July 23, 2004
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-- Strike a Pose
-- The Yellow Pages Store is Open
-- Answer to Last Week's Brainteaser
-- You Know the Old Saying . . .
-- Need help folding that map?
-- A word from the "real" sponsor of this newsletter
-- Darwinism in Action
-- Just don't wipe with it.
-- Nature's Tip-ons
-- You kitties are awfully quiet today
-- This Week's Brainteaser
-- Quote of the Week

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Strike a Pose back to top
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I really like reading VOGUE Magazine.

Uh, let me rephrase that . . .
I really like looking at VOGUE Magazine.

Being a big shot advertising muckety-muck, I lamely rationalize my VOGUE leering as advertising research.
But hey, who's kidding who?

The thing I like most about VOGUE isn't the scantily clad lingerie models. Although they are very high on the list.

No, what I like most is that VOGUE Magazine treats their advertisements like the valuable content that they are.

If you cut out all of the advertising from a single issue of VOGUE, you could probably paste up the remaining articles together to create a medium-sized matchbook. I don't think that people read VOGUE to determine which fall colors will make them look fat. (Mine happens to be burnt orange if you must know).

No, readers flock to VOGUE because it is filled with advertisements showcasing fantastic people (who don't look real) wearing fantastic clothes (that don't look real) in fantastic poses (that don't look real). It's kind of like Celebrity Fear Factor meets the Department of Motor Vehicles.

As a certified macho dude, I never buy VOGUE. That would be way too creepy. However, if my wife happens to leave her copy lying around . . . and I happen to find it . . . and I happen to have three or four hours to spare . . . I may possibly glance through it once or twice.

The editors at VOGUE know that increasing the volume and quality of ads increases each ad's value. That's because interesting ads draw interested readers. More interested readers mean that each ad has more chances to convert the gawkers (err, I mean readers) into buyers.

A Yellow Pages directory is very similar to VOGUE magazine. I'm not just talking about the "Non-Therapeutic Massage" classification either. The whole directory is like VOGUE. The more ads a Yellow Pages directory has in it, the more valuable each ad becomes. It's a virtuous circle because Yellow Pages is one of the rare advertising mediums where the ads are the main attraction.

When a business owner sees a Yellow Pages classification that is jammed full of advertisements, his first reaction is often to back off because there's too much competition. That would be the wrong thing to do.

The business owner is comparing "Pull" media such as Yellow Pages (where shoppers are "pulled" in because they want information) to "Push" media like TV, radio or newspapers (where the advertising content is pushed into the face of a viewer who would rather not see it).

Let me put it another way. You don't see people Tivo-ing past the ads in VOGUE.

Think of it in terms of VOGUE magazine. If VOGUE only had one advertisement, do you honestly think anybody would read the magazine? No, of course not. Readers want to see tons of advertisements, because that's the main attraction.

It's the same thing in the Yellow Pages. If a directory only has a few ads, not too many consumers use it. However, if a directory is loaded with advertisements, consumers will use it regularly because they know that they'll find what they're looking for in it.

Now, if we could get Madonna to "strike a pose" for the Yellow Pages the way she did for VOGUE we'd have it made.

The Yellow Pages Store is Open back to top
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There are several good books available on Yellow Pages advertising. I've put links to my picks in The Yellow Pages Store.

Check out these and other fine products in the YP Store

Answer to Last Week's Brainteaser back to top
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OK, here's a really easy brainteaser for all those who have trouble with algebra.

Why are manhole covers round?

Hint: It isn't because manholes are round.

See the Answer & Our Celebrity Winner