One day down, the next day up. While Men’s Vogue earlier this week reported a 4 percent decline in ad pages through September compared with the first nine months of 2007, the Condé Nast title seems more confident in its circulation growth for next year. The three-year-old magazine will increase its rate base by 50,000 copies as of its February 2009 issue, to 400,000. Subscriptions have grown to about 287,000, while newsstand sales for the title have averaged 53,000 copies for the five issues published in the first half of 2008, according to figures from Audit Bureau of Circulations’ Rapid Report. Even with the rate base increase, Men’s Vogue will be less than half the size of corporate sibling GQ (with a rate base of 875,000) and smaller than Details, which has a rate base of 425,000. Details carries about 340,000 subscriptions and sold on average 72,000 copies a month during 2008’s first half.

Men’s Vogue also has made several changes to its masthead. First, deputy editor Ned Martel has been named editor at large. In his new role, Martel will write longer pieces and a television column for the magazine, and is currently on the road with the Barack Obama campaign for a story. Replacing Martel will be Mark Rozzo, who was promoted from articles editor, and Taylor Antrim will succeed Rozzo as articles editor. Antrim will join the magazine Aug. 1 from Forbes Life, where he was senior editor since 2005 and oversaw design, architecture and real estate stories. 

On the ad side, Men’s Vogue has hired longtime American Express executive Diego Scotti as associate publisher of marketing. Most recently, Scotti was vice president, head of global advertising and agency relations for the financial services company, and spent 15 years there in a variety of positions in marketing, communications, sales and business development. His appointment is effective Aug. 27.