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:
“Life is beset by many annoyances, and those that stand out above all are the life- insurance and advertising agents.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)
“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)