Once a year, Sports Illustrated trades in what they are about, and gives in to the world’s most famous proverb “sex sells”. And yes, this is the right thing to do (financially). They give in by creating their annual “swimsuit issue”, containing half-naked (or wholly) photos of the world’s most beautiful women. Marisa Miller. Elle Macpherson. Tyra Banks. Kathy Ireland.

They realize that the sporting world is a small niche, and (every once in a while) want to cash in on the most popular topic in the history of the universe-sex.

Sports Illustrated is probably America’s most famous sporting magazine (though ESPN rules the entire sporting world). The magazine has enriched our lives with stories of great events, and narratives on our favorite heroes. And they have been doing this since 1954. Sporting, televison, print, and entertainment all have been influenced by Sports Illustrated. In other words, they are among the best in their industry. With dominance comes boredom and seeking of new challenges. Why not see if they could be a player in another industry? If you are making all the money you can in one industry, you have to spread your reach if you want to make more (unless you can make your industry even more popular).

But, no matter how popular sports is, nothing compares to the sex industry. If someone writes an online article about Michael Jordan it will get a few hundred thousand views probably. If someone uploads a dirty movie, it will also get a few hundred thousand views-in a half hour. A lot can grab out attention (as guys), but nothing grabs our attention like this: