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...the races and religion of GH and FR appear to me to be very politically correct pablum with very little cultural deviation.
I understand that from the publishers point of view - a party of all races and religions can form and function in pretty much any locale. Add "reality" adds a lot of texture an richness but reduces some flexibility. This is one of thhe biggest things that bugs me about the published settings, racial, cultural, religious, and linguistic barriers just don't seem to be very meaningful - well I'm getting off topic.
I don't know if you're familiar with some of the areas added to FR beyond Faerun (or some of the fringier areas of GH, with which I'm not as familiar), but most of them are based directly on real-world cultures. Some FR examples below:
In the off-topic discussion's there was a thread on real world travel and inspiration - there was a lot of neat stuff there.
Cambodia - has some great ruins, architecture, and lore, that is more magical and exotic than a lot of campaings. Seeing some of that would be great - Apsara as a type of celestial for example - the faces on the Bayun as sentries, gods, oracles, etc.
Laothan in Kara-Tur is based on SE Asia; not a lot of detail, though, just a third of a chapter in the boxed set.
BTW, apsara have been statted out before, in 2e at least... I'd have to look around a bit to remember the source.
Russia - lots of good slavic lore and npcs, flavors of ghosts.
Rashemen is somewhat based on old Russia, I believe.
Japan as a complete culture - as opposed to a generic orient - and it would be cool to look at multiple Japans - both the game typical Japan of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the period prior to the emergence of the dominance of the Shogun's, the Japan ruled by the emperor's court, and bureaucrats.
In Kara-Tur, Wa is based on early Tokugawa Japan, while Kozakura is roughly Japan in the Sengoku Period.
China - could be done multiple times for multiple periods with NPCs and monsters from Outlaws of the Marsh and Journey to the West - Sun Wukong would be the ultimate PC nightmare.
Again in Kara-Tur, Shou Lung is roughly T'ang Dynasty China at its height, while T'u Lung is (very roughly) Three Kingdoms China.
Sun Wukong was a major character (as the Monkey King) in the 1e adventure Mad Monkey vs. Dragon Claw, and updated for 3e in Jade Dragons and Hungry Ghosts.
Native Americans - divided into sections for different tribes/nations as opposed to an amalgamated non-culture.
The Shaaryans in Faerun's Shining South have a Plains Indians feel to them, and the Dog People, Nahopaca, Azuposi, Metahel, Poscadar elves, Short Ones, and other peoples of northern Maztica, mostly described in City of Gold, provide quite a variety to start with.
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I, too love the idea of the Campaign Classics issue, since I remember all of these settings. Even if I didn't get to play in them, I was aware of them.
One pitfall is that, with only a limited space, it could be wasted on something inconsequential.
The aim, surely, is not to prove the author's geek credentials by name-dropping some minor NPC from an out-of-print adventure, but to get jaded DMs and players fired up about a new campaign with a fresh twist, and to make starting such a campaign as easy as possible.
To that end, each campaign could do with a 'starter-kit', that lists the major distinguishing features of the setting. As well as a map, short timeline of major events, there could be a listing of what is included, though more important to my mind, is what races/classes/monsters etc are definitely not included. Any optional rules from the WOTC rulebooks or sourcebooks can be listed here, rather than taking up needless space being repeated.
Eg. Dark Sun, would have (among others)
"no paladins/bards/prestige classes specific to GH/FR deities",
"no Western-European dwarves-see below for Athasian dwarf"
"it is assumed DMs are using the Sandstorm supplement and the Expanded Psionics Handbook, with the Psionics are Identical baseline rules", etc.
The important thing is to get people playing in the setting straight off the block; once that happens, more people will ask for more support, and the greater the chance that some third-party publisher sees a gap in the market and WOTC grants a licence (as with Ravenloft & Dragonlance).
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Several posters have expressed interest in settings such as Maztica, Kara-tur, the Horde, etc.
While not wishing to deny these settings may be exciting, and fondly remembered, do they really qualify for the "Campaign Classics" treatment? All the above can be viewed as
a) regions of Forgotten Realms, or
b) quasi-historical settings based on the real world.
As such, they could (and probably should) be included in regular issues all year round.
It's not just the April, June & October issues that can have themes. An issue devoted to a particular culture/climate/terrain can have applications for many readers if they think outside the box; even those who love their out-of-print settings. An article on desert peoples can be used not only for GH (Bright Desert/Zeif), and FR (Calimshan), but also for Al-Quadim, maybe even Athas, as well as any number of homebrew games.