In cover stories breaking in today's editions, weekly advertising and media trade publications will blow the lid off the network TV upfront advertising marketplace, pinpointing its demise--to
precisely three years from now. The cover stories, in fact, carry datelines that are set 23 years in the future, and are the result of a paid ad campaign funded by the magazine industry.
"Remembering the Upfronts" proclaims the banner headline on the May 9, 2028 edition of one weekly trade magazine targeting brand managers. "20 Years After Their Demise," reads another cover line, "Ad
Execs Chuckle at Former Follies." The loudest chuckles may be heard from the offices of the Magazine Publishers of America, which purchased the ads as part of its fake magazine covers ad campaign,
which is the first phase of a three-year, $40 million magazine industry ad effort created by Fallon, New York. "The whole idea of the faux covers is to have fun," Ellen Oppenheim, executive vice
president-chief marketing officer of the MPA told
MediaDailyNews late Friday on the eve of the effort, which is timed to shift Madison Avenue's focus from television's upfront marketplace to
the magazine industry. The ad industry, meanwhile, plans to shift some of that focus itself during an Association of National Advertisers' Print Advertising Forum in New York, which takes place
June 16--just when the TV upfront normally begins to heat up. The day-long event will focus on media planning issues related to print, as well as award-winning magazine ad campaigns. "We just
wanted people to know that the network upfront is not a final statement. It's a stake in the ground, and that stake can be moved over time," the MPA's Oppenheim said of the campaign's goal. To do
that, the campaign uses time, poking fun at the upfront by describing how marketers might look back on its demise 23 years in the future. Some of the irrational observations they might make:
"Commitment craziness: Buying shows that were cancelled before spots aired." "Measurement madness: Pretending that viewers watched commercial breaks." "Procurement panic: $9 billion spent in
72 hours--and nothing in writing!" "There's a lot of wink-wink in this," said Oppenheim, adding that the MPA is exploring other tactics to detract from TV's upfront
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