FHM
or For Him Magazine is an international monthly
lad's mag. The magazine began publication in 1985
in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and
changed its title to FHM in 1994, although the
full For Him Magazine continues to be printed
on the spine of each issue. Founded by Chris Astridge,
the magazine was a predominantly fashion-based
publication distributed through high street men's
fashion outlets. Circulation expanded to newsagents
as a quarterly by the spring of 1987.
After
the emergence of James Brown's Loaded magazine
(regarded as the blueprint for the lad's mag genre),
For Him firmed up its editorial approach to compete
with the expanding market and introduced a sports
supplement. It then went monthly and changed its
name to FHM. It subsequently expanded internationally.
As of January 2007, it published 28 editions per
month including editions in Russia, the United
States, Norway, Denmark, Romania, Croatia, Australia,
Estonia, New Zealand, France, Latvia, Lithuania,
Indonesia, Taiwan, Portugal, Malaysia, India,
Mexico, The Netherlands, Venezuela, Thailand,
the Philippines, Serbia, South Africa, Spain,
Slovenia, Sweden, Singapore, Bulgaria, Greece,
Germany, Hungary and Turkey.
Like
Loaded, FHM arguably relies heavily on the appeal
of photographs of scantily-clad women. Unlike
many magazines, FHM prints photographs of women
already famous for reasons other than their beauty
- such as actresses and pop singers. FHM is typically
stocked in the lifestyle rather than adult section
on newsstands, although Wal-Mart banned lad's
mags in 2003.
The
magazine is printed on high quality glossy paper
and the photography is of high technical quality.
FHM became one of the best-selling magazines in
Britain during the mid to late 1990s, selling
700,000 copies per month by 1999, which was a
fall by 9.6%. Towards the end of the decade the
lads' culture in which the magazine thrived began
to die off and publishers turned to celebrity-oriented
titles to boost overall sales.
FHM
publishes an annual list of the "100 Sexiest
Women In The World", as voted by its readers.
As
well as the photo shoots, the magazine contains
articles on a wide variety of topics, including
profiles of sports stars, movie, music, gadget
and book reviews, gossip, men's fashion shoots,
the "bar scene" in a variety of locations,
guy tales of sex, and extensive discussion of
sexual techniques.
In
December 2006 it was announced that FHM will be
discontinuing its United States print edition
after the March 2007 issue, turning to an all-digital
format with the launch of FHM Online.
In
October 2007 FHM launched a magazine in India
along with an accompanying website, FHMindia.com
FHM
in other media
Originally
starting as just a magazine, FHM has now expanded
into other media. This includes different websites
for almost every country in which FHM is published,
each featuring localised content. In some countries,
FHM pictorials and videos can also be downloaded
onto mobile phones.
FHM
TV is also a music television station in the UK.
It timeshares with (and broadcasts on the same
channel as) fellow EMAP-owned music channel Q
TV. The channel plays music themed shows such
as "Yummy Mummys", "FHM Dance"
and "Now Thats Hot!"
In
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Carley
Bobby states that FHM has voted her in a top 100
list for "Best Ass".
FHM in India
The
Indian edition of FHM is published by Nextgen
Publishing Ltd ( http://nextgenpublishing.in
), who already have CAR India and Bike India along
with The Ideal Home and Garden, Smart Photography,
Commercial Vehicle and Computer Active in their
kitty.
FHM
was launched in India on 19th October 2007 in
a star-studded party held at Mumbai, which saw
celebrities from all walks of life participating,
including, Lakshmi Mittal, Sanjay Mandreaker,
Sharukh Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Karan Johar, Andrew
Symonds, Deepika Padukone, Rohit Bal, Madhur Bhandarkar,
Monisha Arora, Avanti Birla, Varun Bahl and many
more along with FHM India's first cover girl Ujjwala
Raut. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Media
Man Australia attends FHM party on 2nd November 2006
- photos - Alissha Willis
FHM
story on Channel Seven 'Today Tonight' - 8th November
2006
Blondes
bumped from FHM, by Jesse Hogan - 13th March 2008 (Credit:
The Age)
Busty
blondes will be bumped from the pages of For Him
Magazine in favour of health and fitness issues
as part of PBL Media's push to reduce direct competition
between its raunchy men's magazines.
PBL
Media's purchase of rival publisher Emap Australia
last September resulted in it inheriting FHM and
Zoo Weekly, both of which competed with its existing
men's magazine, Ralph.
While
Zoo Weekly is the most "downmarket"
of the trio - and also the best-performing - the
company has now decided to move FHM "upmarket",
with a brief to target "an older, more affluent
reader".
"In
addition to a fresh new design, reinvigorated
content will include a travel section, motoring,
food and drink and health and fitness," the
company said of the change, while also promising
"expert advice on relationships and sex,
and money and investment".
"We're
tapping in to everything that interests urban
men in their mid-twenties to thirties - and delivering
it in an aspirational, yet relevant, package,"
the magazine's new editor, Ben Smithurst, said.
The
first edition of the revamped FHM will go on sale
next month.
The
latest circulation results revealed FHM's circulation
- the average number of magazines sold - had fallen
from 90,025 in the second half of 2006 to 68,375
in the second half of last year - a 24% decline.
Ralph fared slightly better in the same period,
with sales down only 8.9%, from 93,409 to
85,063.
In
contrast, Zoo Weekly gained 62,000 readers between
2006 and 2007 to finish the year with an average
weekly readership of 494,000.
Last
year, Inside Sport ditched bikini-clad models
and athletes from its front page in an attempt
to attract more female readers to the magazine.
''For
anyone who wanted to look at gals in lingerie
or bikinis there are now a plethora of mags and
it's kind of made our attempt look irrelevant,''
Inside Sport editor Graem Sims said last year.
LARA
Bingle's scandal-plagued image is poised for yet
another attempt at makeover, with the stunner
emerging as the face of a revamped "intelligent"
lads mag.
Bingle
has been convinced to bed her "bumpy"
history with the men's magazine market and pose
up for a new look FHM, relaunched yesterday.
The
pin-up partner of Aussie cricketer Michael Clarke
once threatened to sue over her appearance in
the tawdry tomes.
ACP
mens titles publisher Peter Holder confirmed that,
after "cleaning up its act", Bingle
would appear as the cover girl on FHM's May issue.
"It's
taken a lot of convincing but she was sold on
the really positive message the magazine was upgrading
itself," Mr Holder said.
Bingle
will appear in swimsuits, after shooting a beachside
feature. Mr Holder denied the shots would be "gratuitous".
"Does
it cover Lara's pretty face and great Australian
female body? Absolutely," he said.
The
revamp of FHM has come at a price for owner ACP,
which claims it has knocked back a $1 million-worth
of advertising from phone sex services which have
previously set the tone for the content.
"Taking
the sex ads out have lifted the tone immediately.
The stories are written a little bit more intelligently
with more panache," Mr Holder told Confidential.
Bingle's
received enormous support from the ACP in rehabilitating
her public image after her affair with married
AFL star Brendan Fevola.
Disclaimer:
Media Man Australia is delighted to have collaborated
with FHM
Media
Man Australia does not represent FHM or ACP Publishing
