If the separation between magazines’ editorial and advertising sides was once a gulf, it is now diminished to the size of a sidewalk crack.
Recent issues of Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Time, People, ESPN the Magazine, Scholastic Parent & Child and other magazines have woven in advertisers in new ways, some going as far as putting ads on their covers.
In a medium like TV, a partnership with advertisers is nothing surprising — look at how often plastic bags and containers from Glad are featured on Top Chef.
But in magazines, the editorial and advertising sides have stayed distinct, largely because of the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME). The society hands out the annual National Magazine Awards, and its guidelines govern how editorial content and advertising should be kept separate. Cover ads are prohibited.
“Everyone has to be able to tell the difference between advertising and editorial, and if you can’t tell there’s a difference, there’s a problem,” said Sid Holt, chief executive of the American Society of Magazine Editors.
But in this recession, when magazines are losing advertisers, the lines between advertising and editorial content are blurring — with few repercussions from the society.
“ASME’s only real sway over editors was always the ability to essentially say you would not be eligible for the National Magazine Awards,” said Susan Lyne, the chief executive of the luxury firm Gilt Groupe, who until last year was the chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. “And in a climate like this, I think people are really weighing what’s more important to them: being eligible for the National Magazine Awards or making their budgets.”
The recent group of advertiser-sponsored projects vary in how far they push the society’s guidelines.
At one end is a “black-and-white violation of the ASME guidelines,” as Holt put it, in which Scholastic Parent & Child placed an ad on this month’s cover.
Executives of Scholastic Inc defended their choice. Risa Crandall, vice president of Scholastic Parents Media, said she had sold advertising for every remaining cover this year and expected a 10 percent increase in ad revenue this year because of the cover ads.
Elimination from the magazine society’s awards was “not a big consideration for us,” said Nick Friedman, editor in chief of the magazine.
The society has not yet publicly commented on several other potential missteps, like a cover design from ESPN the Magazine. The April 6 issue has a fold-out flap over half of the cover with the words, “You wouldn’t settle for an incomplete cover.” Pulled back, the flap reveals an ad for Powerade.
“We’re certainly conscious of industry standards, and in retrospect, did we push the envelope a little bit on this one? Maybe,” said Gary Hoenig, the general manager and editorial director of ESPN Publishing. “But we keep looking for ways to help our advertisers out, so we’re not going to be unwilling to listen if there’s an interesting idea.”
Entertainment Weekly turned its April 3 cover into a pocket that contained a pull-out ad for the ABC show The Unusuals, after ABC requested an original ad to promote the series.
“All media brands have been challenged to come up with more creative solutions to advertisers’ needs,” said Scott Donaton, the magazine’s publisher. “The ad was separate and distinct from the cover. It was not part of the cover. We don’t believe it crossed ASME guidelines in any way.”
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