HEARTBEAT : Full-Color Come-Ons

It’s like a cross between “The Dating Game” and the Sears catalogue. Some of the women pose languidly in Spandex, red lipstick gleaming. Others appear opera-ready in evening gowns and pearls. Some men wear suits and ties. Then there’s the smooth, casual types in blue jeans and golf shirts.

Like what you see? All you have to do is call.

Those men and women are featured in Heart magazine, a free, 88-page glossy, available throughout the L.A. area, featuring color photos of more than 200 singles. About 30,000 copies of the bimonthly’s second issue have been distributed, providing denizens of coffeehouses and beachside bars hours of distraction.

“It’s getting harder and harder to find someone to have a relationship with,” says Linda Valentine, Heart’s editor-in-chief, “and we eliminate one step. There’s less fear of rejection because the caller has already seen your picture.”

For $199, lonely hearts of all ages can place a quarter-page ad with their full-color photograph and a self-descriptive paragraph.

Then they wait for a Heart reader to leave a message on the magazine’s $3-a-minute, 900-number voice mail. Valentine says the average advertiser receives about 50 calls in three months.

Look at it this way--if the man or woman of your dreams doesn’t find you, maybe a producer will.