Allocating advertising dollars.

NEW YORK - Publishers of consumer magazines are facing a marketing challenge as television and other media increasingly vie for long-held advertising dollars, including those spent by beauty suppliers.

To be sure, beauty ad dollars are not the only ones at stake. Magazines are also concerned with the threat of Television when it comes to direct-to-consumer advertising by prescription drug manufacturers. Because of recent government rules changes, pharmaceutical makers have more leeway than ever before to tout products in TV commercials.

Beauty advertisers are also looking harder at print. While no one is thinking of abandoning the medium, since it is still extremely valuable for product sampling and couponing and can't be topped for showcasing color collections, suppliers want to maximize the effectiveness of their ad buys.

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