Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.ads,americast.usa-today.ads From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: ads Thu, Aug 27 1992 Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 05:59:07 EDT Message-ID: 08-27 0000 DECISIONLINE: Advertising USA TODAY Update Aug. 27, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network MAGAZINES GROW TO RECORD NUMBER: Despite an advertising slump and a sluggish economy, there are more magazines now than ever before, reports the Magazine Publishers of America. There are 11,143 magazines. That's up from 10,688 in 1982; 9,062 in 1972; 8,616 in 1962; and 7,050 in 1952. Combined circulation of all magazines in the USA is more than 365 million. SEX USED IN AD CAMPAIGN: Madison Avenue has always said sex sells. Now, a New York City menswear company is betting that kinky sex sells more. Wilke-Rodriquez, a 5-year-old sportswear company in Manhattan, is trying to sell shirts, jeans and jackets through a new series of magazine ads showing a man and woman frolicking. The ads are being introduced in the September issues of GQ and Details. (For more, see special Sex package below.) NHL'S STEIN DENIES DEAL IS DONE: Gil Stein, president-elect of the National Hockey League, said Wednesday he doesn't expect an announcement on TV deals with ESPN until next week. Stein denied a report that ESPN had agreed to pay the NHL $16 million a year for five years. SportsChannel America, which had NHL rights for four years, claims the league has to run a new deal past SCA. CANADIAN PAPER CLOSES: Thomson Newspapers, a unit of Canadian-based Thomson Corp., ended publication Wednesday of the 107-year old Hudson Valley News, but will keep open the Newburgh, Canada facility's commercial print and production business. Thomson publishes 364 newspapers, including The Globe and The Mail in Toronto. `GLADIATORS' TO GET COMPANY: One of the titans of first-run syndication, "American Gladiators," begins its fourth season the weekend of Sept. 12. It soon will have company on the athletic game show circuit. On Sept. 18, "Knights and Warriors," a medieval version, premieres on 109 stations in syndication. Another action show, "Cowboys," is slated to debut in January on TBS Superstation. MEDIEVAL DRAMA HAS POOR START: Tuesday was not a shining night for the premiere of ABC's medieval drama, "Covington Cross." The new series finished third in the 10 p.m. time period with a 11.1 rating:19 share, behind the second half of CBS' "Miss Teen USA Pageant" (a 12.5:22) and "Dateline NBC" (12.0:21). More importantly, "Cross" lost viewers from its lead-in, "Coach." ANSWERS TO DEBUT: ANSWERS For Adult Children of Aging Parents is a bimonthly consumer magazine premiering this fall. It will provide answers to questions about the emotional, legal, governmental and financial issues of looking after an elderly parent. The magazine will be sold by subscription. The cost is $15 for a one-year subscription. AST RESEARCH GOES WITH TEAM ONE: AST Research has moved its estimated $6 million advertising account to Team One of El Segundo, Calif. It had been developing its advertising in-house. Team One will create image and product ads for the personal computer marketer; spending could rise to $10 million in the first year. ANTI-PROP. 166 ADS TO RUN: The "No on Proposition 166" campaign released its first TV commercial Wednesday, to be aired in major California markets, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento. Proposition 166, sponsored by the California Medical Association, mandates that all employers provide health care coverage. It is to be voted on in November. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON SEX: COUPLE IS HAVING FUN: One ad for Wilke-Rodriquez, a sportswear company, shows a half-naked woman sitting on a window ledge while her companion stands below with his head between ... well, one of her legs is propped on his shoulders. "I guess you can read whatever you want into them," says Anne Kennedy of Baron & Baron ad agency, which designed the campaign. "It just looks like a couple having fun." ADS DESIGNED TO BE PASSIONATE: In other ads in the campaign, the couple is seen coupling on or above New York's mean streets. In one, they assume a quasi-missionary position on a rooftop. Kennedy insists that nothing untoward is actually going on in the ads. "The concept was to make them spirited and sexy and passionate but not demeaning," Kennedy says. "It was really in the spirit of a consenting situation." FIRM WANTED TO GET ATTENTION: In addition to looks of ecstasy, the ad couple is wearing shirts and trousers designed by Wilke-Rodriguez, a mid-priced menswear firm. "We wanted to come up with something that would make people stop turning the page and look at our ads," says Jeanne Sica, a spokeswoman for the company. "It's great, comfortable clothes. I think these two look very comfortable with one another." (End of package.) Advertising Editor: Ed Kelleher. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM