The Katarina Witt cover from December 1998 holds the rare distinction of being one of only two issues in the iconic brand’s history to be a complete sellout. The other being the launch issue featuring Marilyn Monroe. See Marilyn Monroe cover from December 1953 here: https://www.coverssell.com/?p=2770
Credit to the folks at SportsNet magazine for pointing this fact out.
Had you invested in the Katarina Witt issue at the $5.95 cover price, you’d be getting a 378% return on investment. Not too shabby.
When a cover featuring Lindsay Vonn appeared in Sports Illustrated, it stirred up controversey regarding female althletes posing provocatively.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/05/lindsey-vonn-sports-illus_n_450438.html
Is the Katarina Witt cover deserving of Hall of Fame Status?
Loading ...
I have had some interesting private emails on this cover. Some are saying that the cover wasn’t what caused the sellout. But, Playboy always has good looking women showing clevage, so what made this a record sellout.
Celebrity. For sure. But I think timing is everything.
In 58 years of publishing, or 696 issues, only two were sellouts…Marilyn and Katarina.
That’s something special.