• by July 11, 2000

Total magazine advertising for the month of May closed at $1,749,186,402, a 21.5% increase over last year, according to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB). Advertising pages for May were 28,063, up 18.3% from last year. Year-to-date, advertising revenue and ad pages continued a steady rise, with a 16.3% increase to $6,929,491,686, and a 13.7% increase to 114,753 pages, respectively.

During May 2000 ten of the 13 major advertising categories showed positive growth as compared with last year, most notably in Technology (51.9%); Media & Advertising (67.8%); Retail (75.3%); Financial, Insurance & Real Estate (38.5%); and Food & Food Products (39.5%). Losses were noted for Direct Response Companies (-10.8%); Automotive (-5.6%); and Cigarettes, Tobacco & Accessories (-5.1%).

For the year-to-date comparison, January to May 2000, gains were noted for Retail (89.9%); Technology (30.4%); Media & Advertising (42.6%); Financial, Insurance & Real Estate (30.2%); and Food & Food Products (23.6%), which led 11 out of 13 category increases. Losses were noted for Direct Response Companies (-14.2%) and Automotive (-5.6%).

"May has been another month of significant growth for magazine advertising," said Christine Miller, Executive VP, Chief Marketing Officer for Magazine Publishers of America. "Increases in the Technology, Retail, and Media & Advertising categories illustrate the continued strength of our medium."