Maybe I’m behind the times? This morning, while pouring my first cup of tea and looking through the various treasures that people pile on the common workplace table, I flipped through an Avon makeup catalogue (don’t ask).
And there to my surprise, in an intro about a celebrity spokesperson, was the term “magalog.” Yet another blurring of the line between advertising and content, a magalog is a magazine that is blatantly out to sell things. Well, most magazines these days tend to tow that line. Rather than a catalog, magalogs probably run articles, features etc, just with advertising worked in.
Along with the new VogueTV, magazines are working hard to reinvent themselves in a dying print market. But I think they’re taking the wrong lead, and compromising when it comes to advertising is just sad.
VogueTV kind of gets it right with the inclusion of web and broadcast based media. But it’s advertising and selling, not added content. I could be because I’m a traditionalist when it comes to ethics, but I hate the blurring of lines between content and advertising. It gives me the proverbial shudder.
For one, advertising makes me feel like I’m being talked down to. “You’re an idiot. I’m feeding you what you want to hear so you’ll buy things.” The reason I love magazines is because I think they have the potential to be intelligent, fun, and informative all at the same time. Yes, magazines have ads, but magazines are not in themselves ads.
This idea of a magalog just kills me. It screams the idea: don’t read to be informed, don’t read to have fun, or learn, or even relax. Read to consume. Read to buy.
I respect the right to buy shit. I buy stuff! I have an iPod, I have a laptop. I also buy magazine subscriptions. I don’t want to be subtly coerced into buying new products. I want to choose when advertising sways me (and don’t get me wrong, it does. Why do you think I bought the iPod?), and not have to worry about what a particular article is trying to sell me.
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