Solved!: Time Cover Is A Basketball Ad

Yesterday on PDNPulse we compared Time's latest cover to some similar political magazine covers, including a Newsweek illustration from 2000.

Today we learned (from Portfolio.com) that the Time cover is actually an extension of an NBA ad campaign that just launched. (Time's credit line reads: "Photo-illustration inspired by the 2008 NBA Playoffs ad campaign. Obama: Callie Shell/Aurora for Time. Clinton: Damon Winter/The New York Times/Redux.")

Photography for the NBA ads is by Jennifer Pottheiser. Check them out here. The NBA has also been airing TV commercials as part of this campaign. This was all news to us, since we have not watched any basketball lately (see: the Knicks).

Armed with this new information, the Time cover takes on a whole new significance. Last week Time equated the green movement with World War II. This week they're equating the presidential election with professional basketball.

Kind of sad. Come on, Time, we know you're better than this.