research
COPYWRITER CREATES
AD-FREE
VERSION OF
VOGUE MAGAZINE
The September issue of fashion magazine VOGUE is known to be the thickest issue of the year. It’s “the most
important issue of the year” as it’s always released in time for the spring-summer prêt-à-porter shows in
New York, London, Milan and Paris.
This year, VOGUE US released a 902-page version of the fashion bible for fall—most of which (70%) is just
ads.
To ensure you get the scoop without advertisements interrupting your read, Singaporean copywriter Joseph
G Davies, who’s currently based in Seoul, South Korea, decided to modify a copy of the magazine.
With a penknife and big fat black permanent marker in hand, he created an ‘ad-free version’ of the VOGUE
US September 2013 issue.
“What I did was to cut out all the pages with advertisements, and left only the articles,” he wrote. “For the
pages I couldn’t remove, I went over them with a big fat permanent marker.”
But the “Ad-Blocked” issue of the Condé Nast-published magazine is not being sold at the price as it usually
costs—rather, Davies has priced it “a little higher” than you’d expect, at whopping US$4,447,847.53.
His explanation: “By referencing VOGUE’s media rate cards, I calculated the ad expenditure of this issue for
280 full-page ads, and 45 double-page spreads. This was the amount advertisers spent, so that you could buy
your copy of VOGUE at just US$12 at your local bookstore. So obviously, without the ads, I will have to pass
on the cost to you.”
The good news: “The rate card did not include premiums for this being a ‘September Issue’, which I am sure
will bump the price up even more.”
SIP
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