Theory task 2

1. THEORY TASK 2
Hannah Flowers

2. CONTEXT
• The product which I have chosen to analyse is a men’s
fitness magazine. I have chosen ‘Men’s fitness’- they
are many different issues for different countries, but I
am analysing the British issue. ‘Men’s Health UK’ was
founded in 1995 with a circulation of 203,053 (July-
Dec 2013 statistics). This magazine is based in London
and is the most popular men’s fitness magazine in the
United Kingdom, beating GQ and Esquire. The
magazines main aim is health, sex, relationships,
weight loss and nutrition. The monthly magazine has
a target audience of 30-50-year-old males who are
looking to better their body. Most of the front covers
of ’Men’s Health’ have aspirational images with bold
mastheads. Sometimes with the front covers they have
a celebrity on the front- this is normally a sports man
who everyone knows- this gives the audience a boost
to buy this product because of the reputation of the
sports man.

3. FRONT COVER ANALYSIS
• Technical elements- Font choice and use of masthead helps the
consumer with deciding whether to buy the magazine. The bold
font choice and the bright colours on the front cover grab the
consumers attention. This matches with the admirable body of
the model which most of the audience will admire to be.
• Written elements- The informal and casual language attract the
audience. Pull quotes selected to appeal to the target audience.
• Symbolic elements- The ultimate symbol is the model punching
the ceiling. Maybe this could show how strong the model is and
that maybe the consumer could be like this. The text on the
banner is ‘Mind tricks from us navy seals!’ is almost ripping
down the banner to say that he's completed it. Another
symbolic element is the dripping shape. It looks like fat as this
is what is in the big letters in the masthead.

4. THEMES
• The obvious it seems the main theme of this magazine is
fitness. This is very clear as it is all you see on the front cover
is fitness tips. Another theme of this magazine is numbers.
There is an obsession with numbers in fitness magazines,
there are at least 4 examples of numbers. One of the
mastheads is “14 ways to”- this is a very low number which
would entice the audience to buy the magazine because it
might be something which is very easy to do.

5. CONTENT
• This is a typical double page
spread which you would find in a
men's health magazine. This
from the Men’s Health UK issue.
Men’s fitness magazines contain
similar articles on the same
range of subjects, they are
concerned with exercising, diet,
clothes, women and sex. The
fact that the consumers can still
remain fit while eating cake from
these recipes would really appeal
to them. The recipe section
almost represents a traditional
food magazine which have a
audience of mainly women. But
in this double page spread it is
almost as if it is not food, it is
energy as well. It is as if the
recipes aren’t meant to be nice,
but it is good for you and gives
you protein.

6. REPRESENTATION
I think throughout the whole magazine they are a few
groups which are represented. From the front cover you
can see the different types of personalities which might
want to buy this magazine.
The masthead “14 ways to wipe your party history clean”.
This can appeal to the older generation who might be
dealing with ‘dad bods’. Another masthead which would
attract another group would be ‘How to get away with
office sex’ this is more for a younger male audience who
are not settled down. I think throughout this whole
magazine; the main generic group is males but with the
different articles they are appealing to any age range. I
also think that there is a generic social status and
sexuality to this magazine, most of the men who read this
will be down to earth men in their late 30+ but they will
have a middle-class social status with a heterosexual
sexuality. I don’t think the group should be defined by
the religion, but I would say by the generic models on
the front cover that most of the audience’s ethnicity will

7. LANGUAGE
• The written text before the recipes is very persuasive.
Its motivational which is something that it imperative
in fitness magazines. The articles which are published
need to motivate and persuade the consumer so that
they will want to try this new diet. The direct mode of
address serves as the reader wanting to achieve this
goal – almost a challenge. The drop capital shows a
natural convention of an article, the bold text and the
black rectangle before the article might grab the
audience’s attention.

8. MISE EN SCENE FOR FOR
FRONT COVER
• Costume- the way he is dressed is almost like he is
one of the readers, he's not dressed in anything
elaborate which the reader won’t have- instead he
is topless to show the genre of the magazine. The
pose of the model is showing a punching pose,
this might be, so he is showing off his muscles as
well as punching through that ribbon to show
masculinity. The masculinity shines through this
model with his tattoos. The colour of the front
cover will definitely grab the reader’s attention.
Red is a very vibrant colour which can be
associated with power and energy. This could be a
representation to what the reader wants. The blue
and purple contrast with the red and make it
almost seem less intense, so it doesn’t seem to
scare the reader off. Clearly the black bold writing
is the one that stands out, the colour matches the
shorts of this model which will give an impression
that this masthead has something to the model.

9. • This double page spread is very
noticeable. I think the white
background makes the images
stand out as well as the bold title.
The colours in this double page
spread are very vibrant. The first
image which I think catches your
eye first is the cake, the rich
colours and the size of the image.
The image looks very moist and
delicious. The bright blueberries
also give this double page spread
a flash of light.
MISE EN SCENE FOR FOR DPS

10. USE OF CAMERA/EDITING
Whenever I look in a magazine the first thing I notice is the images
and how the camera has adapted to the surroundings and if the
image is attractive to me as a reader. Throughout this men’s health
magazine there are various images which look as though they have
been taken to simply attract the reader. The front cover is an
example of this, the angle is at a low angle which might make the
reader feel as though the model is more superior, if they get fit like
him then they might be on the same level. The angle of the camera
makes the reader look directly at the model’s abs- this could make
the reader jealous of the model’s physique. The lighting in the front
cover is very bright and compliments the fitness model. The
medium long shot is a great shot to show the body of the model-
the main aim for a fitness magazine is to get fit, by having a fitness
model who is a ‘dream body’ for other males out there and to
show them in a medium long shot it gives the full idea of the
fitness model. I think the editing of the photos is very minimal. I
think only in certain aspects there have been edited, the double
page spread might have been edited in a few ways. I think the
shots have been put together to contrast with each other. The
blueberries in the double page spread contrast with the brown
colour of the cake- it almost shows a contrast of healthiness from

11. PHOTOGRAPHY STYLES
• I think throughout the magazine the photography style changes,
from going to a staged photoshoot in a studio to a couple on
candids on the recipe double page spread. I think what also makes
it unusual for the double page spread is that there isn’t normally a
studio taken images, especially for a men's fitness magazine.
However, I think the blueberries might have been staged to look
that mouth-watering, but the images advertise the recipe and
make the reader want to try this recipe. In this type of magazine,
you wouldn’t see typically any paparazzi type of photography
shots. You would most likely see a candid, studio or portrait image
in here. I think this magazine is fun but professional this is shown
through the photographs; the studio photography is professional
with no blurry images. This men's magazine has 40 editions in 47
countries being one of the largest men's fitness magazine, I think
the photography styles that they have chosen to have to be
popular photography styles, so they look good in all of the
editions.

12. TYPOGRAPHY
• A front cover is something which should attract the reader as soon as
they lay eyes on it. The typography is one of the main factors which
helps with the attraction. As soon as you look at a front cover the first
thing you notice is the bold large text ‘get a body like this’. The fact that
it is the only black text on the front cover is the main masthead, this is
the thing that will attract the reader the most. The front cover is quite
crammed with different mastheads, the red and blue contrast with the
white background this makes the mastheads stand out. There are quite
a lot of different fonts on the front cover which can be awfully confusing
for the reader. For the double page spread, the text is very small
compared to the front cover. The drops cap is something which is seen
on most articles, but the bold font stands out- it almost makes it seem
like it is a more important because of the bold font.

13. BIBLIOGRAPHY
•
.. (.). .. Available: http://karenhaller.co.uk/press.htm. Last accessed
12/09/2019. (front cover)
• .. (.). .. Available: https://proteinpow.com/press. Last accessed
11/09/2019.
• (double page spread)