Last week I was saying how much I liked Marie Claire’s podcasts , because they gives us an insight into how they put together the magazine.But it’s not quite plain sailing for the magazine as the WWD pointed out.
Marie Claire’s new podcast series, “The Masthead With Marie Claire,” has raised questions about whether ethical guidelines separating advertising and editorial apply in the digital realm. The video podcasts, which are produced in collaboration with Podshow.com and boast impressive production values and “Devil Wears Prada”-esque flourish, are sponsored by Unilever with occasional chipping in by Diesel as “patron.”
The first time I saw the placement of a Unilever product was when the team were on location at the United nations for shoot and the junior fashion editor was extolling the benefits of Degree deodorant. I didn’t think much of it, but as it turns out there were more.
It should be interesting to see what happens when the American Society of Magazine Editors change their “Best Practices for Digital Media” standards. Board member and Slate editor in chief Jacob Weisberg said soon will be revised to reflect technological change. “The principle is exactly the same….Readers and users have to know what is advertising and what is editorial on the Web, as in print,” he said. The ASME board has not reviewed the Marie Claire podcasts in particular, but Weisberg said: “It’s got to be separate. [Advertising] can’t include the editors and shouldn’t be produced by the editors.”
Check out the WWD.com for more product placements in The Masthead with Marie Claire… or check out their podcasts on YouTube.
