JELL-O's patriot cheesecake,
as featured in 'Real Simple'

Total magazine rate-card-reported advertising revenue through the first three quarters of 2008 closed at $18,452,988,859, posting a 5% decline against the previous year, according to data from Publishers Information Bureau (PIB), writes MarketingCharts.

There were 164,125 ad pages generated through the first three quarters of the year, a drop of 9.5% compared with the same period in 2007.

For Q3, total magazine rate-card-reported advertising revenue generated $5,988,323,154, an 8.8% decrease compared with Q3 2007. There were 52,778 advertising pages in Q3, a drop of 12.9% compared with the same period in 2007.

Only three categories posted gains in revenue vs. the first three quarters of 2007: Retail (4.5%); Food & Food Products (3.4%); and Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts (3.1%).

Overall, magazine advertising was negatively impacted by the ongoing weakness in the economy for the first three quarters of 2008, according to PIB. During this period, categories that posted declines in both revenue and ad pages were Toiletries & Cosmetics; Apparel & Accessories; Drugs & Remedies; Media & Advertising; Direct Response Companies; Automotive; Financial, Insurance & Real Estate; Home furnishings & Supplies; and Technology.

"We're seeing the unfortunate result of the ongoing softness in the economy," said Ellen Oppenheim, EVP and CMO, Magazine Publishers of America. "Consumers have cut spending and advertisers have followed suit. It's affected every ad category and every ad-supported sector of the media industry."