James Malke 1

Magazine Advertisement Assignment

3

The first advertisement in analysis was taken from the September 2015 edition of a

magazine entitled Runners World. This magazine is self-described as the worlds leading
running magazine that informs, advises, and motivates runners of all ages and abilities. The
second advertisement is from the August 2015 edition of Food Technology magazine, which
is the leading publication addressing all facets of food science and technology.
1

The ad from Runners World focally depicts a fit, middle-aged, Caucasian female in

athletic attire who seems to be progressing a flight of stairs while wearing a Garmin heartrate-monitor wristband (as per the advertisement). Her powerful posture (i.e. a straight
back, high elbows and a strong gait) is homage towards the serious runner. This could
subliminally lead the viewer to believe that purchase of this watch will make them a more
serious athlete, too? With parted lips and a determined facial expression, she illustrates
physical perseverance. She is pushing herself; she believes in herself. She is proverbially,
sticking it to the man. That is to say, sticking it to her physical limits and possibly even the
limits that western society imposes on female athleticism. This ad is discretely telling the
target consumer that they too can, stick it to the man, if they buy this product. Bye-bye
heart disease! Now, where is the nearest McDonalds?...
To literalize what was stated above: this advertisement will appear more to cultures
that believe in biomedical science and cultural groups within those cultures with people who
seek independence in their daily lives, improved cardiovascular health, better
health/standards of living, and possibly, women who feel athletically underserved. 2
The Runners World advertisement will certainly appeal more to cultures that strongly
subscribe-to and rely-on information technology over others that do not. Said culture would
also require belief in the importance of tracking heart rate speed during exercise. 2
Otherwise, this wristband would not even remotely augment a consumers experience. If
Garmins target audience were a primitive tribesman, this product would be a clunky,
annoying wha-cha-ma-call-it thing that would keep beeping while, for example, he or she
were hunting for dinner. With that in mind, this ad is definitely geared towards the 1 st world,

2 Magazine Advertisement Assignment

probably American consumer with disposable income.2 Garmin is a name brand product, and
there is a cost premium for it.
1

The advertisement from Food Technology magazine shows an elated youngster

hanging upside-down on a playground1, rosy retrospection at its finest. The highly saturated
photo presents the boy as the happiest child in the world. Healthy Body. Happy Mind. it
says, drawing the connection between what-you-eat and how-you-feel. This child obviously
had sorghum for breakfast before he or she hit the playground, is what this ad is saying.
2

Since one can assume that not many five-year-olds read their monthly edition of

Food Technology, this ad is likely marketed towards parents of children or soon-to-be parents
of children, or more plainly, sorghum advocates. Also, the target audience would have to
subscribe to certain biomedical beliefs in nutritional science about the benefits of sorghum
before buying this product. Moreover, sorghum is expensive, so this advertisements target
consumer is likely upper class, free-market, 1st world citizens rather than South American
tribes. But hey, they believe that pouring poison into their eyes before hunting does the trick
instead; maybe they know something Americans dont.
All of the articles in this magazine front-to-back have scientists in white lab-coats
referencing some arbitrary health find. This ad is definitely targeted at Westerners, or those
with western orientations, as those cultures tend to have faith in biomedical research and
nutritional sciences.2
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Differences in target audiences between the two: the first one is more about

independence (not physically limited by heart-health issues) whereas the second one is
about dependence (childs nutrition and development of mind is up to the parent). The
Garmin ad is high-techer. The sorghum ad is more naturalistic. Both advertisements are
geriatric in nature, but one is about nutrition and the other is about exercise. That said, the
target audiences for the first ad is elderly/high-risk individual or a serious athlete/ serious
athlete want-to-be. The ad is more self-centric (bettering ones own health) rather than the
sorghum ad, which is the opposite (bettering anothers health, the child). The sorghum ad is

James Malke 3
Magazine Advertisement Assignment
targeted at a younger population, parents or soon-to-be parents, whereas the heart monitor
ad is usually geared towards elder populations. Both are geared towards cultures with
western orientation.
4

The ads might be altered to

reach a more heterogeneous

(specific) audience by illustrating
a nationality in either ad (e.g.
red, white, and blue for America).

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ii

James Malke 5
Magazine Advertisement Assignment

****I superscripted numbers in the text according to grading criteria so that it is easier to
find main points.
1. What are the physical attributes of the people or other characters in the ads?
2. Are there other obvious messages in the visuals of the ad that would appeal more to
one cultural group than to another (and why do you think so)?
3. Please include the name and a brief description of each magazine.
4. Describe what you perceive as the differences in the targeted audiences between the
two magazines and how you might alter the ads to reach a more heterogeneous
audience.

i Source: Runners World. September 2015. pp. 9.

ii Source: Food Technology. August 2015. pp. 3.