Men's Health magazine is published by Hearst and is the world's largest men's magazine brand. The magazine is designed to give men positive and practical information that they can use to live their lives in a healthy way and therefore it is currently one of the best-selling men's lifestyle magazines in the world.
Men's Health focuses on products that reflect a certain lifestyle such as fashion, watches, grooming, fitness and cars. This would suggest targeting the Aspirer and Succeeder psychographic groups from Young and Rubicam's 4C's model.
TEXT 1 - MAGAZINE COVER
Analysis of magazine cover
Zac Efron is the model on the front cover of this edition of Men's Health and the picture has clearly been strategically taken to effectively show off his strong arms and muscles. For men looking at this front cover this may be suggesting that this appearance/body type is the 'ideal' way to look and so by following the guidance of Men's Health they can achieve this same physique that would be desirable for both other men and women and help them to become their best selves. Unlike magazines targeting a female audience, this one does not use traditionally feminine colours and instead uses darker and more intense colours such as black, red and grey that a 'masculine' audience would be able to resonate with.
There are a variation of words used on this magazine cover which indicate the ideologies of Men's Health which is that looking good and improving your appearance is essential to living a fulfilling life. These include 'abs', 'fitness', 'health', 'cardio', 'fat' etc. This consistent use of words related to a mans appearance would stand out to men reading this magazine as they highlight what these men may want advice on or feel the need to change. Furthermore, there is a continuous use of exclamation marks used to create a feeling of motivation and excitement in regards to changing your lifestyle. The tone created is positive and inspiring which would encourage sales of the magazine. The coverlines are written in capital letters and the masthead is a strong bold colour which connotes power and dominance.
TEXT 2 - VIDEO FROM MEN'S HEALTH YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Analysis of YouTube video
This video from the Men's Health YouTube channel is from a playlist titled 'cheat day' in which celebrities share what they eat and do on a day where they do not stick to their regular diet and the star of this particular video is Terry Crews. Throughout this video we often see shots of his body and the video is clearly made with the intention of promoting fitness and a healthy lifestyle, which follows the ideologies of the magazine. However, this video is more about the star appeal of the celebrity and entertainment than it is about information. This is further supported by the fact that the video seems to be a way of promoting Terry Crews' new video game that was released at the time. Furthermore, comedy is quite a big element of the video and this demonstrates that having a physically aspirational life doesn't come at all costs and life can be enjoyed as part of the journey to get the perfect body.