During class last week we were asked to go through a Muscle
and Fitness magazine for men and a Sports Illustrated for women magazine. Muscle and Fitness is a lifestyle magazine
for bodybuilders and features expert advice on health, nutrition, training,
etc. Sports Illustrated for women is no
longer available on the shelves but it was a magazine that focused
predominately on female athletes. When
searching through these magazines we were focused solely on the ads and what each
ad in the magazine portrayed. When going
through Muscle and Fitness, 73% all of the ads were on dietary supplements. 18% of the ads were considered knowledge
systems, which gave the reader some insight and knowledge on the product, and
9% of the ads were bodybuilding equipment.
Next we were to identify ads that fit into the following themes;
positioning the reader as inferior, promise of transformation and hegemonic masculinity.
One of the themes we were searching for was positioning the
reader as inferior. Honestly, this accounts
for a lot of the ads in Muscle and Fitness.
Majority of the dietary supplement ads are pictured with very muscular
individuals where the reader may or may not look like them. Pictured below is an ad for Optimum Nutrition
Hydro Builder Protein Powder. It is of a
very muscular man looking towards the sky with not much of an expression on his
face. The ad is portraying the image
and notion that if you take this supplement, you could look like this man. Which we know isn’t always the case.
On the contrary, the Sports Illustrated for Women magazine
focused more solely on female athletes.
62% of the photographs in the magazine were of female athletes in
uniform performing their sport. Pictured
below is a photograph of Serena Williams playing tennis. This picture not only shows she is an athlete
but shows her athletic ability and shows what sport she plays. There are so many pictures of female athletes
now a day’s promoting something other than their talent. If you didn’t know who the athlete was, you
may or may not know even what sport they participated in.
Group 4
I agree with you that a majority of magazines market female athletes based on their looks and not based on their skills in their particular sport. It is nice to see in sports illustrated they are starting to veer away from this and market females based off the sport they play and there accomplishments in that sport. We talked about the ad where the Florida State Basketball player was dressed in a very seductive dress and looked incredibly beautiful, but was holding a basketball at the same time. I really don't see the need for them to do this, but the magazine feels that this is the best way to market her image. I also agree that in Muscle and FItness magazines they are going to market the most muscular type of male to show the male viewing audience that they are inferior and that they need to pursue looks like the men in the magazine. This also leads them to purchasing the supplements that are associated with the particular male figure in the magazine. This is an excellent marketing tactic to get the consumer to purchase the products listed in the magazines.
ReplyDeleteBy: Taylor Cook
DeleteToday there are so many dietary supplements out there. 73% of the ads were dietary supplements, which explain a lot. It is difficult to trust any products since every brand is claiming that they have the best supplements. At one time, bodybuilding equipment ads were everywhere. It is rare for someone to purchase bodybuilding equipment through ads today. By advertising protein supplements with a muscular body next to the product actually sends out a wrong message to everyone. The bodybuilders who are endorsed worked out their whole lives to achieve that body. Sports companies are always changing their marketing techniques to try to get consumers to buy more of their products.
ReplyDelete-Marcus Kok
I agree with the fact that Muscle and Fitness ads are always trying to position the reader as inferior. I think that it is a great strategy to use because it making the reader feel weak and want to be like the body builder in the picture. Many of the readers are kids who have just gotten in to lifting weights and want a cheap easy route to gain muscle. Seeing these ads easily influence them to buy the product because it says it will make them gain “15 pounds in 2 weeks”. Overall I think the supplement industry is a joke and takes advantage of people’s insecurities.
ReplyDelete-Taylor Redd
The companies that post advertisements in Muscle and Fitness magazine, agree with their methods or not, do a great job of marketing to their potential consumers. Positioning their readers as inferior may potentially be considered unethical to some people, seeing as they're almost exploiting the reader's vulnerability. By showing a picture of a man with big muscles and inferring that anyone can look like that if you just use their product, the reader's interest is high. Can you blame them? Masculinity, especially in the United States, centers around the appearance of the body. For most males, the ideal form of masculinity is to look like these models in the advertisements. If you can make the potential consumer crave the results, you can make them purchase your product.
ReplyDelete