Guerrilla Marketing 101 With SI Swimsuit Issue

One of the great mysteries of the universe is how MJ Day, Senior Associate Editor at SPORTS ILLUSTRATED for the Swimsuit Issue, has less followers than I do on Twitter*. Considering she’s Twitpicking mind-blowing SI Swimsuit preview photos like this all the time:

Irina Shayk Photos

*rubs eyes, shakes head, pounds fist, repeats*

That’s SI Swimsuit Model Irina Shayk this morning as she shoots for the next SI Swimsuit Issue.

SPORTSbyBROOKS Girl Cecilia Stars And Stripes Bikini

Yep, reminds me of Ceci too.

* When I posted, she had 2,495 followers. That won’t last long now.

No Denials Danica Won’t Pose Nude For ESPN Mag

Darren Rovell of CNBC follows up my report late last night that Danica Patrick will appear nude in an upcoming issue of ESPN THE MAGAZINE.

Danica Patrick Signs Fans Bare Boobs

(If only Danica had denied this nude pose)

The issue, which breaks in October, is officially known as “The Body Issue” and will feature athletes in non-explicit nude poses. Rovell got this response from ESPN The Magazine’s editor-in-chief Gary Belsky when he asked if Patrick would be part of the issue:

“We are not announcing which athletes are participating in The Body Issue at this time,” Belsky, wrote in an e-mail. “When we do reveal the participant list, we will not reveal who disrobed and who did not. The photos will answer most such questions, of course; and we will otherwise let the individual athletes reveal, should they so choose, whether they removed all clothing for our shoots.”

Posing nude is a pretty touchy subject for someone as high profile as Danica Patrick, so if she unequivocally wasn’t going to be included in the issue, don’t you think Belsky would go out of his way to say that?
Rovell also contacted a public relations firm under Patrick’s employ:

Lewis Kay of BNC public relations, which helps represent Patrick, came back with this note. “Danica is NOT confirmed to appear in the issue, nor has she even been approached,” Kay wrote.

Again, posing nude is a pretty big deal if you’re a high-profile female athlete like Patrick. If you had absolutely no interest in doing so for ESPN The Magazine, wouldn’t you tell your p.r. people to let that clearly be known?

Read more…

Danica To Bare It All For ESPN Mag’s “Nude” Issue

Last February I wrote that I thought SPORTS ILLUSTRATED would eventually push its swimsuit models into posing nude in order to keep publishing’s largest selling annual mag copy, the vaunted SI Swimsuit Issue, on top of the circulation heap.

Danica Patrick SI

Perhaps someone at ESPN THE MAGAZINE was listening.

ESPN Mag Sales vs. SI: Wonder what they'd look like without swimsuit stats?

Yesterday I posted a graphic comparing ad revenue between SI and ESPN The Magazine. While SI more than doubled ESPN’s ad take, I wondered if the swimsuit issue was subtracted, would SI still be ahead of ESPN’s print offering?

Leryn Franco Bikini Photo Shoot

(One of SbB’s suggestions for ESPN The Mag “Nude” Issue - Leryn Franco)

Apparently ESPN also took notice of that recently as I’ve since learned from two Bristol-based sources that in October ESPN The Magazine will roll out a “nude issue”, with the edition featuring SI Swimsuit Issue favorite Danica Patrick.

Danica Patrick Now Has Bigger Tattoo

(Will Danica’s tramp stamp survive the ESPN shoot, unlike at SI?)

Besides Danica, who do you want to see nude in ESPN The Magazine?

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What Happens When SI Takes Off The Swimsuit?

SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY, my first stop on the web every morning, has this handy chart of SI vs. ESPN THE MAG sales the past two years:

ESPN Mag Sales vs. SI: Wonder what they'd look like without swimsuit stats?

Wonder what those numbers would look like if you removed revenue from SI’s swimsuit issue - a copy that happens to be the highest-selling mag on the planet every year. I’m guessing the ad revenue for SPORTS content would be a lot closer to dead, flat even.

Which mag do you prefer:

View Results

I know the swimsuit issue probably does more in actual sales than ad rev, but still you have to believe that those numbers skew the comparison to the ESPN offering. Read more…

New Bar Refaeli SI Swimsuit Pics Put Up on Twitter

Twitter really is a wonderful thing. If it’s not Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin uploading lovely photos of herself, it’s other ladies uploading photos of Larry Johnson buying big bottles of booze for buxom babes.

Bar Refaeli

And score another one for the social networking application, as we get to enjoy some new pics of Bar Refaeli & other beauties showing their stuff for next year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. You’ll recall that Refaeli was the cover girl for this year’s edition. And from what we can tell from this little preview, 2010 is going to be just as titillating.

(More pics after the jump? You better believe it.)

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Married MLBer Asked Media Intern Out On A Date?

• During a recent visit to Houston’s Minute Maid Park, a married MLB player supposedly tried to ask out a media intern for some post-game fun.

Astros girls mascot Junction Jack

Say it ain’t so, Junction Jack!

• The NFL is trying to spread its pigskin platitudes throughout China with - what else? - a reality TV show.

Dana White lectures big UFC bruiser Brock Lesnar on how to behave properly with the press. Huh, how about that.

• But the UFC prez shouldn’t have such worries if Shaq joins his ranks. Unless Kobe is also on the card.

• The Chicago Cubs are considering filing for bankruptcy. Wouldn’t it be great to see Mark Cuban snag the Cubs from bankruptcy court?

Read more…

SI Moving Swimsuit Issue Release Party To Vegas

Sorry, David Letterman - you’ve been trumped by Vegas. For the last two years, the “Late Show” host has been lucky enough to make the official announcement of which lovely lady would be gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue. (For those who need a refresher, it was Marisa Miller in 2008 and Bar Refaeli in 2009.)

Marisa Miller Bar Refaeli SI swimsuit covers

Well, the suits over at SI decided that their big bikini-based announcement needed more pizazz than just Paul Shaffer on keyboards, so they’re taking their swimsuit show out west - to Vegas!

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Tennis Babe Tatiana Golovin is a Bikini Treat, Too

Earlier today, we shared a superb selection of tennis babe Maria Kirilekno showing her sexier side for Sports Illustrated. However, in the original article we wrote all those many days ago, we mentioned that Maria would be joined in bikini-clad company by another lovely lady of the lob - fellow Russian racket-eer Tatiana Golovin.

Tatiana Golovin

Well, it wouldn’t be fair to ogle Ms. Kirilenko’s curves without also taking time to go ga-ga over Ms. Golovin. So in the interest of fair & balanced journalism (nobody’s using that phrase, are they?), let us take a tantalizing look at Tatiana’s adventures in swimwear modeling:

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Tennis Babe Maria Kirilenko Captured In SI Bikinis

It could be argued that Maria is one of the most beautiful names in sports. Maria Sharapova and Maria Verchenova are just a few prime examples of this theory. But if you need further proof of such an hypothesis, may I present Exhibit A-dash-3: Maria Kirilenko.

Maria Kirilenko

Scott reminded us in yesterday’s Speed Read that Ms. Kirilenko was going to get most of her kit off for the cameras of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED - you know, the special issue that featured Bar Refaeli on this year’s cover. So, how did Maria’s shoot go? Allow us to offer up a photo essay that you’re certain to fall in 30-love with:

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Undaunted By SI, Danica Gets Even Bigger Tattoo

Last week we told you Danica Patrick’s two appearances in the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Swimsuit Issue were marred by some clumsy editing. In the photos, Patrick’s back tattoo was edited out in some of the pictures - but not all.

Danica Patrick Now Has Bigger Tattoo

SI has since confirmed that it removed the tattoo from the photos as matter of some sort of absurd policy. But there was no explanation why some of the shots with tattoos remained.

Should Sports Illustrated dump Danica for her Tat?

View Results

Patrick knew about the policy before she ever posed for the swimsuit issue, and I’m happy to report that SI’s photoshop efforts have not dampened her desire for more tattoos. Since her last shoot with Sports Illustrated, she has added even more body ink. Pics after the jump. Read more…