Roo Reynolds - What’s Next?

Madvertzines: Ads vs Content

Posted by Roo - 17/11/07 at 11:11:49 pm

I don’t read dead-tree newspapers or magazines very often, but I do seem to have a subscription to the dead tree version of Wired, which reliably arrives in my work mail dip once per month.

I don’t remember subscribing (I believe it was a gift) and I don’t see a price on the front cover. Digging around on the Wired site, I see US residents can get a 12 month subscription for as little as $10, while an international subscription would be $40 for Canada or $70 for the rest of the world. I’m surprised it’s so expensive, given the number of pages given over to adverts.

In November 2007’s edition (issue 15.11), of the first 42 pages, 31 pages were advertisements. In fact, out of all 274 pages of the magazine, there were 148 pages of adverts. That’s 55% of the available space. And that generously excludes sections like this, this, this or this, each of which is either a product comparison or review.

A quick flick through September’s edition of Wired, shows that 101 out of 198 pages, or 51%, were advertisements. Slightly better, but still more than half. (October’s seems to be at work. I’ll add the count for that one when I next see it, unless someone beats me to it). I can’t help wondering what I’d need to pay for that 49% of the magazine if it had not been subsidised by adverts.

[Photo credit: Louise LeGresley]

Mentioning this to my wife, she tells me I should take a look at women’s magazines some time (particularly fashion magazines like Vogue, which she describes as “sickeningly what-have-I-spent-my-money-on ridiculous”). Well, I think I will.

What are the best, and the worst, magazines for advert:content ratios? Do you have any magazines nearby for which you’d like to share page counts and cover price?

IET Mountbatten Lecture 2007 – that’s me that is (and that’s Darren’s lovely photo)

Posted by Roo - 06/10/07 at 12:10:13 pm

When the organisers asked me what photo I’d like to be used in the printed adverts for the Mountbatten lecture, I instantly thought of this one by Darren. I’ve used it in presentations for a while now (for example, here and here) and from the first moment I saw it it struck me as a great illustration of social, participatory stuff. Unsurprisingly, it ends up looking really good in print, and Darren’s pleased that he’s finally been published by the IET (kind of).

This is page 46 of the October edition of the IET’s Engineering in Technology magazine and in case you can’t read it the text the advert is for this lecture which I’m giving in November. The 30th IET Mountbatten Memorial Lecture, no less. It’s on Upcoming too, but to reserve a seat you’ll still have to book via the IET website or call +44 (0)1438 765 657. The talky bit (about 50 minutes of me blathering plus maybe 20 or 30 minutes for questions) is free, and is followed by an optional, and reasonably priced, dinner. There. I’m not going to sell it any more than that.

Now I just have to finish preparing the talk. It needs to be quite high level, but include stuff about the importance of social media for work as well as education and learning through virtual worlds. Plus I want to show a wife wide selection of virtual worlds (I’m thinking: EVE Online, Kaneva, Second Life, There.com, Qwaq, …) maybe live but more likely as pre-canned video clips. As is often the case, my biggest problem is not finding stuff to include but rather picking what to leave out.

The Harvester Connection

Posted by Roo - 06/07/07 at 10:07:04 am

Some would say that going to school with Pete Docherty and Duncan-from-Blue should be enough of a claim to fame for anyone, but get this…

“Have you ever been to a Harvester before?”

 

The guy in the right wearing glasses in this Harvester advert? (1:20 into this collection of old British TV ads) That’s my second cousin, e.g. my Dad’s cousin, Stephen. I’m sure there was another version of the advert in which he held up a pair of onion rings as glasses, but I can’t find the video evidence for this anywhere.

I have vague memories from childhood that Stephen appeared in a commercial for Bounty (the coconut chocolate bar, not the absorbent kitchen roll), and I seem to remember tales of him having to stay in bed on the days he couldn’t afford to eat. Whether Stephen himself ever told me such horror stories or my parents supplied them I am not sure. In either case, I assume they were designed to dissuade me from pursuing a career as an actor.

I know Stephen was also in the TV adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia as the King Giant in The Silver Chair episode, and in ‘The House of Elliott’ (remember that, British types?) as Fox. His profile in IMDb helpfully tells me that he also appeared in single episodes The Bill and Allo Allo and that I should now watch All Quiet on the Western Front and Rough Cut to see if I can spot him.