Family’s the ‘In’ Thing--and Publishers Know It

At Al’s Newsstand on Fairfax Avenue in west Los Angeles, a new category of magazine has recently squeezed its way onto the crowded shelves. And Al Brooks, who owns the 24-year-old operation, says it may be the first new magazine genre to hit his stand since computer magazines stormed in a few years ago.

Family.

Together, the magazines sound like a genealogy gone haywire. They go by names like Parenting, Fathers, Child, Children and--not to forget--Grandparents. All are non-traditional family magazines that began publishing within the past 12 months. And they signal what their creators see as a new concern by baby boomers--the family. “All of a sudden,” said Samir Husni, publisher of the University, Miss.-based Samir Husni’s Guide to New Magazines, “this return to the family has created a whole new nucleus of magazines.”

Even the publishing giants are buying into the new family magazines. Time Inc., for example, has pumped more than $5 million into Parenting, a San Francisco-based publication, in exchange for a 49% interest. And last week, the New York Times Magazine Group bought Child, a magazine for adults about up-scale products available for their children.

Both magazines have the same thing in mind: cashing in on the new parental instincts of the yuppie. “Instead of focusing on themselves, the members of the ‘Me Generation’ are having children and focusing on their families,” said Robin Wolaner, publisher of Parenting. Advertisers are taking note. Over its first 10 issues, Parenting--where full-page ads cost $5,400--sold 200 more ad pages than its executives had projected. And they point to major advertisers that include Procter & Gamble and Ford Motor Co.

Meanwhile, Child isn’t doing too shabbily, either. At $7,000 for a full page ad, its big-name advertisers include Eastman-Kodak, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sears. “It’s a whole cultural shift,” said Mary Anne Sommers, publisher. “The baby boom generation finally has something new to spend its money on--its children.”

But will ad agency media buyers plunk down big bucks on these new magazines? At Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt’s Los Angeles office, Jim Spero says he has purchased ads for toy company client, Tyco Toys Inc., in Parenting magazine. “It’s one of the coming, hot magazines,” he said. But the family category, he said, is already overcrowded. “There’ll be a shakeout very soon, much like in the science magazine field,” said Spero, “and we’ll have a couple of survivors.”

Even the folks who publish Better Homes & Gardens recently jumped on the bandwagon. The Des Moines, Iowa-based publisher, Meredith Corp., is test-marketing a publication called Grandparents. After all, nearly 49 million Americans are grandparents. But this magazine is mostly targeted at new grandparents who want to read about their new roles. For example, an article in its most recent issue is titled, “Your First Grandchildren: Do’s and Don’ts.” “There’s a re-emerging trend of the home and family as the focal point of our lives,” said Jerry Ward, publisher of Grandparents. “Suddenly, grandparents don’t mind being called grandparents.”

Yet another new magazine, Fathers, is a “delayed reaction” to the women’s movement of the 1960s, said Publisher Reed Phillips. “It’s now expected for men to take on a larger role in family life,” he said. In its premiere issue, the magazine interviewed Ron Reagan, the son of President Reagan, in an article titled, “What Kind of Father Was He Really?”

And what will be the magazine rage next year? “If I knew that,” said one publisher, “I’d be publishing it this year.”

Wrestling Tops the List

Although family magazines may be a hot trend, it is the specialty sports magazines that topped all newcomers in 1986, with 33 new entries. The most popular sports magazine category: wrestling.

Seven new wrestling magazines were introduced last year, according to Samir Husni’s just-released annual guide. It lists a a record 372 start-up magazines in the United States last year, bringing the national total to 11,593 different periodicals.

Why so many? Well, Star Log Press, which publishes 11 wrestling magazines, introduced three of them in 1986, including one about female grapplers called “Beauties of Wrestling.” Why 11 magazines on the same topic? Explained Norman Jacobs, publisher: “I’d rather be my own competitor then have someone else take my business.”

The specialty sports category also saw plenty of new titles on bicycling. Of course, even titles can change titles very quickly. In January, Mission Hills-based Hi-Torque Publishing Co. introduced what it thought was going to be an annual magazine on BMX bicycling called RadGallery Spectacular! A few months later, it was converted into a quarterly and renamed Freestyle Spectacular. Most recently, it has evolved into a 65,000 circulation monthly magazine, American Freestyler. Why all the changes in one year? Said Publisher Roland Hinz: “It just kind of evolved that way.”

Brewing Up a Promo

Problem: How to make a Mexican beer named Chihuahua sound appealing to its target American audience--the Corona crowd.

“It’s a little bit of a challenge,” said Carl Kravetz, vice president of the Los Angeles-based ad agency Ferrer/Ad America. “You don’t want people going in and asking for the ‘dog’ beer,” he said.

So the recently formed firm, a joint venture of Mexico’s largest ad agency, Grupo Ferrer and Los Angeles-based Davis, Johnson, Mogul & Colombatto, decided not to poke fun of the name Chihuahua in the beer’s first domestic ad campaign. Instead, the $1-million campaign will attempt to portray the beer--which Wisdom Imports began importing three years ago--as the brew for “big boys with expensive toys,” said Kravetz. In a billboard campaign set to break June 1, a man dressed in costly leather suit--standing next to an expensive motorcycle--will appear below the slogan: A little uncivilized.

Giorgio on Lookout

The “Best Fragance in Beverly Hills” is out sniffing for a new Los Angeles ad agency. Giorgio Inc., which annually sells more then $100 million of its fragrances in the familiar yellow and white striped box, expects to name a new ad agency to handle its $2.5-million account within the next week or so. Its current agency, Eisaman, Johns & Laws of Los Angeles, is bowing out.

The agency review began long before Avon Products made its bid to purchase the company last month. But with the purchase scheduled to close this week, Avon--whose ad firm is NW Ayer--is hardly disinterested. “We don’t want to interrupt the selection process,” said an Avon spokesman, “but we will participate in the final decision.” Giorgio, meanwhile, is “not looking to change” its image, said John Funck, Giorgio’s senior vice president of marketing, “maybe just spruce it up.”