--- title: "Time Magazine Flouts Industry Guidelines With New Cover Ads" id: "23271" type: "post" slug: "time-magazine-flouts-industry-guidelines-with-new-cover-ads" published_at: "2014-05-28T16:13:09+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T18:23:34+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/05/28/time-magazine-flouts-industry-guidelines-with-new-cover-ads/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/05/28/time-magazine-flouts-industry-guidelines-with-new-cover-ads.md" excerpt: "In what could prove a major test for the magazine industry, publishing giant Time, Inc., is testing a new ad format in an area many in the industry consider off-limits—and it’s testing the format despite association guidelines that specifically forbid..." taxonomy_category: - "Ethics" taxonomy_post_tag: - "Advertising" - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "Ethics" - "magazine" - "Media" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Time Magazine Flouts Industry Guidelines With New Cover Ads It goes directly against the American Society of Magazine Editors’ (ASME) guidelines, but that didn’t stop *Time Magazine* from introducing a microscopic new type of ad last week. It’s in a place you’d never expect it to be—the cover. And a sister publication, *Sports Illustrated*, is about to follow suit. More details: **About the ads:** The two Time, Inc., publications, among the industry’s most storied titles, are running sliver-sized ads for Verizon right next to either the barcode (in the case of newsstand copies) or the mailing label (for subscription copies). It’s a starting point, however: [According to Ad Age (opens in a new tab)](http://adage.com/article/media/time-starts-selling-ads-magazine-covers/293361/) , the company is reportedly pitching slightly larger ads that run across the bottom of the cover. It’s part of a recent trend of magazine giants experimenting with the advertising form, and they’re not the first to test such a format. In 2009, *Scholastic Parent & Child* [published (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/business/media/12adco.html) an ad for a company called Smilebox on the corner of its cover. **Butting against guidelines:** However small, Time’s experiment flies in the face of the top rule in ASME’s print guidelines: “The cover is the editor and publisher’s brand statement. Advertisements should not be printed directly on the cover or spine,” [the rule states (opens in a new tab)](http://www.magazine.org/asme/editorial-guidelines) . The guidelines list a number of other no-nos, including the use of ads that imitate editorial content. Violating the guidelines can lead to public sanctions or even disqualification from industry awards. Unsurprisingly, Time’s move [drew a wide array (opens in a new tab)](http://adage.com/article/media/reactions-time-s-cover-ads/293405/) of industry reaction. **A topic worth discussing:** But due to the sheer size of the publications trying the new format—both magazines have a circulation topping 3 million copies, [according to the Alliance for Audited Media (opens in a new tab)](http://abcas3.auditedmedia.com/ecirc/magtitlesearch.asp) —the move raises new questions for ASME, especially considering that one of its newest board members is Norman Pearlstine, chief content officer of Time, Inc. He argued to *Ad Age* that even if the ads flout the guidelines, they still are within the spirit of ASME’s four basic principles: “Every reader is entitled to fair and accurate news and information; the value of magazines to advertisers depends on reader trust; the difference between editorial content and marketing messages must be transparent; editorial integrity must not be compromised by advertiser influence.” Pearlstine told *Ad Age*, “If we’re not at variance with the principles, then it’s worth having a discussion of whether the [ASME] guidelines are relevant and still appropriate.” For its part, ASME is ready for a bigger conversation. The group’s CEO, Sid Holt, was given a pass at the new ad formats before they went live, [and while he noted to the Wall Street Journal (opens in a new tab)](http://blogs.wsj.com/cmo/2014/05/23/is-this-worlds-smallest-magazine-ad/) that industry consensus is that such ads are “thought to lessen the effectiveness of the cover as both a journalism and marketing tool,” the *Time* and *Sports Illustrated* ads are likely to keep the issue front-of-mind. “This will be something I’m sure the board and other ASME members will want to look at more closely in the coming months,” Holt told *Ad Age*. A Verizon cover ad, shown on the latest issue of Time Magazine. [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Advertising](https://associationsnow.com/tag/advertising/) [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#Ethics](https://associationsnow.com/tag/ethics/) [#magazine](https://associationsnow.com/tag/magazine/) [#Media](https://associationsnow.com/tag/media/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: All for the Love of Chicago: Rethinking the Destination ExperienceSeptember 10, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/10/associations-now-presents-all-for-the-love-of-chicago-rethinking-the-destination-experience/) - [VideoExploring New Frontiers: Leadership, Resilience and the Future of SpaceflightAugust 27, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/27/exploring-new-frontiers-leadership-resilience-and-the-future-of-spaceflight/) - [ArticleBrand Safety: Coalition Works to Label, Isolate Dangerous Online ContentJanuary 29, 2020](https://associationsnow.com/2020/01/29/brand-safety-coalition-works-to-label-isolate-dangerous-online-content/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F05%2F28%2Ftime-magazine-flouts-industry-guidelines-with-new-cover-ads%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !