Would you pay $1,200 to see John Bolton in a bathing suit?

Last November, Johann Hari went on a cruise with writers and editors from the National Review and then wrote about it for The New Republic. (Thanks to Matt Yglesias for the link.)

It’s a creative way to pen an ideological broadside: Pay $1,200 for the privilege of hanging out with conservatives luminaries such as Rich Lowry, John O’Sullivan, Dinesh D’Souza, Bernard Lewis, Norman Podhoretz, William F. Buckley, and Robert Bork—and then make fun of them and their beliefs. It’s the magazine-world equivalent of pantsing someone.

I’d be interested to see how the National Review responds. (I’m sure they’re taking it with typical good humor.) But more importantly, I’d like to know one thing: Is this an effective ad campaign?

UPDATE: This one is good, too: