Feature: Lads Mags Still Attract The Ads
Men’s lifestyle magazines may never prove such a rich seam of readership as the women’s market, but despite the rocky ride of the sector’s relatively short life-span (established only in 1985, FHM is nonetheless considered a long-running title here), it still holds the attention of advertisers.
In terms of circulation, 2000 was a varied year for the men’s mag. The first half saw a 6.1% increase in total circulation, while the second half saw a 0.4% decrease. The year saw evidence that having fuelled the sector’s boom, Loaded seems to be burning out, dropping 8.9% in the first half and 5.4% in the second half. This dip in sales brought with it the inevitable speculation that New Laddism had perhaps had its day and that the market would need to find a new approach. Indeed Esquire has bravely tried to move away from the ubiquitous ‘tits and arse’ covers and toward a more ‘intellectual’ offering. Its circulation dropped by 39% in the second half last year and around 30% in the first half.
Loaded, the original lad mag, now sells around 350,000 copies a month, some way behind the 700,000 of market leader FHM, and down from its peak of 457,000 in 1998. However, it is still the second largest-selling title in the sector and the changing fortunes told in ABC figures do not seem to be deterring advertisers.
The top advertiser in men’s magazines last year was Ford, which spent £1.8 million. However, while motors provided 15% of the sector’s total display, clothing and accessories accounted for 31%, with the top ten spending brands including Seiko and Pulsar kinetic watches, Dockers Khakis and sportswear by Nike and Ellesse. Seiko spent the largest amount by brand, investing £0.5 million in the sector.
According to AC Nielsen MMS figures, all of the top 15 men’s titles saw significant increases in display advertising investment during 2000. FHM‘s dominance in circulation was reflected in the advertising revenue it attracted – some £21 million and over one and a half times as much as the closest contender, GQ, which took £12 million. Despite suffering the largest sales decline of the top five titles, Loaded saw the biggest percentage increase in revenue: 27.6% or an increase of nearly £2 million year on year. With similar stories occurring at GQ and Esquire, strong growth is apparent in this sector even as circulation appears to level off.
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