Why is it that every advertising professional in a movie or television show passes a newsstand on their ultra-cool walk to work? The answer, I have no idea, but perhaps Hollywood only understands the Madison Avenue lifestyle of advertising. The real answer is not that important to me but the next time you are walking to work in a movie or passing a newsstand take a second to view the magazine covers. A number of magazine publishers are allowing advertisers to place new and unique ads on their covers.
According to the American Society of Magazine Editors, ads on magazine covers violates a rule which requires a clear separation between editorial space and advertising space; however, the penalty is typically minimal. There are a number of magazine cover advertisements; some examples include, Us Weekly’s mock cover, promoting the HBO movie “Grey Gardens” or Esquire Magazine having a cover with a special pull-back tab for the new Discovery show Trapped but Popular Science this week has taken their cover to a whole new level. Popular Science, with the help of General Electric, has created the first-ever interactive 3-D cover.
