Zoo bursts into 3D life

Dwarfs, vomit and of course, women's cleavage have each taken on new dimensions in the latest 3D issue of men's magazine, Zoo.

The ACP publication (acquired from Emap last year) has been a consistent strong seller in an age when many magazines are struggling to maintain relevance and readership.

Editor, Paul Merrill, said the publication is known for being lively (previous issues have featured competitions to win a divorce or boob job) and going 3D was a way of surprising and entertaining readers further.

"We talked about it over a few beers and it seemed like a good idea so we went ahead with it," Merrill said.

Babes in 3D land ... an image from the 3D Zoo.

30 pages of the magazine have been printed in 3D, and while most of the pages feature scantily-clad women, Merrill admitted that "there just had to be a dwarf in there."

Editorial was not the only content to be made 3D. Four advertisements for products including Jim Beam, Eclipse mints and movies Bionic Woman and You Don't Mess with the Zohan were also printed in 3D.

Merrill believes that this technique makes them even more impressive. "The whole idea of ads is to have some sort of interaction with the consumer which 3D does," he said.

But Merrill's favourite 3D image was of a particularly seedy-looking kebab. "It's the image that comes off the page the most."

The issue, which is hailed as Australia's first-ever 3D magazine has sent rival publisher, Pacific Magazines into a tizz. Its children's title, KZone, published 3D issues with accompanying glasses in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Not that any of this is bothering Merrill, who reports that the magazine has already sold out at some newsagents. "It could be one of our biggest sales of all time," he said. "People are going crazy for it."