Men’s Health was recently busted for reusing an old cover almost word for word. Now Men’s Health Editor-in- Chief David Zinczenko is telling the NY Post that it wasn’t a mistake, it’s part of a secret awesome branding strategy.

The reused cover only went to newsstands. Subscribers got… something else.

“It was only newsstand copies, it was not inadvertent, and it was part of overall branding strategies that we wouldn’t share for magazines, books, international editions, mobile applications or anything else,” said Zinczenko.

Okey dokey.

Men’s Health Runs Same Cover Twice — Purposely? [Fishbowl NY]

UPDATE: Oh, never mind. They apparently pretty much always do this. (The animated gifs are worth the click, trust us.)

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