Swatch has placed a full-page ad, as has Gatorade, Nintendo and even two California surf wear companies-Gotcha and Body Glove-that are struggling to give beachwear an urban motif.īut some advertisers are already wondering if they did the right thing.

Nike has a five-page ad spread in Vibe’s premiere issue, and Levi has a four-page promotion for its loose-fitting jeans. That is why advertisers are buying space in Vibe. If it’s a flop, the first issue will also be its last.įor records and tapes alone, this group spends well in excess of $100 million annually. If this issue is a hit-selling at least 100,000 of the 200,000 issues printed-the magazine will begin publishing monthly next spring. It has attracted some big advertisers such as Nike and Levi Strauss, which are eager to reach 18- to 24-year-old trendsetters. That’s why Jones-with financial backing from Time Warner Inc.-founded Vibe, a publication whose “test” issue hits newsstands this week.

“Rappers need a home for themselves,” Jones said. By that he means rap stars such as LL Cool J and YoYo, who have taken the hip-hop lifestyle of the streets and made it an integral part of the music and fashion of suburban America. “Rolling Stone makes second-class citizens out of the people in this business who are icons,” said Jones. But the world’s best-known record producer-the man behind Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album-says he’s getting into the magazine business because he’s fed up with rock music magazines such as Rolling Stone that virtually ignore rap. Quincy Jones made his name producing music-not magazines.

Vibe magazine spread