"Flapvertising" debuts at Esquire
I'm pretty sure that Harold Hayes is spinning in his grave. According to a story in Media in Canada, the February issue of Esquire magazine has a "mini-cover" that opens up, featuring an ad for Disney's The Discovery Channel series One Way Out, featuring escape artist Jonathan Goodwin. When readers open the cover-within-a-cover, they encounter both the ad and various quotes from the articles inside.
The idea, created by Esquire's editor-in-chief David Granger, could lead to further covers of the sort in the coming months, and showcase one way that traditional print media are working harder to generate profits.
The ad cost Discovery Channel $250,000, including production and placement.
Labels: ad sales, added value, advertisers
posted by D. B. Scott at
10:44 am
6 Comments:
I wonder how Obama and the illustrator feel about Esquire trading on the image. Just flap open Obama's face to see the ad!
When advertising invades the cover real estate I expect a discount to be reflected on per copy pricing.
Regardless, I don't want an advert poisoned cover cheapening my coffee table. If the magazine has a ruined cover it will be not be displayed, thereby cutting down on the magazine's extended life and pass-along stats. It's a short-sighted money-grab, and the cheapness has a ripple effect which will ultimately result in less placement of premium advertising.
Esquire has been desperate with their cover designs the last few seasons, and this development reads as more desperado than inventive.
This issue doesn't seem to have arrived at newsstands yet (I've been searching). Meanwhile my number one concern is the readers. Do they want to see an ad emerging from Obama's face at this pivotal moment in history? Not this reader. How will they feel about a flap that practically begs to be torn off, instantly degrading the cover? Then there's the question of the copy, which apparently mixes quotes from the magazine with advertiser messages. What kind of message is conveyed with this melange? This particular advertiser has a respected brand, but what about the next advertiser?
I understand that people in the industry, and of course, readers might not be too pleased with an ad that is embedded into the front cover of a magazine. But I'm more shocked that folks are bothered by its affect on Obama or the integrity of his image. That dude's marketing campaign and rise to the presidency (as well as the way the media has worshipped him) epitomizes the true power of money, marketing and the media. I find the whole reaction to this cover a bit amusing and somewhat ironic given who is actually on the cover. Surely if we are worried about journalist integrity of magazines then we should also be worried about how the media in general doesn't operate with as much integrity as it most certainly should.
I think the illustrator (Sheppard Fairey) would be fine with it. He is used to defacing perfectly fine things with his "street" art.
I've now seen this issue at the newsstand. The banner at the top reads "special commemorative issue." For me that clinches it. Readers buy commemorative issues partly for the pleasure of saving them and revisiting them in years to come. The value of a keepsake issue celebrating this historic presidency is diminished by the flap in Obama's face.
It's only fair to acknowledge that you have to pull this flap open (unlike other flaps I've seen on covers). But once you do, the new president becomes an advertising vehicle. Is the average reader going to mind? Given the outburst of feeling on Inauguration Day, I'm betting he will.
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