The Great Cover Debate is the brainchild of the Periodical Publishers Association and is part of the activity around Magazine Week 2008, September 29 to October 5.
It involves 16 famous covers battling it out to be voted best British magazine cover of all time, with the result announced on September 29.
Several names from the magazine world have a personal interest in the competition, as they each nominated a cover and have gone on film to champion it at the .
The 1989 Tatler issue was nominated by IPC Media's editorial director Andy Cowles while the 2006 Heat issue was nominated by Simply Knitting editor Debora Bradley.
The covers span a period from the first issue of Oz in 1967, which features a hand-drawn toothy mouth and was nominated by NME editor Conor McNicholas.
NME itself is the most recent with its 2007 nude image of overweight but by no means retiring Beth Ditto of The Gossip inviting the reader to "Kiss my ass!", which was put forward by Guy Woodward, editor of wine magazine Decanter.
Celebrity covers are well-represented, including OK!'s 1999 Posh and Becks wedding issue, nominated by Wedding editor Catherine Westwood, and Vanity Fair's 'London swings again!' 1997 issue which showed Patsy Kensit and Liam Gallagher in a Union Jack-bedecked bed, nominated by Look editor Ali Hall.
It is up against Vogue's very different cover of the same year, which bore only the masthead and a stylish picture of Princess Diana, in tribute to her life -- nominated by Hair editor Louise White -- following her death in a car crash.
There is also a sci-fi contingent in the creepy form of Empire's breathing Darth Vader, and the Radio Times' more tongue-in-cheek 'Vote Dalek!', both from 2005.
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