We have observed much hand-wringing and even government fines over advertisers paying to be included on the most important page in print - the front.
Recently advertisers have been pitched a ‘jewel box’ on Page One of the Wall Street Journal to strip ads on the section fronts of the Chicago Tribune.
The Sporting News goes ‘all in’ with their Page One promotion of a fictional NASCAR movie “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”The New York Times reports that home-delivered copies of the Aug. 4 issue of The Sporting News are wrapped by an ad that has been make to look like a genuine Sporting news cover. The fake front promotes the Columbia Pictures film that stars Will Ferrell.
Kudos to a reporter that proves that an illustrated 320-word story can have great impact.
Consider the efficiency of reporter Maria Aspan’s included facts.
- Four pages of editorial content mention the movie
- The inside editorial-produced cover also includes a prominent promo to the movie coverage
- Two pages are dedicated to an associate editor’s story of what is what it was like to be an extra on the movie set
- A “week ahead in sports” item notes the film’s Aug. 4 debut
- Quotes the Editor-in-chief’s enthusiatic support for the practice.
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It’s a troubling trend indeed, but not one that I think can be reversed .. Where I toil, at the Telegraph in Macon, Ga., we have adds that are stickers attached to the top of the front page .. all this accomplishes, I’m sure, is that a lot of people have stickers littering their driveways