NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Martha Stewart's newest publication, Everyday Food, is drawing many major advertisers despite a tough ad market and her own high-profile legal troubles, according to a published report.
The Wall Street Journal said the new publication, set to debut Monday, has attracted advertising from General Motors Corp. (GM: Research, Estimates), Campbell Soup Co. (CPB: Research, Estimates), Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT: Research, Estimates) and ConAgra Inc. (CAG: Research, Estimates) The response comes despite a recent warning from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO: Research, Estimates) that it is seeing lower renewal rates for its flagship Martha Stewart Living magazine, softer ratings for its syndicated TV show, and a lower-than-expected response to a catalog mailing. It attributed some of the problems to a probe into whether Stewart violated insider trading laws when selling the shares of a drug company owned by a friend about a year ago.
The company recently lost a major advertiser, drugmaker Pfizer Inc. (PFE: Research, Estimates), which the Journal said spent $1.4 million with Stewart in the first 11 months of the year. It said neither Pfizer nor Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia would comment on the decision not to advertise in 2003.
The paper said Everyday Food is the company's first publication not to include Martha Stewart's name in the title. It also costs less than many other publications -- $2.95, compared with $4.75 for Martha Stewart Living, and is intended to be sold at grocery store checkout lanes.
The Journal said the new publication, about the size of TV Guide rather than a full-size magazine, is also charging advertisers far less - $16,000 for a full-page ad in Everyday Food, compared with $130,000 for a full page in Martha Stewart Living.
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