Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Nov. 01, 2013
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	VCI
Entity Registrant Name	VALASSIS COMMUNICATIONS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000883293
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2013
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		38,490,114