So about four years ago, I bought hundreds of Esquire and Playboy magazines from 1950 to 1970. While I realize many will chuckle, I did buy them for the articles and for the old advertising (I was on the hunt for a couple of particular ads). I mean think for a moment about it – if I wanted porn there are about twenty bazillion outlets on the internet for that; I most certainly didn’t need to go hunting at garage sales and eBay. No, I was interested in the magazines largely for their ads and artwork. The covers were magnificent (almost all my Esquires original Lois covers), and it was like playing CSI advertising. A forensic study in how products used to be sold.

One of my employees, a woman, was with me in the conference room while I was pouring over the magazines and cutting out ads. Reading the magazines for an hour, she goes, “You know, every issue is really about three things – liquor, fashion, and trying to get women to have sex. It’s basically Cosmo for men.”

I looked up from my cuttings through my glasses and went, “huh?”