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.
Read more about this topic: The Economist
Famous quotes containing the word advertising:
“The same people who tell us that smoking doesn’t cause cancer are now telling us that advertising cigarettes doesn’t cause smoking.”
—Ellen Goodman (b. 1941)
“Now wait a minute. You listen to me. I’m an advertising man, not a red herring. I’ve got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex- wives, and several bartenders dependent on me. And I don’t intend to disappoint them all by getting myself slightly killed.”
—Ernest Lehman (b.1920)
“The growing of food and the growing of children are both vital to the family’s survival.... Who would dare make the judgment that holding your youngest baby on your lap is less important than weeding a few more yards in the maize field? Yet this is the judgment our society makes constantly. Production of autos, canned soup, advertising copy is important. Housework—cleaning, feeding, and caring—is unimportant.”
—Debbie Taylor (20th century)