Marketwave Alert #69:
It was announced in the February issue of Playboy magazine that the March, 2007 issue will include a feature article about XanGo and their Mangosteen juice product. If the adage holds true that "There is no such thing as bad publicity" then XanGo stands to get some great free publicity. Well, at least free.
Here is the promo for the upcoming article, found in the back of the current issue, in it’s entirety:
GET RICH! LIVE FOREVER! XanGo, a vitamin-rich fruit drink, makes near-miraculous claims, including that you can make a fortune unloading it on your friends. Jonathan Black unveils the absurd subculture surrounding the latest multilevel marketing scheme.
Uh oh.
Commentary:
Although this proves that I do, indeed, read the articles, let’s hope that most guys who pick up the March issue do not. Because, based on that short description, this XanGo article will have little in common with the centerfold. That is, it isn’t going to be pretty. Although, it very well may be a huge bust.
Jonathan Black is a former managing editor of Playboy magazine (he was laid off about five years ago after 16 years there) and is now, I believe, the executive editor at GQ. He is also the author of the book "Yes You Can!: Behind the Hype and Hustle of the Motivation Biz". In spite of it’s title, his book was actually a fairly balanced portrayal of the Motivational Speaking industry. Hopefully he’ll try to be as fair and even-handed towards MLM. But I’m not holding my breath.
