Recently, Press Clips came upon an illuminating letter, written in early March by a major advertising agency representing Coca-Cola. The letter sought to ”clarify” how Coke ads should be placed in a magazine: ”Any Coca-Cola advertising that faces less than full editorial and/or inappropriate editorial matter will be subject to a full makegood.” (A makegood is when a publication reprints an ad at no cost.) ”In general,” the letter said, ”we believe that positive and upbeat editorial provides a compatible environment in which to communicate the brand’s message.”
Lest magazines be confused about what constitutes ”positive and upbeat editorial,” the letter provided a helpful list. ”We consider the following subjects to be inappropriate,” said the letter, ”and require that our ads are not placed adjacent to articles discussing the following issues: Hard News; Sex related issues; Drugs (Prescription or Illegal); Medicine (e.g., chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, AIDS, etc.); Health (e.g. mental or physical medical conditions); Negative Diet Information (e.g. bulimia, anorexia, quick weight loss, etc.); Food; Political issues; Environmental issues; Articles containing vulgar language; Religion.”
Apparently, a lot of things don’t go better with Coke.
Christine Maggiore, Coca-Cola’s print media buyer, confirmed to the Voice that her client has a ”very specific” policy on ad positioning, though shesaid its details were ”not something I can divulge.” The company has a $1.6 billion annual advertising budget, though most of that does not go to print. Maggiore said her impression was that other multibillion-dollar companies have policies ”probably about the same” as Coke’s. Maggiore added that there have been ”very few instances” when Coke has had to demand a makegood, because her agency is ”very on top of where our ads are placed,” and ”magazines are very accommodating.”
Perhaps not all magazines follow the rules. In the March issue of Vibe, for example, a full-page Coca-Cola ad ran on page 53, right across from a Farai Chideya column on the lack of minority representation in American politics. Vibe publisher John Rollins told the Voice that his magazine generally ”works hard” to comply with such placement policies; he was unaware whether Coke had called Vibe to complain about that placement.
(c) 1998 VV Publishing Corporation.
