Newsweek mag slammed for 'shocking' phallic cover

London, August 8 (ANI): Newsweek magazine has been criticized for using a shock-and-awe cover yet again.

Its latest cover shows two spears of asparagus dangling suggestively above a woman's open mouth.

The magazine's editor Tina Brown gave her signature style to the latest Foodie Awards issue, which lists the 101 best places to eat in the world.

The cover has the model's pillow-like lips painted a dark shade of red and her mouth open in seeming ecstasy.

The publication's interpretation of food porn has been slammed by critics as having all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Describing the cover as 'really bad', Politico's Dylan Byers argued that Brown's attempt to create controversy as a way of boosting sales was the wrong decision.

"Brown missed the obvious opportunity to sell the magazine by tapping into the widely desired reservoir of real food porn - which [...] gives readers the promise of indulging in what they are unlikely to obtain (but just might!) in real life," the Daily Mail quote Byers as writing.

Blogger Jim Romensko was much more blunt with his opinion simply tweeting, "OK, Barry Diller, you can kill the print Newsweek now," referencing the InterActiveCorp chairman's recent remarks about transitioning the magazine to online.

Apart from facing criticism for deploying the same tactics once again, it was also highlighted that the very same titillating asparagus image has been used on magazine covers before.

The U.K's Observer Food Monthly had used the phallic photo back in 2008. (ANI)

null