NEW YORK: In response to readers' “renewed interest in authenticity,” Seventeen magazine decided to reinvent its cover model contest of the past with a search for a “real girl.”     

The integrated marketing campaign, dubbed “Pretty Amazing,” is a partnership with Neutrogena that encourages readers to share personal stories and enter the cover contest via microsite www.seventeen.com/prettyamazing, explained editor-in-chief Ann Shoket.

“We had a swing away from seeing that their role models were aspirational, toward something more accessible,” said Shoket.

“One of ...