The feature, to be published in March, is headlined "The war between the sexes...is over!" and will give both sides of the sex war story, in the hope that the double-issue stunt will boost sales as couples compare notes.
Cosmopolitan, which is owned by Hearst, has seen advertising pages drop 7% in 2001, while Maxim publisher Dennis saw ads fall by 2%. Both titles watched newsstand sales drop during the last six months.
It seems likely, however, that Maxim, the driving force behind the initiative, approached Cosmo on the rebound, having been knocked back by Cosmo's US rival Jane. Jane, published by the Conde Nast-owned Fairchild Publications, decided in the end to "pass on the offer from the frat boys at Maxim".
Dennis Publishing, which has published Maxim in the US for five years, is said to have wooed editors of Cosmo -- first launched in 1886 and owned by Hearst since 1905 -- with lavish gifts at an Irish bar in Manhattan.
The content for the article was apparently discussed and agreed at the same bar that night. Maxim takes longer to resolve the age-old battle of the sexes, dedicating six pages to the article, against Cosmo's three pages.
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