advertisements in Boy's Life

[FScouter]

Oh. I wasnt looking for personal opinions about likes and dislikes. Everybodys got em. I may not like the new application form, or one of the 8 methods, or the number of merit badges required for Eagle rank, but my personal opinion does not make BSA incorrect. Ed is implying that BSA is not always correct. I was looking for him to point out what he is thinking is incorrect.

[Gonzo1]

Sorry Fred, no offense intended.

Gonzo

 

As far as being "infallible", I think Mother Teresa is about as close as one can be, aside from Jesus.

 

[evmori]

What's incorrect? That's for another thread. But a great example would be filling Boys Life with more ads for garbage than useful material & articles.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[FScouter]

My Boys Life arrived yesterday, so I had to take a close look to confirm Eds comment that the magazine is filled with more ads for garbage than with content, and the other comment that there are 75 ads selling crap per 1 article about Scouting.

 

Heres the actual content:

 

7 pages of ads total (12 %) in the entire magazine including covers:

Baseball cards (full page inside front cover)

Navy scholarships (full page)

Upcoming Mimzy mystery movie (full page)

Estes model rockets (1/3 page)

Random House ad for an artic adventure book (1/3 page)

Mail order size ads for camps, military academies, knives, Campmor, etc. (13 ads total, 1 1/3 pages total)

Kraft mac & cheese Spiderman (full page)

Baseball cards (full page back cover)

 

The entire magazine is 56 pages which leaves 49 pages of content (87 1/2%). Im impressed, both with the amount of content, and the quality of the ads. Keep up the good work Pedro!

[John-in-KC]

I want to be Pedro's farrier. The way he goes through horseshoes, I'll have a small mint in shoeing fees as well as in scrap steel!

 

I just wish BL was the full size it was when I was a Cub and Boy Scout (1965-74). This "Time Magazine" size means the kids don't get as much content as they used to.

[evmori]

Since Boys Life no longer grace my door step, I'll take FScouters word for what is in the latest edition. Then I gotta ask uz2bnowl where his info is from?

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[theysawyoucomin']

Fscouter is accurate but I would add pg48 and 49 are nothing to do with Scouting.

Lowering it to about 83% which is still much higher than my perception.

 

the swimming and water safety is good stuff this month.

 

My miscarriage of the numbers is due to the "in yo face" nature of the ads. There are 21 ads plus 48 and 49 which review electronic games and could qualify as promoting those games.

 

The review of swimming could save a Scout or somebody else. The games review leads to sloth.

 

"If I've told you once I've told you a million times don't exaggerate.

[Oak Tree]

Ok, here's my contribution to Scouting trivia.

 

September 1965. Boys' Life is 13.25" x 10.5". The cover price is $0.25. There are 76 pages, of which roughly 28 pages are ads, or 37%.

 

January 1971. Boys' Life is 12.25" x 9.25". The cover price is $0.40. There are 78 pages of which 27.75 are ads, or 36%.

 

September 1977. Boys' Life is 11" x 8.25". The cover price is $0.60. There are 84 pages of which 24.5 are ads, or 29%.

 

July 2007. Boys' Life is 10.5" x 8". The cover price is $3.60. There are 56 pages, of which 7.67 are ads, or 14%.

 

The initial premise of this thread appears to be that there are more ads today. That is clearly not the case. A more detailed analysis might calculate ads that are related to Scouting, although that's a bit subjective.

 

One thing that does leap out at me is that the articles are longer in the older editions. There are way more words per page, and no pages of quick sound-bites with lots of graphics. It could take a long time to get through the magazines from the 1960s, particularly when compared to today's version.

 

Oak Tree

[Oak Tree]

And just for fun, here are the ads from 1965.

 

Dingos boots from Acme boot company (full page, inside cover)

Murray bikes (half)

Bell system (full)

Slot cars from Hawk Model Company (half)

Punt, Pass & Kick - NFL (full)

AMT models (full)

Official Scout Shoes, International Shoe Company (half)

Bike lock, Master (1/4)

Tyco trains (1/4)

Crosman Arms gun trading cards (1/2)

Revell home raceway (2 full pages)

Wearever pen (1/4)

Screamer model motor, Globe industries (1/4)

WeaverScope rifle scope, Weaver Company (1/4)

Wren motor bike, Bird engineering (1/4)

Official Scout shoes, Goodyear (1/4)

Greeting Card fundraisers, Cheerful Card Co, (full)

Wilson basketball (full)

Wingfoot 175 bike tire, Goodyear (full)

American Youth Sales Club (2 full)

Pepsi (full)

Remington Nylon 66, 22 automatic (1/2)

Christmas Card fundraiser, Wallace Brown (1/2)

7-UP (1/2)

Tackle medicated clear gel for pimples, oily skin, and blackheads (1/2)

Marlin 57 lever action rifle (1/2)

Fastrak bike tire, U.S. Royal (1/2)

Swingline Tot Stapler (1/4)

Western Auto, bike accessories (full)

Scout stores (full)

Strombecker models (1/4)

Johnson & Johnson first-aid kit fundraisers (1/2)

Savage rifles (1/2)

Assortment (1/2) - Duxbak hunting supply, Daisy B-Bs, Weejuns shoes, USPS, Himalayan backpack, blistex lip balm, mini-bikes

Lindy pens (1/2)

Assortment (1/2) - Lafayette radio electronics, mini-bike kit, chipmunk havahart trap, Victor trap to kill muskrat, mink, skunk, racoon, and fox, Benjamin 20 20 air gun, Fun music book

Voit sneakers (1/8)

Sheridan pellet gun (1/8)

Assortment (1/2) - Pacifate shoe lining, Post slide rule, gun cleaner, bird mounting book, Bike athletic supporter

Short Cut Hair Groom (1/4)

Lindberg motorized model (1/8)

Grit family newspaper sales positions (1/8)

Military Academies - 30 of them (1/2)

Mason Candy fundraiser (1/4)

Stamp and Coin collector classifieds - 33 (1/2)

Classified - rockets, canoe kits, bike decals, space catalog, dinosaur bone collection, mini-cycle plans, telescope, military insignia, Indian lore, bull whips, magic tricks, test tubes (3/4)

Card fundraiser, Artistic Card Co, inside back cover (full)

Schwinn bikes, back cover (full)

[Gonzo1]

As Oak Tree points out, the physical size is shrinking. In about 40 years, it may down to a post card.

 

I actually like Boys Life, but I wonder, does the vacuum cleaner motor powered hover craft really work?