The Shame of Magazine Advertising

Several national magazines contain “back-of-the-book” advertisements which make claims that are highly questionable. This paper reports the results of a two-phase study of deceptive magazine advertising. The preliminary part of the study focuses on the perspectives of editors of magazines carrying back-page advertisements that appear to be misleading. A second phase of the study concerns the activities undertaken by industry and government groups to minimize deceptive advertising in magazines. Based on study findings, recommendations are made for eliminating deceptive magazine advertising.