griffith, also not a cover girl. A cover is not Anne’s best medium. Magazine’s should work that out, and show Anne in movie stills, rather then trying to freeze her in glamor mode, where she does not look like the best human clothes available hanger for a Valentino gown. When she’s shot in action on a film set, that’s when Anne shines. It’s not translating to a magazine, hence these poor sales figures.

Marie Claire’s best seller was July, thanks to the magazine nabbing the stars of “Sex and The City” ’ for its cover as the movie hit theaters. A smart move  by Marie Claire. The issue sold 440,948 copies.

The December issue featuring Jennifer Connelly was the worst performer, with 191,000 copies. yeah, she totally needs to get those hairy eyebrows reshaped. Hello, Jennifer, only Madonna can pull that hairy eyebrow look off! That’s Madge’s look. Pluck action needed and then Connelly will sell again.

Harper’s Bazaar sold 213,195 copies of its March issue when it put bad girl Lindsay Lohan on its cover, but Drew Barrymore didn’t fare as well. Her November cover sold 119,501 copies. Lindsay Lohan is a trooper. We should all just give her $1 each, because she more than entertains us all, with or without being a solid working and paid actress. Go Lindsay, finally some good news for Lohan this week.

Lucky’s September issue also sold best for the shopping magazine — repeat cover subject Milla Jovovich sold 336,000 issues. But its June issue with Amanda Peet registered 205,000 copies. Not really fair as Milla Jovovich was a supermodel before becoming a stunning action actress. Magazine covers love Milla, and return the favor of her beginnings as a star.

At Glamour, Jessica Simpson’s June issue sold 775,000 issues (wow!  what a surprise, go Simpson!!!!), Glamour’s best of the year. Kidman was not as appealing: Her December cover sold 460,000 copies — the worst single-copy sales in recent history for the title. Cosmopolitan sold nearly 2 million copies with Scarlett Johansson in August. But while country-music-singing Simpson fared well for Glamour, she was Cosmo’s worst seller for the year when she appeared on its December issue, which sold 1,565,128 copies. City dwellers expect a city feel in Cosmo, so why did they cast Jessica Simpson on their cover in the first place. The result reflects this in sales as Simpson is associated at best with a country girl vibe.

Though Longoria Parker and Johansson were best sellers for In Style and Cosmopolitan, they fared the poorest for Allure. The duo fell victim to the economic downturn: They appeared on the November and December issues of the beauty title, which both sold 190,000 copies each. Allure’s best seller? Beckham once again — her August cover sold 273,000 copies. Of course, Vicky B has those soccer tactics working in her favor, as to when to actually run onto the magazine pitch and play. She’s smart, driven by the calendar and reading the times. I like her a lot!

“The Hills” star Conrad was the best seller for Shape, selling 447,969 copies in January, and Jennifer Lopez was the best seller for Self in September (376,000 copies), as the mother of twins was training for her first triathlon. But fewer readers were interested in Renée Zellweger and Kelly Ripa. Zellweger was Self’s worst seller in October, selling 254,000 copies. Does Renee have any sense of self outside of being totally into herself and selfish? No, so she should not be on Self mag at all. The November issue of Shape, featuring Ripa, sold 258,200 copies. That’s surprise, as Ripa earned $8 million last year for career earnings and she’s a sweetheart. I guess America only likes Ripa in morning TV, where she’s appearing the most “jut like us” average Americans. Fair enough! That’s what that tells us.

Overall, congrats to all of the names even listed in this article who made magazine covers. Thanks for keeping us all entertained. And, congrats also to the girls publicists who worked hard garnering their star’s magazine covers. In PR, magazine covers are the oscar awards of publicity and the public relations game! Creds to publicists too.

ENDS