I flipped through last September’s issue of Vogue with my boyfriend at the time, who was confused by the number of advertisements. “There’s almost a hundred pages of ads before the index! Isn’t this supposed to be a magazine?” he exclaimed.
I understand both his confusion and the massive ad space found in fall magazines. Yes, there are lots of ads, but I see them like Superbowl commercials: they may just be trying to sell you a product, but lots of thought, effort and talent goes into them, and most look amazing. Even so, I was still shocked by the number of ad pages Vogue will have this September…
Expect your mailboxes to buckle, because the 2012 September issue of Vogue will have 658 pages of ads. I just picked up a nearby copy of Barbara Kingsolver’s hefty book The Poisonwood Bible, thinking it was comparable. Nope: the entire novel is only 543 pages. I definitely won’t be toting Vogue to the gym for some treadmill reading!
I know some people may complain about 658 pages of ads. But, though I would prefer more content, I also have fun browsing through them. As long as we don’t start seeing such numbers every month, I can definitely put up with (and even enjoy) it once a year. [via Fashionista]
What do you think of these numbers? Are there too many ads in September issues?
guest
That’s why I never buy those magazines. They’re so expensive and just full of ads. You’re basically paying for adverts.
guest
I remembered when I was taking fashion illustration a few years ago, we had to collect some magazines for example of poses. I noticed with different style or fashion magazines, most of the advertisements were pretty repetitive, some were kind of interesting– then they got pretty boring. Luckily I found Bust and Nylon magazines to get a variety of pages.
guest
Typically the September Issue of Vogue is their biggest issue of the year. I think that makes sense, that so many ads are being run. It’s more work for graphic designers, and for the brands to promote/advertise their products. And it cost x-amount of dollars to run these ads. (Sometimes, you can look up those costly prices in the media kits…on the magazine’s website.)
cherry blossom / 47 posts
Ads are part of the magazine. People buy it for pictures and inspiration. It’s a part of the content. Some of these ads are very good.
peony / 1 posts
I hope the reading material of all fashion magazines disappear completely and they become thick and glossy gatherings of fashion and cosmetic ads. No one reads magazines any more. People buy and subscribe to themonly for the ads.
guest
I’m a fashion mag junkie, but I almost never read vogue/elle unless I’m REALLY desperate. to me they have the worst content, least fashion, and most ads
guest
I like the ads, but I sort of feel like if I’m having that much marketing thrown at me, I shouldn’t have to pay for it. The September issue should be free.
guest
I suppose fashion ads take on a different meaning than what we think of as “advertisements”. They’re kind of the point of the magazine. (arguable) artistic displays of fashion.