New ad-edit guidelines released by American Society of Magazine Editors

On the heels of the release of revised Canadian ad-edit guidelines, the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) have released theirs, the first revisions in 5 years. In both cases, the revisions were an attempt to reflect the prevailing realities and to drive in some stakes to protect valued ground.

New language in the guidelines refers to false covers, cover flaps, use of logos, labelling,  sponsored sections, interruptive advertising and ad adjacencies. According to a story in Mediaweek

ASME also is working on revisions to its digital guidelines to reflect the growing use of invasive and interruptive ads online and federal rules requiring bloggers to disclose commercial ties. That process is expected to be finished later this year.

Sid Holt, CEO of ASME, said the goal of the guidelines is still to ensure that readers can tell the difference between editorial content and ads—while anticipating new kinds of ad executions.

“Everyone’s looking for new ad units and sponsorships,” he said. “You’re definitely seeing more interruptive advertising, more innovative units, more efforts to integrate advertising and editorial more closely.”

Like the Canadian guidelines, the central issue is transparency and clarity for the reader. Unlike the Canadian guidelines, which are purely voluntary, ASME may sanction members who transgress and, for repeated willfull violations could disqualify the magazine from the (U.S.) National Magazine Awards.