I am a little behind on my business reading and I was browsing through the July 23 issue of Fortune magazine this morning. As I began to flip pages, I noticed that I was flipping through many consecutive pages of ads in the front of the book. Before the magazine’s “First” section which was aptly titled until now, I had to thumb past 35 pages of advertisements and one lengthy uninteresting advertorial. (Are any advertorials interesting?) Sandwiched in-between were the table of contents, reader letters (which were sandwiched in-between two vertical ¼ wide inch ads – reader response didn’t even get full pages), and the Fortune.com plug page (an advertisement in its own right.)
Hmm, I thought ads were supposed to be inconspicuously placed so that readers common upon them on happenstance. By the time I got to the “First” editorial section, I was exhausted. Mississippi Development Authority took up most of this valuable real estate in the front of the book. I guess they are trying to entice businesses to move or setup shop there. Actually, I wouldn’t know what they were trying to do, I didn’t read the advertorial, I was too busy trying to find Fortune’s editorial section.
I know the publishing industry has taken a financial hit of late, but 35 pages of ads before you get to the “meat” of any publication is a bit ludicrous.
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