Why <em>Esquire</em> Isn't Likely To Have John Edwards On Its Cover Again Anytime Soon

Senior staff at Esquire may have known as early as last summer that John Edwards' 2008 presidential bid was destined for failure — the August 2007 cover featuring the then-contender was its worst selling of the year, an analysis of magazine sales revealed.

Edwards is not alone in the worst-of-the-year department: GQ's January cover featuring Robert De Niro was its worst selling of 2007. Not surprisingly, the analysis shows that mens mags — in particular, GQ and Esquire — perform best when featuring scantily clad, beautiful women:

Angelina Jolie (July 2007) was the "woman Esquire loved" and Esquire readers love, as proven by her being the Hearst monthly's best-seller. (November 2007 Sexiest Woman Alive Charlize Theron doubtlessly sold very well, too.) And, at GQ, readers "took a close look" at best-seller Jessica Biel (July), who was Esquire's 2005 Sexiest..., and runner-up Jessica Alba (June).

Read the entire analysis here.