This is probably one of those really DUMB questions, but I’ve wondered about this for years. Drum roll please: What is the significance (if any) of the yellow backgrounds in some of the hobby shop listings near the back end of MR? Perhaps notice of upcoming ad expiration? Dunno, but would like to find out.
I think an e-mail would suffice. I doubt the shop owners consistently check the state of the ads.
Most likely, the shops can get the yellow highlight if they pay extra.
Seems kinda silly to me, but I’m just a customer.
Ed
Maybe I’m confusing magazines, ad campaigns, or even dimensions of reality again, but was there a MR classified ad program called “Pigments of your imagination” (a flying pig may have been involved) concerning color ads too many years back? That could explain it…then again, maybe that was RMC…
You can get the yellow added to your ad for a few extra dollars to make it stand out from the others.
ROAR
And if you are of a “certain age” you associate the color yellow with this commercial jingle …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP2h4LjBXu0
Dave Nelson
Nope, not dumb. I’ve wondered the same thing. I was just waiting for someone else to ask.
Yellow is an eye-catching color, and the yellow background makes the ad stand out from the others. Advertisers pay extra for it.
Some newspapers do the same thing with their classified ads.
I’m not sure myself, however, just assumed that it was highlighted for any “new” listing for a shop. It seemed to follow as some of the newer ads for shops near me were “in yellow” for a few issues.
In another hobby mag I subscribe to, having a listing in Yellow denotes it as a New or fairly New hobby shop. Don’t know if that follows with MRR.
Maybe one of the MR folks would give us a clue? I’ve wondered about it myself.
Roger Huber
Deer Creek Locomotive Works
If 90% of the advertisers did it, the other 10% would stand out and save money, too. And the mag would clean up.
IIRC, the info was printed in the copy at the front of the ads at one time, but I don’t see it now. I suspect that new shops tend to get some yellow ads just to bring attention to themselves. It’s even possible the MR ad dept has a special package deal to encourage shops to sign up by offering some yellow to catch the eye. Like most such things, I’m sure an inquiry to the ad dept will yield an answer.
The yellow first appears in April 2001 - only on one shop located in Massachusetts.
The yellow does not mark new advertisers. Some of the shops (both marked and unmarked) have been listed since the 1960’s or even earlier.
Hi everyone,
The yellow is an extra-cost item to make an advertisement stand out better.
Neil Besougloff
editor
Thank you; now we know[:D]