Jane
update:
You know how advertisers have taken to mimicking the look
of a magazine in order to get you to read their pitches
and think that they're actual editorial recommendations?
You
know how publications started labeling such ads with a
li'l ol' "paid advertisement" up at the top?
Well,
last issue's winner of Bitch magazine's Advertiser Buttlicking
Award (see "10 Things to Hate about Jane," vol.
3, no. 3) has brought the practice to a whole new level,
using not only an identical layout and type style (most
ads only approximate a magazine's look), but a nonstandard
disclaimer. "beauty retail guide" just doesn't mean quite
the same thing as "paid advertisement," now, does it?
Three
out of four readers polled initially identified this page--which
contains Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom's VPs discussing
their product picks of the season--as editorial. That
speaks volumes not only about the ethics of this practice,
but about the usual tone of Jane's fashion and beauty
coverage.
—Lisa Miya-Jervis
