AD AGE MAIN 10-21-02 B 1 AADB 10/17/02 12:29 PM Page 1 AdAgeSPECIALREPORT 10.21.02 MAGAZINES: THE A-LIST CHRIS CASSIDY Carrie Tuhy (l.) and Robin Domeniconi have The List. Simply put: And in 2002, Real Simple is Advertising Age’s Magazine of the fears and...inadequate storage space. Year. Is this any way to run a Real Simple is a very 21st century REAL magazine? Judging from the magazine: a new, sophisticate’s numbers, it is. In the first half of approach to a women’s service stresses of problems, based on how SIMPLE 2002, Real Simple’s circulation shot magazine; a magazine launched with By JON FINE bothersome they are and how The A-List: The best 10 titles of up 33.6% to 1 million, according to very specific aims that are grandiose frequently they arise. “Our road 2002 S-2 the Audit Bureau of Circulations. in their modesty. we are in the cluttered, modern map,” she calls it. Editor of the year S-3 Real Simple’s ad pages shot up It’s also very good at what it sets office of Robin Domeniconi, No. 1 for ‘02: “I spend too much Publishing executive 49.6% to 510.16 through out to do, which is right there in the publisher of Time Inc.’s uncluttered and I don’t save enough.” No. 2: “My of the year S-6 September, according to Publishers title—and it does this minus the modern Real Simple, and she’s home is not organized well enough.” Launch of the year S-8 Information Bureau. noise and frills once associated with talking about The List, which is No. 3: “I am not prepared for Magazines to watch S-15 It’s hard to imagine any of the the women’s category: Sex tips! something like the conceptual unexpected financial events.” No. 4: big-bang launches of yore that Celeb profiles! In a subtler way than underpinning of the magazine. “I don’t have enough storage space.” encompassed a grand philosophy as O, the Oprah Magazine, it touches The List is results from what Further down, “I feel like I’ve Strauss & Co. where attendees were well as capital-A “Ambition”— on aspects of spirituality as a sort of they call a Problem Detection forgotten how to relax” and “I have measured for custom-made jeans.) Time, Playboy, Rolling Stone— respite for its audience of Study, consisting of focus groups trouble finding pants that fit me.” Ah, life in post-millennial reducing a world view to a to-do list. oversubscribed 25-to-54-year-old and subscriber interviews conducted (The latter was turned into a America. Fraught with financial But the cultural landscape has women. And Real Simple’s de- in four major markets, ranking the promotional event with Levi stresses, generalized heightened changed, and so have magazines. See ‘REAL SIMPLE’ on Page S-4 AD AGE MAIN 10-21-02 B 2 AADB 10/17/02 3:05 PM Page 1 October 21, 2002 | Advertising Age |S-2 AdAgeSPECIALREPORT MAGAZINES: THE A-LIST REAL SIMPLE FHM Parent: Time Inc. Parent: Emap Publisher: Robin Domeniconi Executive publisher: 1 Managing editor: Carrie Tuhy 2 Dana Fields Editor in chief: Scott Gramling Ad pages1:510.16, ▲ 49.6%* Total circulation2:1,047,796, ▲ 33.6% Ad pages1:554.74, ▲ 62.0% Subscriptions: 727,131, ▲ 30.7% Total circulation2: 1,056,587, ▲ 28.6% Single-copy sales: 320,665, ▲ 40.7% Subscriptions: 594,018, ▲ 61.6% Single-copy sales: 462,569, ▲ 1.8% This savvy hybrid—a dab of next-generation Latecomer to the laddie women’s service, a party in the U.S. and sole soupcon of Martha and survivor of Emap USA's a dash of Oprah— spectacular implosion, launched to puzzle- FHM is holding its own ment and scathing just fine. Ask Jann Wen- reviews in April ’00. In ner, who stole Editor in short order it retooled Chief Ed Needham to under the guidance of Managing Editor reinvent Rolling Stone. Carrie Tuhy and took off like a rocket with But can FHM—which calls itself the most readers. In ’02, advertisers followed, earning it grown-up lad book, if such a notion computes— Ad Age’s Magazine of the Year honor. maintain under the leadership of Mr. Need- ham's former No. 2, Scott Gramling? * All percentages vs. year-eearlier period. In a grinding magazine market, where A could stand for “atrophy,” these 10 make the top grade for excellence in ad pages, circulation and content. LUCKY FITNESS TRANSWORLD STUFF Parent: Conde Nast Publications Parent: Gruner & Jahr USA SKATEBOARDING Parent: Dennis Publishing Publisher: Alexandra Golinkin Publisher: Julie Pinkwater Parent: Time Inc.’s Time4Media General Manager: 3 Editor in chief: Kim France 4 Editor in chief: Emily Listfield 5 VP-Sales: Peter Ferraro 6 Mark MacDonald Editor: David Swift Editor in chief: Greg Gutfeld Ad pages1:648.53, ▲ 43.65% Ad pages1:705.68, ▲ 38.62% 1 ▲ Total circulation2: 779,521** Total circulation2: 1,197,638, ▲ 1.2% Ad pages1:2,164.76, ▲ 16.07% Ad pages :529.66, 15.4% 2 ▲ Subscriptions: 572,426 Subscriptions: 850,971, ▼ 1.5% Circulation3:170,000 ▲ 16% Total circulation : 1,170,555, 19.9% ▲ Single-copy sales: 207,095 Single-copy sales: 346,667, ▲ 8.5% Subscriptions: 675,599, 34.7% Assuming you believe Single-copy sales: 494,956, ▲ 4.3% Gleefully Seinfeldian— After two years signifi- the conventional it’s just shopping, after cantly trailing competi- wisdom, boys don’t read, Once Stuff Editor in all— and single-minded in tors Shape and Self, but even the conven- Chief Greg Gutfeld en- its focus, Lucky received Fitness exploded in ’02. tional wisdom admits gagingly described his more than one quizzical Newsstand sales and ad boys do skate. The A- magazine as “Maxim mi- glance upon its launch. pages soared—helping List’s only repeat nus the self-help”; more But its refreshingly ca- boost overall results and from last year’s Top 5, recently he said, “We're sual take is hitting with morale at a post-Rosie TransWorld Skate- not interested in being a readers and advertisers G&J and making the boarding continues to soar. It was No. 3 in ad better guy.” Theoretical- alike, even if some on- evergreen women's health titles a horse race pages among all magazines through Septem- ly more gadget obsessed board from the start still claim un-Conde-like once more. The category’s doubters may ber, outscoring all but People and Business than its big sibling, Stuff is distinctive for sport- discount deals. Hey, when do the boys get claim all its mags are the same—but then why Week. And suddenly TransWorld Skate’s dra- ing a dark, extremely sharp sense of humor not their Lucky for Men, anyway? was Fitness the only one with both news- matic, photo-heavy books rival In Style for centered on body jokes—making it actually ** No comparable year-previous data; Lucky debuted as a stand and ad pages up? sheer tonnage. funny, unlike its competition, to non-frat boys. monthly with February 2001 issue. FAMILYFUN US WEEKLY BETTER HOMES NEWSWEEK Parent: Walt Disney Co.’s Parents: Wenner Media, & GARDENS Parent: Washington Post Co. Buena Vista Magazines Walt Disney Co. Parent: Meredith Corp. Publisher: Gregory Osberg Publisher: 7 Mary Beth Wright 8 Publisher: Victoria Lasdon Rose 9 Publisher: Daniel Lagani 10 Editor: Mark Whitaker Editor: Ann Hallock Editor in chief: Bonnie Fuller Editor in chief: Karol DeWulf Nickell Ad pages1:452.54, ▲ 6.15% Ad pages1:755.5, ▲ 5.73% Ad pages1:1,295.2, ▲ 1.48% 1 ▲ Total circulation2: 1,482,788, ▲ 8.6% Total circulation2: 1,065,589, ▲ 16% Ad pages :1,383.25, 4.87% Total circulation2: 3,248,097, ▲ 1.6% 2 ■ Subscriptions: 1,448,697, ▲ 9.1% Subscriptions: 659,927, ▲ 8.7% Total circulation :7,602,575, flat Subscriptions: 3,105,564, ▲ 1.6% ▲ Single-copy sales: 34,091, ▼ 8.4% Single-copy sales: 405,662, ▲ 30.1% Subscriptions: 7,268,408, 0.3% Single-copy sales: 142,533, ▲ 2.8% Single-copy sales: 334,167, ▼ 6.9% A dark horse in a parent- Wenner’s folly? Not It took a terrible year to ing category that rarely anymore, even if it took Unhip, unfashionable— make newsweeklies receives much media at- slashing rate base such adjectives are unfair matter once again—to tention in any event, shortly after launch, to Meredith’s blue-chip ti- readers, that is. One of and an easily over- taking on Disney as a tle. Last year, according the pitfalls of the cate- looked cog in Disney’s partner and bringing on to Ad Age, it was the only gory was that advertis- very big machine, Family- Bonnie Fuller to work title among the industry’s ers did not follow where Fun has gradually her newsstand mojo. Top 10 in revenue to post reader interest went. grown into a real comer Yes, no one will ever positive results, and our Newsweek, unlike all its for the category, steadily climbing to 1.5 mistake Us Weekly for The New Yorker. Yes, money’s on them repeat- competition, posted steady (if small) ad page million in paid circulation and, though with a its newsstand numbers are up. Yes, it's as en- ing in ’02. It will never set the world on fire, but gains starting in June—and, of course, there's smaller base, doubling the ad page growth of tertaining as a sugar buzz. Yes, we are sort of few will ever deliver as steadily and substantially also the National Magazine Award it claimed the category’s leaders.