• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 11, 2008

For the first time, the The New York Times Magazine is letting an advertiser use a cover wrap for high-profile "marquee" ad placement. The announcement comes as magazines and newspapers alike experiment with ways to deliver advertising via wraps or by integration with the cover itself.

The August 10 issue of the magazine will come with a cover wrap purchased by U.S. Trust, Bank of America's private wealth management division, to promote its philanthropic financial products for wealthy people who fund charitable causes. Like most wraps, the U.S. Trust ad extends less than halfway across the cover of the magazine.

It's just the latest in a series of new placements offered by the New York Times Co. that aim to give advertisers more exposure without cluttering editorial or otherwise damaging the brand. These include ads on the front page of the newspaper, spadia ads in sections, unique positioning for online ads, and single-sponsor magazine issues.

The New York Times Magazine section is in good company experimenting with cover wraps. Last December, New York magazine sold a four-page cover wrap to the New Museum.

And some magazines have incorporated advertising directly into the cover itself. The September issue of Esquire magazine features a blinking, flashing electronic display designed by E-ink and sponsored by Ford. Although Ford is not mentioned on the cover, the high-profile cover leads directly to a Ford ad spread in the front of the magazine that takes credit for the innovative cover.

Last year, Harper's Bazaar delivered 5,000 VIP copies that came embedded with "crystals"--courtesy of Swarovski, also an advertiser. In 2005, The New Yorker produced a single-sponsor issue for Target that incorporated the Target logo's distinctive red-and-white coloring on the cover as well as inside the magazine.