The more you give, The more you get.

Paid Maybelline advertisement as seen in CLEO June 2010.

In the early 70’s, political economist Dallas Smythe stated (in reference to broadcast communication i.e. Television) that the audience is a commodity sold to advertisers. In other words media in any form that receives audience attention is more likely to experience financial advertising support. To some extent Smythe’s ideology can be applied today with reference to commercial magazines, but to a lesser extent to, out of the ordinary titles such as Frankie, primarily because such titles are experiencing rapid growth without wads of advertiser funding that usually fuels the financial continuity of a publication. Operating on what Frankie Editor Jo Walker refers to as a “happy shoestring,” joking that “…people are sometimes paid in hugs and six-packs”, the question remains; Now that Frankie has grown, gaining Industry watchers and Media Buyers attention see Sex Sex Sex VS Nana Nana Nana or The 7:30 Report story, Frankie Magazine beats the odds, will content be effected? Will advertising pages increase? Will PR companies send more products with the hope of gaining more coverage for their clients? And will Frankie’s anti-marketing technique be persuaded in the direction of commercial titles?


In Cleo’s June Issue there is 72 full page advertisements making up around 33% of the publications page count, however further PR generated advertising is found in the fashion and beauty ‘editorial’ pages and therefore the advertising to editorial ratio gap is further narrowed. 20 full-page adverts embroiled within Frankie’s 120 pages equate advertising to editorial ratio of about 16% to 84%, where beauty and fashion product placement is also scarce. In Issue 35 however, which is the publication’s latest release, an article nestled on page 82 and 83, is dedicated solely to red lipstick. Beauty articles in Issues 30 and 27, which were published before the release of the Audit Bureau of Circulations figures that exemplify Frankie’s rapid growth did not contain any beauty editorial pages, let alone one that spans two pages.

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

While Frankie contributor Rowena Grant-Frost critiques each of the lip sticks in a typical Frankie fashion via a rating system with categories such as ‘The coffee cup test’, ‘Kiss on, Kiss off’ and ‘End of the Day’, the inclusion of the article and its inhabitance of a whole two pages on precious, bi-monthly, matte paper stock space is shocking especially following Editor Jo Walker’s comments published online here, “We don’t do diets, beauty or orgasms because that’s already well and truly covered and also because we think there’s more interesting things to talk about.” So what’s with the big turn around? Perhaps PR pressure? A Publishing house actually interested in making some money? Probably both.

Page 1 of Frankie's first beauty article//Image courtesy of Frankie Magazine - Issue 35 pg 82.

As the beauty intern at a popular (commercial) magazine as well as, as a PR intern at a boutique agency that handles many beauty and lifestyle clients I really do experience the pressure put on magazines by PR agencies who submit ‘free of charge’ products to them, in the hope of gaining some editorial coverage for their clients. On the other hand I also experience the pressure put on PR personnel from clients to get their products out there. Without revealing too much, as one day I would like to work in the industry, I would be lying if I said, good PR and advertising dollars didn’t influence the editorial decisions of magazine journalists. But you knew that already, didn’t you?

Typical PR fueled beauty article//Image courtesy of FAMOUS magazine.