Comparing Muscle & Fitness Magazines

After reading a study about how advertisements are comprised in fitness magazines (White & Gillett, 1994), we got into groups and analyzed these findings with findings of our own. We looked at two different magazines, one for men and one for women. The men’s magazine we looked at was Flex from 2008. We found that 77% of the ads were for dietary supplements; 16% were for knowledge systems, 2% for body building equipment, and 5% for competitions. In the study they found that dietary supplements made up 52.7% of the ads, 19.7% for body building equipment, 12% for knowledge systems, 8.5% for clothes, 2.6% for cosmetics, and 5.3% for competitions (White & Gillett, 1994). Our findings were a little different than the articles. We both found that dietary supplements make up for most of the advertisements but we didn’t find very many ads for body building equipment, clothes, cosmetics, or competitions. This could be the case because of the differences in years the magazines were published. Since the article was written in 1994, it’s hard to compare findings from a magazine published 14 years later. Also we just analyzed the advertisements from one magazine which differed from the study, which analyzed ads from 12 different issues and took the average.

After analyzing the men’s magazine, we looked at the ads in a women’s magazine. The magazine we analyzed was Women’s Health from 2007. We found there to be far less ads than the men’s magazine. Flex had 155 ads, while Women’s Health had only 42 ads. In the end we found that dietary supplements made up 23% of the ads; 7% for knowledge systems, 28% for clothing, 23% for cosmetics, 2% for competition, and 17% were ads for water.  These numbers differed from the study but shouldn’t be surprising seeing how advertisements in women’s and men’s magazines should be different. Men are looking to add muscle, which helps by taking supplements, and women are looking to tone and look good.

The main themes of men's magazines are positioning the reader as inferior, promise of transformation, and hegemonic masculinity. We found examples of all of these in Flex. An ad for No-Explode had a muscular male sitting over large amounts of weight. This is an example of positioning the reader as inferior. Next, an ad for Whey Protein was an example of promise of transformation. Lastly, an ad for Jet Fuel with Jose Conseco in the advertisement is an example of hegemonic masculinity.

Two main themes we found from the women’s magazine were physical transformation and appearance. Physical transformation showed up in ads that were promoting low calorie foods, and eating healthy. There was an ad for lean cuisine which promoted lower calories. An ad for blueberries/fruit promoted eating healthy.  The 2^nd main theme was appearance. 51% of the ads were for appearance (clothing & cosmetics). Appearance showed up in ads that were promoting makeup, shoes, and clothing.  An ad for Puma shoes and Loreal skin lift are examples of appearance themed advertisements.

The findings from the women’s and men’s magazines were mostly different. The biggest percentage of the ads in Women’s Health was for clothing and cosmetics; while dietary supplements comprised most of the ads in Flex.  Men’s magazines promote masculinity which deals mostly with weights and gaining muscle. On the other hand, women’s magazines promote femininity which deals mostly with being fit and trim, and outer appearance such as clothing and makeup.  Men and women are different from one another when it comes to fitness and working out, and their magazines reflect this. 

Michael Berti

Matt Pitzulo

Mike Frank

Aaron Keyer

Joey Durant

Comparing Muscle and Fitness Magazines

When we examined the Men’s Fitness Magazine and compared our results to the White and Gillett article, our percentage for Men’s dietary came up to 65% in the Men’s magazine compared to the article’s 52.7%.  The percentage for men’s equipment came up to 11% in the men’s magazine compared to the article’s 19.7%. The percentage for men’s knowledge systems came up to 24% in the men’s magazine compared to the article’s 12%. When examining the Women’s Fitness magazine, women’s dietary came up to 37%. Women’s bodybuilding came up to 10%. Women’s knowledge systems came up to 12%. Women’s clothing came up to 56%. Women’s cosmetics came up to 25%. Women’s competitors came up to 11% and our group did not find any “other” categories. For the positioning reader as inferior theme, our example was the ad of Ronnie Coleman flexing and having an intimidating look on his face advertising for mass stack. For the promise of transformation theme, our example was the super pump ad, where the ad showed before and after pictures of men and in the after pictures the men were all fit and tan after taking the supplement. For the hegemonic masculinity theme, our example was Darren Charles posing in front of a few luxurious cars and a nice home. Charles was basically showing the “American Dream.” Two themes that our group found in the Women’s Fitness Magazine was the eating healthy nutrition theme, where the ad told women what they should eat to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The second theme that our group came up with was, the weightlifting body building theme, where the ad provided directions on how to lift weights. When comparing our findings between Men’s and Women’s Fitness magazines, the men’s fitness magazines contained pure masculinity and no ads of clothing, cosmetics, where as in the women’s fitness magazines there was.

Alicia Jefferson
Khiry Kelly
Dom Harris
Danielle Miller
Casey Daulbaugh

Crosby, the face of the NHL - Marc Horwitz

I am by no means a Crosby fan, but I am an avid hockey fan, and Crosby’s impact on the game is undeniable. Even if you aren’t a fan of Crosby or the Penguins, if you have even the slightest amount of interest in the sport of hockey you will know the face of Sidney Crosby.  For the reason, I feel as though Crosby could be considered the face of the NHL. As much as it hurts to admit it, being a Philadelphia Flyers fan, between his skill on the ice and his impact on the game off the ice, Crosby is without a doubt the most recognizable figure in the sport.  For this reason, I would say that Crosby is comparable to Gretzky, as discussed in the classroom, and perhaps you could connect his contribution to the sport in a similar way that Jordan changed basketball, the impact on the game both directly and indirectly is remarkable.

For one, there is Crosby’s on-ice contributions.  Even as of late, while battling back from a concussion and missing a considerable amount of time, Crosby has put up quite impressive numbers.  Before being restricted from the ice, Sid the Kid had scored 32 goals and recorded 66 points in just 41 games, a span which included a 25-game point streak.  Immediately following his injury, the Penguins were a dismal 21-11-9 after beginning the season 26-12-3.  This past season, with Crosby missing a substantial amount of time, the Penguins once again struggled to find a consistent source of offense.  The absence of Crosby from the Penguins lineup was not just significant to the team, but also to the NHL.  Sid still had a stronghold on the media headlines, with fans checking on the status of Crosby with each passing day awaiting his return.  Television numbers were also down, as previously slated matchups with the Penguins playing host to NBC’s weekend matinee were considerably less meaningful, especially when Crosby was absent for the matchups between the Penguins and Capitals, a rivalry that has been a water-cooler debate topic when deciding who is more superior between Crosby and Ovechkin.  Clearly, Crosby presence on the ice was missed by all, and his return was equally as significant, putting up a strong opening argument for his place as the face of the NHL.

Crosby would arguably be the face of the NHL with solely his on-ice contributions to the game, but what secures his place of NHL cover boy is his additional impact on the game off the playing surface.  His impact on the youth in both the United States and Canada is undeniable.  If you were to walk into any rink in North America, you would most likely see the number 87 plastered on the back of a jersey. Whether you are in the vicinity of the city of Pittsburgh or even in America, there are thousands of young hockey players who see Crosby as their role model.  He has a substantial influence on youth hockey nationwide, but his impact on the Pittsburgh-area youth registration has been phenomenal.  According to USA Hockey’s regional registration numbers on USAHockey.com, Western Pennsylvania’s hockey membership was at 8,665 in 2005, Crosby’s first season in the NHL.  Membership rose very slightly, by just 27 players in 2006.  With Crosby putting up big numbers and the Penguins finding more success, membership rose to 8,986 in 2007.  The following season, coming off an NHL finals appearance, membership continued to rise to 9,512.  Fast-forward to present-day, with Crosby’s impact on the game constantly increasing and his on-ice contributions leading the team to a Stanley Cup and Crosby finding even more success in his individual statistics, youth numbers have correlated.  To date, there are 12,311 youth players registered in Western Pennsylvania.  Aside from his impact on the youth involvement, Crosby has also been an influential figure for the NHL throughout the labor discussions and in research and development regarding concussion studies.  After suffering the concussion that led to a significant loss of playing time over the past two seasons, Crosby has been an advocate for increased concussion testing league-wide and more studies related to head contact and equipment.

Between his on-ice contributions and the impact he has had off the ice, it is undeniable that Crosby is the poster child of the National Hockey League.  As much as it hurts to say as a fan of the Penguins cross-state rival, Crosby is great for the game of hockey and his impact on the game has been very beneficial.  I am sure that as he continues to flourish in the league, youth numbers will certainly increase and he will be an even more significant advocate for player safety concerns. Crosby is without a doubt the face of the NHL.

Comparing Muscle and Fitness Magazine

As a group we compared the Men's Fitness Magazine, the percentage of ads compared to White and Gillett (1994) found in original study. We found the dietary supplement (83% to 52%) had a higher percentage compared than what was found in the original study. Body building equipment and knowledge system were below what White and Gillett found. While examining the Women's Fitness Magazine (Shape), we found in all three of the women's categories we were below what White and Gillett originally found in their study. For example, we found in our magazine predominately advertised dietary supplements just like the men's magazines did but did not go above the average found in the original study. We did not find it necessary to create other categories for the women's magazines because the ads we found fit the three main categories used to describe the men's fitness magazines (dietary supplement, body building, and knowledge systems).

We found in the Men's fitness magazine we examined three main themes; positioning reader as inferior, promise of transformation, and hegemonic masculinity. The first theme, positioning reader as inferior, we found on page 37, the advertisement is consider to be inferior because it shows a man lifting a cow over his head. This advertisement showed that if you use the product ProComplex then you will be able to be strong enough to pick up a cow. By showing the strength of the model used, they are displaying there strength in an unique manner. The next theme men's fitness magazine focused on was promise of transformation. Promise of transformation represents the before and after image after the use of a product. For example, on page 185, the ad shows a before and after image of the male models. Despite what may or may not be the truth of these images the advertisement shows the completely transforming after using the supplement. Finally, the last theme we found throughout the men's fitness magazine is hegemonic masculinity. Throughout the magazine, our group felt from the cover of the magazine to the very last page the majority of the magazine was hegemonic masculinity. We felt this way because constantly we as the audience was exposed to anything from big, bulky unrealistic muscles on the males to seeing sexual dominance ads with females,all were seen throughout the magazine.

The themes found in the women's magazine were different than what we found in the males. First like the men's fitness magazine, we saw a lot of transformation ads. We noticed compared to the men's ads there were more transformation advertisements used for dietary supplementary products and were bigger displays compared to men's. For example, on page 31-33, there were two pages completely covered of just transformation (before and after) pictures of females that used the dietary supplement. By using the transformation theme, the advertisers were able to show the effectiveness of the product on the actual body. This theme our group came up on our own was sexual appeal. We found sexual appeal was a predominately theme throughout our magazine. We saw ads from girls trying to seduce to guys with their body after using the dietary supplement. We saw on page 21, the advertiser used an attractive male and female to sell their product. We saw this from the way the models were dressed, their facial expression and body language to draw in the audience to the product.

Throughout both magazines we found similarities and differences based on the theme, advertisement and images used. In both magazines, we found transformation was used to show the effectiveness of the product on a male or female body. We saw differences in the images used in the transformation theme, in the men's fitness magazine, the after images were of men showing off there muscles, being stronger and bigger. In the women's magazine, in the after images presented the females were skinny and many of the images stated the amount of weight the women lost which we never saw in a men's ad. Overall throughout both magazines, the men's fitness magazines focused on becoming big, bulky, stronger compared to the females were focused on losing weight, being skinny but not too muscular.

-Chelsea, Paxin, Tyler Clifton

Gretzky and Canadian Identity Ryan Viselli

As a Canadian Wayne Gretzky has helped Canada bring their identity to the forefront of North America.  Gretzky was our superstar and national treasure that the whole world knew about.  I wasn’t born when Gretzky got traded from Edmonton to Los Angeles but when talking to my dad about the trade he told me that everyone was shocked.  Gretzky was going from the hockey-crazed city of Edmonton to the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles, which wasn’t known for their hockey culture.  When growing up in Canada in our generation in the 90’s, every kids dream was to be the next Gretzky, just like most Americans grow up to be Michael Jordan or Derek Jeter.  Gretzky is a hero in Canada because he posses the qualities Canadians try to portray which is hard working, humble and modest people.  He wasn’t flashy but had the will, skill and passion that made him the greatest hockey player of all time.  When Gretzky was traded it felt like he was a traitor and became part of American culture.  It felt as Canadians we lost him and part of our identity because Canada is known for hockey their and best player is now playing in a city that is opposite to the culture of Canada.

     With Gretzky being traded to Los Angeles it helped build the game of hockey in North America.  It grew the popularity of the game in California and United States as teams expanded in California, Texas and Florida.  More kids wanted to play hockey growing up in places that weren’t familiar with the game.  It is more evident in todays’ game where a lot of players from the NHL and College ranks are coming from different parts of the United States.  As Canadians we believe this is good for the game because it brings the best competition for hockey.  With Gretzky becoming a part of American culture I don’t think as Canadians we lost our identity.  He is still Canada’s pride and joy and will always be because he made a name for Canadians and did it the Canadian way through class and using his fame to be a role model for kids.  Gretzky has paved the way for superstars across the NHL, letting new players inspire a generation of kids playing hockey.   Wayne Gretzky is more than just a hero to Canadians, he is a hero all over the world and I am proud that we can call him one of our own.

Aaron Crouse - "The Next One"???

There is a constant debate amongst NBA analysts regarding whether LeBron James or Michael Jordan will be seen as the better player in the eyes of history.  While many of us have heard these arguments countless times (more than we would have liked to), the same debate can be made in the NHL between Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky.  Using the criteria that most NBA critics use of individual statistics, supporting cast, and overall public image and influence I have compared Gretzky and Crosby to determine whether or not Sidney Crosby could truly be “The Next One”.

Individual statistics

During his 20-year NHL career, Wayne Gretzky played in 1,487 regular –season games recording 894 goals, 1,963 assists and 2,857 points (all NHL records).  He holds the records for goals in a season (92), assists in a season (163) and points in a season (215).  Additionally, he played in 208 playoff games recording 122 goals and 260 assists for 382 points.  “The Great One” captured 9 Heart Trophies (league MVP), 10 Art Ross Trophies (most points), five Lady Byng Trophies, five Lester B. Pearson Awards, and two Conn Smythe Trophies (playoff MVP).  In total, he holds over 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, and six All-Star records.  Gretzky won the Stanley Cup 4 times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988) each of them coming with the Edmonton Oilers although he twice lost in the finals.  Internationally, Gretzky won 3 gold, 2 silvers, and 2 bronze medals playing in the World Cup, Canada Cup, and World Junior Championships but never medals at an Olympic event.

Throughout his 7-year NHL Career, Sidney Crosby has played in 434 games registering 223 goals, 386 assists and 609 points.  He has also participated in 68 playoff games and accumulated 33 goals and 57 assists for 90 points.  Crosby has won 1 Hart Trophy and 1 Art Ross Trophy.  Crosby has captured 1 Stanley Cup championship (2009) in two total appearances.  Internationally, Crosby lead Canada to a Gold Medal at the 2010 games located in Vancouver by scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat the United States (his “signature” moment to date).

Verdict: Gretzky by a mile (except for international play).

Supporting Cast

All through his illustrious career, Wayne Gretzky was fortunate to play along side some other legends in NHL history (though he played a major part in helping to boost their stats).  During his time with the Edmonton Oilers, Gretzky played with Hall of Famers Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Jari Kurri, and Paul Coffey (along with goaltender Grant Fuhr).  Together, this group captured all of Gretzky’s four Stanley Cup Championships.  With the Los Angeles Kings, he played alongside another group of current and future Hall of Famers including Luc Robitaille, Bernie Nicholls, and Rob Blake.  In St. Louis Gretzky teamed up with Brett Hull and Al MacInnis and later joined the New York Rangers to play with Mark Messier (again), Adam Graves, and Brian Leetch.

During his brief time in the NHL, Sidney Crosby has been privileged to play with the great Mario Lemieux and top draft picks including Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury (goaltender), James Neal, and 2011 MVP Evgeni Malkin.  However, a constant theme throughout his time in the NHL has been Pittsburgh’s inability to find the “perfect” wingers to play alongside Crosby.  With the rule changes that the NHL has gone through in limiting obstruction plays and offense in general, it would be nearly impossible for Crosby to post the type of stats Gretzky did regardless of the surrounding talent.

Verdict: Gretzky’s 1980s high-flying Oilers teams and many of his future NHL stops allowed him to be surrounded by greater talent that Crosby’s current Pittsburgh team.

Public Image:

The list of Wayne Gretzky’s endorsements is second to only Michael Jordan (and possible Peyton Manning) in terms of athletes.  It includes Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi-Cola Canada, McDonald's Canada, JVC, McFarlane Toys, Wayne Gretzky clothing line at Hudson's Bay Co., Ford, Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant, Toronto, Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey (video game), NBC cartoon "Prostars", Head and Shoulders Shampoo, Bud Light, Imperial Oil, and EA Sports.  In a 2004 series launched by the CBC, Gretzky was tabbed as the 10^th greatest Canadian of all-time (the 2^nd highest rated athlete behind Terry Fox).  His only public downfalls were the trade that sent him along with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski, to the Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million in cash, and the Kings' first-round draft picks in 1989, 1991 and 1993 and his failure as the coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.  "The Trade" upset Canadians to the extent that New Democratic Party House Leaders demanded that the government block it.  Gretzky was considered a "traitor" by many Canadians for turning his back on his country and Edmonton as the trade was widely rumored to be largely linked to his wife’s career as an actress, although he did receive a standing ovation upon his first return to Edmonton as a member of the Kings.

Sidney Crosby has endorsement deals with Reebok (largest endorsement deal in NHL history at $10 over 7 years), Tim Horton’s, Bell Canada/Verizon USA, Frito Lay, and Gatorade. While some hockey fans have called him “Sid the Kid” or “The next one”, others have deemed him “Crysby”, “Cindy Crosby”, and “Cry Baby”.  These terms are a reference to his perceived tendency to complain to refs about hits against him and the belief that he “dives” to draw penalties.  During the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons, Crosby missed a total of 101 games due to concussion-like symptoms stemming from a soft neck tissue injury.  Many fans questioned his toughness at this time and a few wondered if he would ever be cleared for game action again.  However, he eventually returned and started right where he had left off, earning him a 12-year $104 million extension after the 2012 season.

Verdict: Gretzky is regarded as the more respected, influential figure.

At this time, there seems to be strong similarities between Gretzky and Jordan and James and Crosby.  Like Michael Jordan, Gretzky has the edge in individual accomplishments, statistics, championships, and endorsements.  It can also be argued that he played on better teams for the majority of his career.  The trade of Gretzky can be compared to Jordan attempting baseball or signing with the Wizards, and both of these historic players made terrible coaches and GMs/owners.  Like LeBron James, Crosby was drafted with the burden of hype that would be nearly impossible for any 18-year old to live up to.  Both have been perennial all stars, put up great individual numbers, and captured a championship and gold medal already as well.  As people question LeBron’s “clutch” abilities so too do they question Crosby’s toughness.  Clearly Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan currently stand in a class by themselves as figures for the NBA and NHL respectively.  However, it is not out of the question that within the next 10-15 years, LeBron James or Sidney Crosby could surpass them.  There are several circumstantial differences in the era that these athletes played in that will always lead to debate and questioning.  Regardless of what side you take, the one thing that is certain is that when a fan has the privilege to watch any of these four athletes, they were watching something special.

Comparing Muscle and Fitness Magazines

We looked at two magazines as a group over the past week. The men's magazine was called Fitness Rx, and the women's was called Shape. The study done by White and Gillett (1994) found that dietary supplements are usually 52.7% of the ads, equipment 19.7%, knowledge systems 12%, clothes 8.5%, cosmetics 2.6%, and finally competitions 5.3% and this was for male magazines. For our male magazine we found that dietary supplements was still the highest at 70.6% while equipment and knowledge systems were both at 10%. Clothes had 5.1% of the ads while cosmetics and competitions were both 1.7%. Our numbers from the men's magazine clearly followed White and Gillett's numbers they found in their study. However, from the women's magazine we found something completely different. Out of the 99 ads we found in Shape magazine, dietary supplements and equipment both only had 6 ads a piece. This resulted in 6% each. Knowledge systems was also very low with it being only 8% of the ads. Clothing had 18 ads white resulted in 18%. Cosmetics was the highest of any category with it being 43% of all the ads. There was only 1 ad for competitions which is 1%. We also found that some of the ads didn't fit into any of these categories so we came up with our own. We came up with Transportation, Medicine, Normal Food, and TV. Normal Food was the highest of any of those with 13%, followed by Transportation's 8%. Medicine had 7% of the ads while TV took up only 3%.

The next part of the men's magazine we looked at were the three main themes. These were positioning the reader as inferior, promise of transformation, and hegemonic masculinity. On page 21 there is a man clearly looking at the reader in a very pissed off state of mind, and also flexing in the process telling you to take this dietary supplement. The next theme was promise of transformation and this can be found on page 1. There is an advertisement of a 90 minute workout saying that if you take the pill and push yourself to the limits of this workout then your body will be transformed in just 90 minutes. Finally hegemonic masculinity can be found on page 43. By using the machine found on page 43 you can expect your body to look like the ideal man.

We found a couple themes in the women's magazine called Shape, but decided to focus on two. These would be Sex Appeal and Style. The first theme of sex appeal can clearly be seen in almost every ad in this magazine. Every woman they have is attractive, has a great body, nice smile, etc. They never use girls that are overweight, but use what they think people is the ideal image of a woman's body. On page 72 they had a bra advertisement, and the girl they used show off the bra had an athletic body, and was very beautiful. I think they were trying to capture the reader by saying look if you wear this bra you can be like her too. On page 159 they had an ad about cold sore medicine. Once again a very beautiful woman was shown using the product. The words in the advertisement even said you can't look hot if your feeling cold. The next theme was Style. No matter what these girls were working out, or how sweaty they looked they always had the best clothing on for whatever they were doing. Target's ad on page 25 showed a girl working out, but she wasn't wear a sweatshirt and sweatpants, she was seen in a tight skin outfit showing off every curve. It was implied that these clothes could only be found at Target. Also on page 57 they showed a girl running outside in the snow, but once again she was found to be wearing a Northface jacket, which can be quite costly. 

For us we found way more differences than similarities between the two magazines. For instance the men's magazine followed the original study of White and Gillett (1994), while the women's was completely different and focused on clothes and cosmetics. Also in the men's magazine they were willing to show the male body before it got transformed more often. The women's magazine never showed what the woman looked like before working out, or getting on the right track she was always seen in her best condition. Some of the similarities consisted of showing the reader what they thought the ideal body was for each gender. The male was seen a muscle bearing brute, while the female was shown as a beautiful healthy woman. That is exactly how these magazines portray masculinity and femininity.  The male is seen as this gigantic, veiny, biceps the size of a basketball type man, while the women have a nice athletic, slim, fit body. This is what these ads focus on too. They want men to buy these supplements hoping to one day look like some of these guys and add muscle. While they focus on women losing weight, and having that tight body.

- Pat McFall, Adam Dolezal, Drew English, Jonathan Barone.