In this edition of the Glossy+ Research Briefing, we analyze Google Trends data of searches for FLOTUS Vogue covers throughout the years to understand which issues raised the most public interest.
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Latest Vogue issue with FLOTUS Jill Biden raises 88% more Google searches for Vogue than prior month
Research questions: How are Google searches for “Vogue” affected by the release of FLOTUS covers? Do these covers help raise public interest in a presidential candidate?
Answers from research: As far back as Vogue’s May 1929 issue, which featured Lou Henry Hoover, several first ladies have appeared in the pages of Vogue. Because it’s a fashion publication, some readers may not believe Vogue is an appropriate forum for political candor and discussion, but that’s not the view that’s held at its parent company Condé Nast. “I believe and I think that those of us that work at Condé Nast believe that you have to stand up for what you believe in and you have to take a point of view,” said Anna Wintour during a 2019 interview with CNN.
Anna Wintour, who’s been editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988, has spoken out in the past about the importance of elections and has announced her public support for candidates such as Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton. “I have been impressed with the wider field of Democratic candidates this primary season, but after Biden’s decisive victories on Super Tuesday, I, like so many Americans, made up my mind to rally behind the Vice President,” Wintour wrote in a March 2020 Vogue column.
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Vogue’s readership is predominately female and providing a space for women to connect and speak on women’s issues is a key to the publication’s success. However, Vogue is selective about whom it invites to grace the cover. “Obviously these are women that we feel are icons and inspiring to women from a global perspective,” Wintour told CNN, referring to Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand.
But famously, others like Melania Trump, with whom Wintour did not agree politically, were not asked to appear on the cover during their terms as FLOTUS. According to Jill Biden, who appears in Vogue’s latest cover story, women gave Joe Biden his margin of victory in 2020 and, with recent Supreme Court decisions like the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the 2024 election is pivotal for the future of women’s rights.
Glossy+ Research analyzed Google Trends data of the term “Vogue” during the time periods when FLOTUS covers were released. Our analysis found that issues released during crucial re-election years had the highest surge in online Google searches in the month following their release. Interestingly, FLOTUS covers released during the first few years of a husband’s presidency, like Jill Biden’s August 2021 cover after the 2020 election, saw a decrease in interest in the month following their release.
