Nostalgia and Technology as components
Masculine identity
Content Analysis
Kara Daniel
CMC 100-Fall 2012
ABSTRACT
This essay examines three magazines from the fall of 2012 (Surf, Men’s Health, and
Wired) and through a content analysis argues that the themes of masculine nostalgia
as well as “new” technology occur often, and sometimes simultaneously, in each
magazine. By looking at all of the ads from all three magazines it becomes apparent
that trends such as black/white and antiqued coloring, a lack of women, heavy use of
copy, and the overall amount of nature and technological tools and references, it can
be inferred that the ads are playing off of this idea of “old” or nostalgia, as well as
technology (which I use somewhat synonymously with “new”). This technique is used
to appeal to a certain fraction of middle-class men that are insecure of their identity.
Surf magazine is not usually thought of as comparable to Wired, and neither
of those choices are usually put side-by-side with Men’s Health either. However,
when you stop to think about it, there are actually quite a few themes each magazine
has in common, especially in the advertising. According to each of their most up to
date media kits, between 85% to 75% percent of readers are male and while there is
a an age discrepancy between Surf (average age 18) and the other two (average age
around 35), they all seem to be appealing to a middle class audience with less than a
$15,000 difference in house hold income (“Surf demographics”, “Men’s Health Media
Kit”, “Wired-Media Kit Print”). Because of these similarities I have found that the ads
reflect a certain them on masculinity that surfaces over and over again in the ads.
Through a content analysis of ads in the magazines Surf (Oct 2012), Wired (Nov.
2012), and Men's Health (Nov. 2012), a trend appears of opposing, yet cohesive,
themes of masculine nostalgia through coloring and content, as well as "new"
technology shown through the products as well as lay out of the ads.
Masculine nostalgia can take many different forms. Each of my three selected
magazines approaches the subject in different ways, keeping their audience in mind.
My first magazine, Surf, approaches nostalgia in a much different way than the other
two because it seems focused on its specific topic—surfing. The magazine seems to
invest a lot of effort into validating surfing as well as skateboarding as a sport or at
least a worthy hobby. For example, Penny Organic (figure 1) advertises a line of
skateboards that are Bridgeable, which is accompanied by an image of a skater
walking through a bright field of flowers and tall grass. In Surf, 63% of the ads have
some depiction of nature, which is used to naturalize the products. There is a
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present nostalgia for nature and pre-urbanization here that is important to foster
support for surfing because the activity is dependent on the waves. Also in the
Organic ad, as well as others such as the Sector9 ad (figure 2), the layout and
coloring of the actual ad is telling about this nostalgia of an earlier time. There is
almost a sepia, or at least an antiquing, effect put on top of the images to actually
make the ad look like a collection of old surfing photographs. Also the collage look
helps to make the ad look like a scrapbook, or a collection of old and important
pictures, which appears to be a trend since 58% of the ads in Surf do not have a
central image unlike Men’s Health and Wired.
In Men’s Health, the nostalgia of choice is one without the female gaze as well
as cry for traditional physical masculinity. In a Lee jeans ad (figure 3), the main copy
reads, “Guys don’t wear jeans to get noticed (that’s just a bonus),” which shows a
consciousness of the female gaze on the male body. While this ad points out the
female presence, the magazine actually seems to be trying to get rid of the idea of
men defined by women because of the simple lack of women in the magazine. Out of
forty-six ads, only four of them have women portrayed at all in them and only one
has just the woman with no male counterpart. The Ford ad (figure 4) where a
woman is able to hold her luggage and open a minivan’s trunk at the same time is
the only ad without a man (if there are people present at all). Because it is a minivan
ad, it doesn’t seem out of place, and in fact—according to traditional stereotypes—
the woman is in the right place, however the lack of women throughout the rest of
the magazine seems to support the idea of masculine insecurity today, and that they
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long for the “male-sphere” once more where they are free of the woman and female
gaze.
Wired is a little more difficult to discern because it is so focused on
technology and today, but it manages to work in both nature and the male image as
a form of nostalgia. In a newegg.com ad (figure 5), the actual product is a computer
(the ultrabook), however what the reader notices is the large natural and scenic
view in the background of a body of water, a tree and an island. Computers and
outdoors don’t usually go together, however a surprising 34% of ads in Wired do
have some form of nature depicted amidst the technology. This choice reflects the
fact that there is nostalgia for the outdoors because we seem to be so focused on
technology. In this ad we see past that and it’s almost as if the computer serves as a
gateway to the past and or nature because the glow of the computer turns the
background from black and white to color. The idea of the black and white is also
important for nostalgia, because like figure 1 and figure 2, the coloring gives the feel
of an old photograph. In the Burberry ad (figure 6) gives off the old time mood
however it also adds sophistication to the ad. Out of the three magazines, Wired has
the most black and white images at about 20%, which shows that they are looking to
define masculinity in this old sophisticated way that is much different than Surf for
example.
Though seemingly opposing, as we saw in figure 5, nature and technology
often go together in the three magazines I have selected to balance the nostalgia for
the “new”. Wired is a magazine based on technology so it makes sense that over half
(57% not including car or watch ads) of the ads include some form technology.
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Actually in ads such as the Kindle Fire HD (figure 7) one there actually appears to be
a big difference from the other two magazines because the focus is on the
technology more than the person. Surf and Men’s Health both have a large
percentage of people in the ads, but in Wired only about 50% of the ads have people
in them. By not showing the man’s full body or face, and just focusing on the Kindle,
the readers could superimpose themselves into the lifestyle, so in a way this ad is
saying, “this could be you.”
Another surprise I found was that there is much overlap between ads in
Wired and Men’s Health. There are at least 7 ads that are exactly the same in both
magazines and even more brands that cross over. For instance, “the entirely new ES”
Lexis ad (figure 8) appear in both magazines. This is partial because the audience of
Men’s Health and Wired overlap quite a bit with median age (between 35 and 37)
and there is less than a $10,000 in household income, but also the similarities is
because both magazine’s audiences want what is “new” (“Wired-Media Kit Print,”
“Men’s Health Media Kit”). In the Lexis ad it plays on the idea of new and
technological advancements to interest its market audience, which seems to be men
in the middle class.
Another ad that is in both magazines is the Tissot ad (figure 9), however here
I will make another point about the color. Ads that represent technology tend to be
dark with black or other dark colored backgrounds. Men’s Health is no exception
with 53% of the ads falling into this category. In figure 9 the black background calls
more attention to the actual technology (the watch) but also adds an element of
mystery since new technology often is the unknown at first.
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Though different products and types of technology are being advertised in
Surf, the dark background is used in the same way. In a Body Glove ad (figure 10), a
majority of the two-page ad is black and it even has the glares like figure 9 except
these are green instead of red. The “techno driven” aspect of figure 10 is the
coloring, but also the background grids and diagrams that seek to validate the suit,
in a similar way that the magazine tries to validate surfing as masculine nostalgia.
This ad is interesting because we see the surfing (nostalgia) and the technology
working together both in the whole ad as well as the image on the left where the
surfer is wearing the “new” suit. The ads in Surf, though only 32% have any
technology displayed, serve to show that, even though it’s a different market than
Men’s Health and Wired, there is this desire for the “new” and it serves as a way of
identifying masculinity.
This hybridity of nostalgia and new technology within the magazines and
some of the ads themselves reveal that there is insecurity about the changing
meaning of masculinity among men. Masculinity has changed over time and
especially starting in the 1940s when women entered the “man’s sphere” of the
work world, there have been certain trends such as “the bigger the better” that men
adhere to for because of the insecurity of their role. It is my belief that, because of
this magazines such as the three I have selected here exploit the desire for the times
when men felt secure in their roles, but also caters to the new trends, including
buying new, bigger, or more technological things, because of course it is those
“things” that advertisers are trying to sell. So while seemingly opposite, nostalgia
and technology work well together for marketing strategies aimed at men.
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References
“Wired-Media Kit Print.” Condé Nast. 2012. Accessed Nov. 8, 2012.
http://www.condenast.com/brands/wired/media-kit/print.
“Men’s Health Media Kit.” Men’s Health. 2012. Accessed Nov. 8, 2012.
http://www.menshealth.com/mediakit/pdfs/1-General/4MH12_Full_Media_Kit.pdf.
“SURF Demographics.” TransWorld Media Kit. 2011. Accessed Nov. 8, 2012.
http://transworldmediakit.com/surf/demographics/.
“On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work.”
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