Did Portfolio Steal New York Mag Cover?

And what’s with all the burgers, anyway?

By Joanna Pettas
01/17/2008 -17:56 PM

As New York magazine’s blog the Daily Intelligencer not-so-subtly points out, there appears to be a striking similarity between the cover of Portfolio’s latest issue and New York magazine’s July 30 cover. (Daily Intel also makes the valid point that Women’s Wear Daily has become something a mouthpiece for its parent company, Condé Nast.)

Did Portfolio steal from New York?

When I asked for comment, a spokesperson for Portfolio sent along the following note: "Thanks for getting in touch. We are actually going to take a pass on commenting on this. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do."

Guess you’ll have to decide for yourself.

The undeniable similarity recalls Pablo Picasso’s famous words: “Bad artists copy. Great artists steal.”

It also recalls Picasso’s other famous words: “What’s with all the hamburgers?” Scientific American put out its own burger cover this past September.

Feel free to leave any other examples of hamburger-cribbing in the comments below.

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The December 2007 cover of

Submitted by tracy hyatt on Thu, 01/17/2008 - 21:19.

The December 2007 cover of Toronto Life magazine also features a tasty, stacked burger. I don't think anything is unique about the burger covers. I've seen it time and time again on magazine covers. The concepts good for is great for a cheap eats theme issue. I think it is interesting though that the burger was used to sell a business story. I think it shows real creative huzzah from Portfolio's art director.

The images appear to be

Submitted by onewordphotography.com on Sat, 01/19/2008 - 09:10.

The images appear to be entirely different so, first off, I'd say neither had been caught in a royalty free stock jam. Conceptually, they're obviously the same and you can't help but wonder if this is a coincidence or not. Either way, it shows how powerful good cover photography can be when executed properly, I spotted this cover from 100 feet away in an airport last week and, even though I don't read Portfolio, I bought it to see who was the PE and what else they were up to.

Hamburgers still all the rage

Submitted by Tracy Hyatt on Thu, 09/18/2008 - 10:42.

It looks like hamburger covers are still part of the our magazine conscious. The September 2008 cover of Psychology Today features a hamburger with not the usual fillings of a beef patty, bacon and cheese. Instead, the buns are filled with self-help books.

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And what’s with all the burgers, anyway?

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