Tobacco spending was up by 60%

     Ad revenues for consumer magazines rose again in May, for a 13 percent increase over last year’s figures for the month, while ad pages were up 4.8 percent from the year-earlier figure, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Total ad revenues for the month were $1,448,381,315.
      Year-to-date ad revenues were up nearly 11 percent, to $5,954,283,498,  against a nearly 3 percent increase in pages, reflecting the robust economy.
       Ad categories that saw the strongest growth for May against the same month a year earlier included tobacco products, up 60 percent, and financial services, which saw an increase of 22 percent. Travel rose 13 percent. Media and advertising were up 17 percent, while home furnishings was up 14 percent.
       Categories that saw drops in ad spending were direct marketing, which was off 13 percent, and food and food products, which were down 13.5 percent. Retail advertising was off by 4.4 percent for the period
       The biggest gainer for the first six months of this year was tobacco, up 32 percent in ad spending. Drugs and remedies were up 14.5 percent while travel rose 13 percent. Food and food products were down 14 percent in ad spending, while toiletries were off 11 percent for the six-month period.