Thursday, June 5, 2008

This is Not Your Grandma's EBONY Magazine


Is there some new blood over at Ebony shaking things up? Because this doesn't look like the Ebony I remember. You know, the one that every other black beauty salon in the country has had a subscription to since 1972...and they kept every issue? There was the nicely executed "Fashion Issue" last year and then young heartthrob blood Chris Brown on last month's cover. These days the content seems to be skewing to a much younger demographic. Seeing Serena Williams and her glorious booty gracing the cover of the July issue is definitely a head turner. First of all, I have never seen her look better and secondly, the photo is not a crappy composite shot or something lifted from a photo agency.If I didn't see that iconic red and white Ebony logo in the top left corner, I would have mistaken this for an issue of In Style. I just wonder if there is an ad for Fashion Fair's Vantex fade cream in every issue.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

That IS an eye-catching cover! Serena looks great.

AJ Plaid said...

You're right, Brigette. Serena looks so ab fably retro pin-up. Ebony did good by her and me. I wanna photo shoot like this one!

::pouts::

But I do wonder if this booty-tastic photo, as sexy and playful as it is, doesn't run on the tasteful end of the big-butt-centralized photos on every (or at least every other) publication aimed at the "hip-hop (Black) male" crowd, like XXL and others. Or did these magazines get served by Ebony on how to do photograpic good by our behinds...

B said...

I see your point aj plaid. There are a few different ways to see the image but I just like it. It's a summer issue and she looks beautiful, happy and healthy. Also, there's no "come f*ck me" stare of baby oil involved which is always a good think.

AJ Plaid said...

@ brigette--"Also, there's no "come f*ck me" stare of baby oil involved which is always a good think."

LMAO That's why Serena's pix rocks and the other ones looks so jainky. You're right, friend.

Ariel said...

Oh wow. That issue looks amazing. I wonder if theyhave fresher content too.

Camille Acey said...

off-topic

This (kinda) annoys me
http://www.thefader.com/articles/2008/6/6/stylee-fridays-zachary-s-smile-white-label

Style Noir said...

Holy hell!

Bravo, Ebony!

Beauty Is Diverse said...

She looks great!!!!

theHotness Grrrl said...

Hmmpph, if I didn't see the red andw hite logo I would've thought this was an issue of King magazine. I'm glad she is on the cover-- long overdue if you ask me, but the buttocks POV is played, tired and sexist. The fact that she doesn't have that 'come hither look' is almost irrelevant. Ebony, last I checked, was a family/ community/ lifestyle mag. It is not a fashion or a men's mag (i.e. Elle or GQ) where this would have been acceptable. My mother doesn't want to see Serena's as$ everytime she looks at her coffee table and I'm sure your grandma doesn't need to see it either everytime she goes to the doctor's to get her sugar checked. From a business perspective, it's a great move! The cover is eye-catching and the boys will surely scoop this on the newsstands giving Smooth a real run for it's dollar!

Anonymous said...

The new editors at Ebony are employing an ingenious marketing strategy. This cover will surely increase sales and have tongues wagging. Nevertheless, Serena looks beautiful and the photographer did an excellent job of treading that fine line between classy and vulgar. However, at first glance, I initially thought I was looking at the cover of Shape.

matt williams said...

I think this pic is very tastefull. If you want to see a sexually charged woman in a bathing suit, look at King. I really doubt if the ladies on this blog would be complaining if the cover featured a shirtless NFL hunk with a six pack.

Asi Mod said...

I respectfully disagree! That cover with Serena's butt in the forefront resembles a lot of the other (exploitive) black magazines. I would have loved to see Serena in a beautiful evening dress or something less "hoochie".

Just my opinion!