The A-List: Do You Have What it Takes?

On Monday, October 29, the list was released. Unlike the weekly tabloids that make or break celebrities, establishing their status by how many times the paparazzi catches them surprisingly, being human, the A-List is annual. You have to stand out to be on the list. You have to be consistent and presentable; your hair or make-up cannot be messy and your clothes must be neatly pressed. People have to like you, as you are. Above all, you have to be made of paper.

Advertising Age is “the most trusted brand of news and intelligence on advertising, marketing and media, delivered however and whenever our community wants to consume it.” The trade magazine is available by print or internet, electronic newsletters, blogs, video and audio. It is the source to find who and what is hot in the advertising industry. That’s why it’s an honor when Ad Age places you in one of the ten positions on the A-List.

The 2007 list was dominated primarily by women’s magazines, in contrast to the 2006 list that was evenly balanced between home, food, celebrity, and women’s magazines.

Let’s break it down:

10. Harper’s Bazaar
9. Elle
8. Every Day with Rachael Ray
7. O, The Oprah Magazine
6. Prevention
5. Vogue
4. The Economist
3. Real Simple
2. More
1. Better Homes & Gardens

And, in 2006:

10. InTouch Weekly
9. Real Simple
8. Gourmet
7. National Geographic Adventure
6. People
5. Vogue
4. New York
3. Elle
2. Dwell
1. More

Only four magazines are on both lists; of those four, only one stayed in the same position both years — Vogue, at number five. More only moved down one space, but Elle moved down six spaces, in contrast to Real Simple that moved up six spaces.

The 2007 A-List, however more occupied by magazines that target a female audience, features a balance of new and old publications. It is quite possibly the best representation of the industry and audience today. Nine of the ten are specifically women's or home-related, in which case we can question whether or not magazine audiences will sooner or later be so targeted that some audiences will be alienated and neglected as others gain more and more popularity. Maybe the industry is something like high school...