• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, October 11, 2011

Ads appearing in the September issues of leading fashion magazines scored better than magazine ads on average in terms of reader recall and effectiveness, according to Affinity’s syndicated VISTA research service.

Affinity tracked 1,595 ad units appearing in a dozen major titles, and found that average recall for the September issue ads was 61%, compared to an average 57% for all magazines measured this year.

Among readers who recalled seeing a September fashion ad, 57% took some sort of action as a result of the exposure, including 22% who considered making a purchase. These compare to overall averages of 53% and 19% for all magazines measured this year.

High-performing ad types included some obvious categories like makeup, with 69% recall, fragrances (66%), nail products (66%), and retail (64%). But this year also saw high recall for ads in a number of surprising categories, including entertainment (65%), beverages (65%), and home improvement (63%).

In terms of specific campaigns, the highest recall was scored by CoverGirl’s Intense ShadowBlast in Essence, with 96% recall, followed by Guess Jeans’ campaign in Elle, with 90% recall; and Versace in W, also with 90% recall. Banana Republic’s spread in Allure achieved 79% recall, and a multipage campaign for Justin Bieber’s “Someday” fragrance achieved 76% recall in Cosmopolitan.

Turning to actions taken, the highest score was achieved by a non-fashion advertiser: Tostitos Artisan Recipes, which scored a reader action score of 94%; the next-highest reader action score was achieved by Johnson’s Baby Oil, with an 87% score in Essence. Levi’s Curve ID Jeans scored 86% for reader action in Elle, Target scored 86% in People StyleWatch and T.J. Maxx scored 84% in Vogue.