The Economist - Advertising

Advertising

In the late eighties, the Economist hired AMV BBDO, one of London's large advertising agencies. AMV was charged with broadening the newsmagazine's appeal beyond financial industry workers. To do this, AMV phased out advertisements based on the Economist's contents, and introduced feel-good advertising. These new ads made the Economist's advertisers feel that they were targeting a high-end market, made readers feel part of a special club, and made potential readers feel that they were missing out. Today, the 'White out of Red' advertising campaign is legendary. Almost every ad consists of a witticism written in white on a plain red background, usually with 'The Economist' in the bottom right-hand corner. For example: "I never read The Economist." Management trainee, Aged 42.