The missing ads meant lives were crumbling. How could we enjoy that?
A few months ago, deep in the coronavirus shutdown, a reader sent in a comment: “I’m enjoying the new Mishpacha, thanks to the True Editor — Hashem sent us COVID and wiped out all those terrible luxury advertisements.”
A few weeks later, I received an email from a former teacher: “I have at times (actually often) been critical of the advertisements in frum publications. It seems to me that often advertising‘ creates needs.’ It is my impression that of late Mishpacha has taken a step back. Is that because of COVID or purposefully?”
The unfortunate answer to her question is that our ads decreased for several weeks because of COVID. But unlike the first commenter, we who work at the magazine did not find any joy in the downturn.
Ads are the primary “fuel” providing us with the resources to keep upping our game and give our readers more and better content. More ad pages mean more content pages for you to enjoy. But that wasn’t the primary reason for our distress when so many ads went missing. The real reason was the human subtext: The missing ads meant that fellow Jews who work hard every month to support their families honorably were now struggling. Some had put their businesses on hold. Many feared their businesses would never reopen.
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