Mike Chandley, proprietor of the used bookstore Cellar Stories in downtown Providence, paid homage to the Phoenix and the positive influence of its advertising in the recent 30th Anniversary issue:
"Back when it was the NewPaper, Steve Dubois was my ad rep and he, as Bruce Allen does now, came up with the ads for Cellar Stories each week. Steve designed an ad featuring 'Rhode Island's Only Nude Browsing Bookstore' with accompanying suggestive illustration. That brought not only single people and couples into the store who weren't particularly interested in books, but also Tom Morgan from the Other Paper, who did a story about the ads and the bookstore with the headline 'Mike Chandley is a bookseller who knows that sex sells.' Steve also did an ad showing people reading in hot tubs and advertising 'Books and Bathing,' which resulted in people coming in looking for hot tubs. Bruce did an ad showing a giant cat and 'Books About Big Ass Cats,' which kept the phone ringing for weeks. People were really disappointed there were no big ass cat books. So the ads that the NewPaper and Phoenix have run for the last 28 years have, as much as anything defined the popular image of the store."
Above all else, local businesses see the Providence Phoenix as a medium through which they can advertise effectively. The majority of the advertising is explicit, mostly consisting of flashy images accompanied by bolded text that invites readers to sample foods at a particular restaurant or shop at a particular store. However advertising can also be more subtle, presented in the form of a feature article heralding the reopening of a local business or a review of a concert at a venue that is seeking publicity. Both types of advertising are sought after, because local businesses understand that the target audience of the Phoenix and the ideal consumer group are one in the same.
Back cover of Providence Phoenix for the week of November 14 - 20, 2008, scanned from personal copy
Lupo's takes full advantage of advertising opportunities in the Phoenix by purchasing the back cover as a space for future-show listings every week.
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