UCLA Daily Bruin Takes Unwanted Ad Campaign Because of Financial Troubles

I am still a journalist, so in and amongst my foodie news are tidbits that I find newsworthy enough to share with you, my dear readers.

In a note today from Anthony Pesce, the editor of UCLA’s Daily Bruin, the college newspaper expressed remorse about the Haagen-Dazs advertising campaign that appeared over the entirety of the first (front) and second page of today’s newspaper.

Pesce wrote that it was “specifically designed by a clever marketing department to fool you into thinking – if only for a few seconds” that it was the actual front page of the newspaper, appearing in the same format as the traditional front page.

The campaign highlighted the plight of the honey bee, which the advertisement claimed is in great danger, and offered the newspaper an amount of money for the ad that if refused, would have forced The Bruin to take immense budget and pay cuts. That financial distress would have directly affected the quality of the award-winning newspaper.

The editor assured readers that this obligation to paying advertisers would not be a permanent feature of the college newspaper, at least for the time being. “I want our readership and our community to know that there will not be another advertisement like it for the rest of the year,” Pesce said in the note.

An editorial was also printed in the newspaper, and highlighted more of the reasons behind the staff’s decision to accept the advertising campaign and its reluctance to do so.

See the full note here: http://dailybruin.ucla.edu/stories/2009/apr/7/editors-note/
See full editorial here: http://dailybruin.ucla.edu/stories/2009/apr/7/editorial-ad-front-page-due-financial-distress/