People love to vote for things. They also love half-naked, beautiful women. Combine the two and BAM, winner winner chicken dinner.
Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit edition, which as little to do with swimsuits and even less to do with sports, will feature a four-page campaign of models posing with Nissan cars. For three weeks after the February 15 newsstand date, people can go online, vote for their favorite image, and the winner will appear in next year’s issue.
It’s one more way Time Warner is attempting to get as much money from the issue as possible. As it should, since the book accounts for roughly seven percent of SI‘s yearly ad revenue. The company also hopes to make money online, with print ads making up only 55 percent of the total cash generated from the issue. Thirty percent will come from the digital side, and then there’s this: “On Feb. 11, the Friday before the issue comes out, DirecTV will air a 30-minute “selection show” during which the 17 models in this year’s edition will be shown.”