Why do you allow scammers to advertise in your magazine?

March 2008 Issue Discussion

Dear PopSci,

Why do you allow scam artists to advertise in your magazine? Are you really so hard up for money that you need to allow these people to share space with you just to survive?

You have published articles about how bad science does bad things for people, and then right at the end of the magazine you allow a scammer to purchase a full page ad telling people how they are drinking filth and how the only pure water they can count on comes through them.

Your sister magazine, last month, did multi-page piece on which "As Seen On TV" products were bullshit and yet at the end of the magazine there are ads for penis growth pills and fake natural cures. Why don't you go after your own advertisers if you want to pretend to care about your readers getting scammed?

I remember back in 8th grade It used to be amusing to flip to the back of your magazine and see what crap idiots were being scammed into spending money on. Over the past couple of decades you have become more than a magazine of "possible future cars" and you have started publishing articles on real science, real trends, real inventions and real science.

I don't expect you to do the Good Housekeeping thing. You don't have to verify and give a thumbs up to every product you have an ad for in your magazine, but when you put your sights on real science and allow ads for "Magic Sex Pheromones" - you come off looking like douchebags.

The worst part is that you will break up your major articles so that people are forced into the quack medical ads, or scientific conspiracy theory ads, if they want to read the rest of a really good story on global climate change.

Yes I know this helps you sell ads. But maybe you'd sell ads to the right people if they didn't have to associate themselves with worthless coins collections, crappy watches, penis growers, water purifiers and miracle heaters that must break the laws of physics to do 1/2 of what the ad claims.

Get your act together.

8 Comments

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sir-reptitious

02/24/09 at 7:45 pm

Bravo.!

I conour.

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bkdude

02/25/09 at 12:59 am

I agree wholeheartedly.

Thats one reason why I don't read the magazine much, and thats also a reason why I block all ads on my computer.

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Flammy

02/25/09 at 5:45 pm

While I find advertisements in magazines annoying and block them on my computer, I believe the average reader of Popular Science is smart enough not to go buy penis enlargement pills or to send their gold and jewelry to 'cash4gold'. Anyway, newspapers, magazines, and other print media are hurting right now and any advertisements they get are probably very welcome. Also Popular Science does a fairly good job at keeping the trashier ads in the back of the magazine. Anyway, maybe one of those penis pumps will revolutionize the world one of these days...

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m_novotny

02/25/09 at 8:45 pm

Most publications break even on subscriptions, or make a very small amount of revenue compared to expenses. With all the effort they put into writing articles, printing, delivering, etc, your $20 a year isn't really helping with that. The big money comes from advertisers. In today's economy, and also with the internet, it's not a good idea to be picky about who they let advertise in their publication. Those ads in the back? They keep the magazine printed. Drop them, and the magazine will fold up soon after.

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nairda27

02/25/09 at 10:40 pm

They provide the freshmen with endless entertainment!!!

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CplLenny

from alpha, il

02/26/09 at 4:06 am

Nobody likes ads but M_novoty is right, just block them from your computer and be happy that both the mag and website is here. I don't like seeing those ads anymore than you do but, I prefer it over no mag or website.

When life gives you to many Apple IPO's make Apple sauce, now where did I put that blender?

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Growler30

from Lewisville, Texas

02/28/09 at 1:14 am

Also like to add, the "WORK FROM HOME ASSEMBLING PRODUCT" ads are a scam as well. They have you pay for the supplies to start, and then send you these overly complicated products to build to there specs, and then refuse to pay you for them cause they will say they don't meet spec. I am sure they keep them, and I bet they still sell them too.

The make money from home ad "TESTING WEBSITES AND SENDING EMAILS" and such is a scam as well, I checked them out with the BBB and there rating sucked.

The "COMPUTER ERASE BAD CREDIT, DUI-FREE INSTANTLY!" ad is a scam. You cannot do this, reguardless of what they say, do not even try.

I work for a private consumer fraud company, sorry but I cannot disclose who I work for, but just wanted to let you people know about these as well since I happened to see this thread here.

Take care, and I will let you know any others I hear about.
:)

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teekar2620

from Loganville, Georgia

03/26/09 at 1:25 pm

You are known by the company you keep, but what publication can you pick up and not see crap like that. Be smarter than the con. It is great revenue. I don't like it eather but understand why it is allowed.