A French Magazine for Him

I'm not too sure why I even posted this let alone how I found it, but here is the cover of the french adult entertainment magazine 'Lui' from the 60's. Sex has been selling quite well ever since it was first tried, but can it be an accredited means of design? It does seem a rather easy job to find someone who looks hot, take off their clothes off and take photos of them so you can hand them out to the public. If it didn't work then so well it would probably be a crime or outdated method of arousal. So if this really is an example of good advertising/graphic design then the grounds for it being so are not as well-rounded as it would appear...