Time Magazine Defends Lending of Its Cover To Promote Modern Warfare 3

As some of you might recall, the pre-order bonus at Gamestop for Modern Warfare 3 includes a pseudo Time cover. Looking like a scene straight out of Fallout 3, the poster/cover is titled “World Stands on the Brink,” and depicts a devastated New York. If you didn’t know it was tied to Modern Warfare’s 3 marketing, you might even think the cover is real for a moment: it’s pretty convincing, as far as these things go. This move is a first for Time, who has never lent its cover to promote a commercial product.

The New York Times reveals the reasoning for such an odd partnership. The incentive? Why, none other than reaching, and hopefully capturing gaming’s most prominent target market: young men. Time magazine goes so far as to say that the medium is “one of the biggest entertainment franchises of all time”

This is where the boys are, said Kim Kelleher, Time’s publisher. This is a great way to connect with millions of people we might not have otherwise connected with.

Time is the world’s largest weekly news magazine, and its current core demographic is above 40 years old.