Print Ad Formats

Cover Wrap

A second cover wrapped around the real one.

A cover wrap (or 'false cover') is an extra outer cover — usually a four-page sheet — wrapped around the front and back of a magazine or newspaper. It's the first thing a reader sees and touches, handing an advertiser the publication's most valuable real estate. A 'half wrap' leaves part of the original cover visible.

How it works: The wrap is printed separately and bound or glued around the publication during finishing. Because it physically encloses the title, the reader is all but guaranteed to see and handle the ad before reaching any content.

Among the highest-impact — and highest-cost — print placements available.

Belly Band

A printed paper band hugging the issue.

A belly band is a strip of paper wrapped horizontally around a magazine, like a belt around its middle. Narrow but unavoidable, it has to be slipped off or torn to open the issue — guaranteeing the reader physically handles the ad first.

How it works: Printed as a separate band and wrapped around the publication (or a section of it) during finishing. Often paired with a matching interior page for a coordinated takeover.

Gatefold

A fold-out panel that opens to reveal more.

A gatefold is an oversized page that folds out — most often extending the front cover or a double-page spread into a wide panoramic canvas. Opening it is a small piece of theatre. A 'French gatefold' folds in from both sides to meet in the middle.

How it works: The extra panel is printed on a larger sheet, folded inward to fit the trim size, and bound in. Cover and contents-page gatefolds command premium rates for their scale and the moment of reveal.

Fireplace (Frame) Ad

An ad that frames the page around the news.

A fireplace ad — also called a frame or wrap-around — surrounds editorial on three or four sides, typically a banner across the top and columns down both sides of a newspaper front page. The reader's eye can't avoid it, yet the news still shows through the 'window' in the middle.

How it works: Sold as a single coordinated placement occupying the page margins. The name mirrors the digital 'fireplace' unit — a leaderboard plus two skyscrapers framing a page — showing how print and digital borrow from each other.

Step-Down (Staircase) Ad

An ad that descends the page in steps.

A step-down, or staircase, ad is shaped like a flight of stairs descending diagonally across a newspaper page, with editorial filling the remaining corners. The unusual silhouette breaks the page's grid and pulls the eye down the page.

How it works: The ad occupies a stepped block of column-inches rather than a clean rectangle, arranged with the publisher's layout team. It's an 'island' placement surrounded on two sides by editorial.

Dust Jacket Ad

Advertising on the wrapper of a book.

Dust jacket advertising places a brand on the removable paper cover of a hardback — or wraps a publication in a custom branded jacket. The inside flaps and back cover add space, and the jacket lingers with the book on shelves and coffee tables long after purchase.

How it works: Either the publisher sells space on an existing jacket (often the back or the inner flaps), or a bespoke branded jacket is wrapped around copies for a promotion or partnership.

Tip-Ons & Scent Strips

Samples and cards affixed straight to the page.

A tip-on is an item lightly glued ('tipped') onto a printed page — a sample sachet, a loyalty card, a fold-out coupon, or a fragrance strip. Scratch-and-sniff and scent-strip ads are the classic example, turning a flat page into a multi-sensory experience.

How it works: Items are affixed during finishing with removable adhesive. Fragrance strips use microencapsulated scent that releases when the strip is peeled apart or rubbed.

Advertorial

Paid content styled like editorial.

An advertorial is a print ad designed to read like an article — matching the publication's typography and tone, but paid for by an advertiser and clearly labelled as advertising. It's the direct ancestor of today's digital native ads.

How it works: Written and laid out to mirror editorial style, carrying a required label such as 'Advertisement' or 'Advertisement feature' (mandated by codes like the ASA's in the UK).

The print forebear of digital native advertising.