Time Magazine's Best Lists: Magazine Covers

The lists of "top ten" articles by Time Magazine for 2007 is impressive, to say the least. Most will not find much attention here, but there are several I found worthy of review. One category that is worthy of note was their choice of the best magazine covers.

Their number one choice was Texas Monthly's "Bum Steer" issue in which they make fun of Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident. All I can do is yawn. This is a story that received way too much play and I think Time should be embarrassed that it gave it such high praise. It really wasn't that funny.

However, they recover from their first choice with a cover from the New Yorker of Iranian President Ahmadinejad getting his foot tapped while reading a newspaper while sitting on the toilet (think Senator Larry Craig). This came after a comment he made at Columbia University in which he told the audience that Iraq doesn't have "a problem" with homosexuality (thanks to a death penalty for such activities). Hilarious.

I liked their choice of Steve Jobs of Apple with the title "iGod" from New York magazine. It was clever and funny, two important elements to successful covers.

Another excellent cover was of Stephen Colbert holding a "mini me" of himself on GQ. Colbert is hilarious and the vanity and audacity of the picture only adds to his amazing humor.

The Economist is one of my favorite magazines and its cover on the "End of Cheap Food" demonstrates why it is one of the smartest publications out there. A great choice of Time Magazine.

There are several others that I would have put in my ten and several of theirs that I would have eliminated, but I think the choices of magazine covers is better than other areas they ventured into.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Receive that free ezine by clicking here.

Chevy Commercial: Come and Get It?

One of my favorite bands was Badfinger. I'm not very superstitious, but it appears this great band was horribly cursed and couldn't achieve the level of success people expected in spite of being handpicked by the Beatles to be the first group after them on the Apple label.

I was delighted to "hear" the latest Chevrolet commercial with the Badfinger hit "Come and Get It." Sure, it would have been better if they had used the actual group and not some commercial covering and it would have been better still if it had been a song written by them and not Paul McCartney (no offense, but I actually like the other Badfinger hits better than this). But still, this was very exciting, even though I'm not sure if any of the members make a penny from the commercial since the performance is not by them and the song was written by someone else.

Any way, I'm watching this commercial, which is about the great deals you can get by buying from Chevrolet at this time and next thing you know I'm singing it (with jeers and boos from family members) and I remember lines not used in the commercial. "Did I hear you say that there must be a catch? Will you walk away from a fool and his money?" Hmmm, no wonder Chevrolet didn't want you to hear the rest of the song. After all, the viewer might wonder who the fool is? Any way, I like the spot, but I wonder if I am the only one who knows the lyrics who are watching those commercials.

Maybe Chevrolet should stick with simpler spots where they control the content, like the one above.