Not too long ago I received a Time Magazine and a Sports Illustrated Magazine that featured a small, almost unnoticeable, ad right beneath the address label. And since it noted the page in the magazine where a” full ad” could be located I would label such an ad a “pre-ad.” And even though the ad was occupying such a small area of the face of the magazines, such ad still attracted criticism.

I was always under the impression the magazine butt ads (back cover ads) parentheses were the worst ads in regards to magazine ad placements, but now I’m convinced that pre-ads are the current clear winner for the worst magazine ad.

I’m the first to state the obvious fact that such a tiny ad is almost invisible to the average subscriber, and had I not ran across an article published in the Wall Street Journal giving me a heads up regarding such an ad, I would’ve more than likely never even noticed such an ad.

I could understand if magazines would affix visually appealing sticker ads to the front of magazines, especially if such stickers had potential prizes etc. on their underside.

I just wonder how many people actually paid attention to those pre-ads that underlined address labels, because how many people actually view their magazines address label percentage wise?

With all the polls that currently exist nowadays I would love to know the percentage of magazine readers that actually view magazine butt ads on any relevant basis, and I definitely would like to know how many individuals viewed the pre-ads that were featured on Time and Sports Illustrated, especially the subscribers who didn’t receive before hand notice.

If a company is willing to pay for a butt ad and/or pre-ad that’s really noticeable, does it really matter how often such ads are viewed?