• Associated Press, Friday, December 9, 2005 11:30 AM

The headline at Editor & Publisher's Web site pretty much tells the story. "Hell Freezes Over: Wal-Mart Launches Massive Newspaper Ad Push." After a long stretch during which the powerhouse retailer placed its ad dollars seemingly everywhere but in the nation's local newspapers, it bought full-page ads in 336 Midwestern papers several days ago. The AP story reporting on the move described it as a "test" that, if successful for Wal-Mart, could lead to advertising in larger newspapers across the U.S. Wal-Mart executives said it was closely monitoring the results of its ad initiative to see if it drove sales in area stores. Observers have noted that Wal-Mart's reputation has taken a hit on several fronts this year, and the placement of ads in smaller papers might be viewed as an effort by the company to help repair its image among consumers. The newspaper industry, of course, is hoping Wal-Mart decides its experiment was successful, leading to a broader buy in the future.

Read the whole story at Associated Press »