Proof Harper’s Bazaar Gives Its Advertisers Special Treatment

by Verena von Pfetten | 4:01 pm, November 11th, 2010

While our initial response to viewing the following document was, “And this is news, how?”, it is news. Because as much as those of us in this industry know that the designers featured magazine editorials are dictated by how much advertising dollars they spend, it’s rare that you see cold, hard evidence of this fact. But that’s exactly what a Racked tipster found lying on the desk next to the public computer in a Los Angeles hotel.

The following document was found (along with three others) in the lobby of a large Los Angeles hotel. And while Racked initially meant to publish the documents anonymously, they forgot to redact the magazine’s name on one page — and the cat is officially out of the bag: the magazine is Harper’s Bazaar.

The document, which according to Racked was vetted by Bazaar editor in chief Glenda Bailey, splits designers into two groups: advertisers and non-advertisers, and sorts the former “in priority order.” Translation: it’s sorted according to who has spent the most advertising dollars with the mag.

The sheet (which you can view in it’s entirety on Racked) opens with the details of the shoot: “Minimal” is the working name, it’s a 10-page spread, and below that are the names of the the photographer, fashion editor, and location. Then, below that, it lists the advertisers in the aforementioned “Priority Order.”

1. Giorgio Armani
2. Michael Kors
3. Calvin Klein
4. YSL
5. Chloe
6. Versace
7. Akris
8. Derek Lam
9. Carolina Herrera
10. Celine

And so on, and so forth. Below that are the non-advertisers which are prioritized as: 3.1 Phillip Lim, Helmut Lang, Narciso Rodriguez, Prabal Gurung, and Proenza Schouler.

While we like to think that editors, when they put together editorials, are genuinely showcasing the best, most fabulous, most must-have articles of clothing, this document proves that if they’re doing that, they’re choosing from amongst a group of pre-selected brands: those that, through advertising, pay the magazine’s bills.

And while we’re certainly cringing for the employee who left these documents behind (they will, almost certainly, be fired), we’re cringing even more for the moment when Bailey and her cohorts at Bazaar get a call from the advertisers near the bottom of the list. Oh, to be a fly on that wall.

And if you’re looking for more juicy tidbits, we highly recommend taking a look at the rest of Racked’s bounty, which includes a list of accommodation for the editors, assistants, and those even lower on the ladder.

EXCLUSIVE: Top Fashion Magazine’s Label List, in Priority Order [Racked]

Glenda Bailey Harper's Bazaar harper's bazaar advertiser list harper's bazaar label priority list racked