• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 12, 2010

Total ad pages in consumer magazines tumbled 25.6% in 2009 compared to 2008, according to the Publishers Information Bureau, dropping from 227,443 to 169,218. The fourth quarter was slightly less terrible than the full-year performance, with ad pages falling 21.6% from 62,448 in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 48,959 in the fourth quarter of 2009.

That follows quarterly declines of 26%, 29.4% and 26.6% in the first, second and third quarters, respectively.

This marks the 11th straight quarter of ad page declines in year-over-year comparisons, which began in the second quarter of 2007, then accelerated at an alarming pace with the broader economic downturn in the fourth quarter of 2008.

As in previous quarters, losses continued to be widespread.

Out of 247 consumer magazines tracked by PIB, 175 (71%) saw ad pages decline in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to 2008. Of these, 30 (12% of the total) experienced single-digit percentage declines, 53 (21.5%) experienced declines of 10%-19.9%, 43 (17.5%) experienced declines of 20%-29.9%, and the remaining 49 (20%) experienced declines of 30% or more.

  The biggest losers of the fourth quarter included Architectural Digest, down 51.6% to 222 ad pages; W, down 44.7% to 281; Details, down 43.7% to 246; Dwell, down 42.4% to 196; Sports Illustrated Kids, down 40.2% to 58; Fortune, down 39.3% to 386; Scientific American, down 38.8% to 79; Automobile, down 38.1% to 148; Motor Trend, down 37.9% to 202; Golf Digest, down 35.5% to 193; Ebony, down 35% to 162; Kiplinger's Personal Finance, down 33.8% to 77; Elle Decor, down 32.7% to 294; BusinessWeek, down 31.6% to 387; Spin, down 31.3% to 113; Wired, down 31.3% to 264; Men's Fitness, down 31% to 188; Conde Nast Traveler, down 30.8% to 310; Vanity Fair, down 30.2% to 429.

For the full year, the figures were somewhat grimmer, as 210 titles (85%) ended the year with an overall loss in ad pages. Of these, 13 titles (5.5% of the total) experienced single-digit percentage declines, 62 (25%) experience declines of 10% to 19.9%, 71 (28.5%) experienced declines of 20% to 29.9%, and the remaining 64 (26%) experienced declines of 30% or more.