JohnBckWLD
09-02-2005, 07:22 PM
Subtitled: The Wilson Brian Key “‘SEX” Is Everywhere” Appreciation Thread.
With all the talk of Katrina & (US) gasoline prices in just about every forum here on the SDMB, I figured it couldn't hurt to post a quick, diversionary poll.
This print ad, for New York Sports Club Fitness Centers (http://public.fotki.com/JohnBuckLINY/ny_post/nysc_ad.html), once again ran in one of NYC's tabloids yesterday. Without getting too analytical, from the moment I saw it, I was intrigued by the notion that this ½ page color advertisement appears to convey various messages to different people.
If you look at the ad, you'll notice there are 3 subjects / models. The illustration shows a husband (assumedly in his mid-thirties) getting home early from work and walking into the bedroom the moment after his (attractive) wife tosses her (younger) boyfriend’s jeans out the window. As the boyfriend dangles from the 2nd story, he’s attempting to catch his pants with his left leg. The buy line: SCRAM better; and the question; What do you want to do better? are the only text in the ad.
But what is the message the advertiser is trying to get across?
The first assumption: NYSC is telling prospective members that if they attend their gym – they’ll have an easier time evading their girlfriend’s husbands. But that message doesn’t really carry over to a large segment of the population. Granted, from the gyms I’ve been to, approximately 70% of the clientele are male – but I’m not convinced NYSC is solely targeting 20-something males who are out to boink their boss’s (or neighbor’s) wife. If the sole purpose of the ad is to tell men, they’ll ‘what-have-you’ better by attending their gym, I can think of a hundred settings that would have made for a more effective ad. Besides, the boyfriend in the picture looks like he ‘scrammed’ pretty well –unless the husband has a handgun we don’t see in the photo – it appears he’s about 6’ from a clean getaway.
Perhaps they’re also speaking to middle-aged husbands out there: You know, the white-collar professional types with the trophy wife. The guys who knows he’s getting older and softer around the middle. Is NYSC telling the unsuspecting husbands of the world that if the go to their gym, their 'scramming' techniques will improve to the point they need not concern themselves about their wives’ infidelity – and in the worse case scenario, you’ll be able to climb the stairs quicker and catch the bastard.
Are they also speaking to housewives out there: What does this ad say to women? Is there any implication that if ladies join NYSC, they’ll likely find the ‘scrammer’ of their dreams 2 treadmills down? Why would NYSC completely ignore 1/2 the population with this ad? Surely they must be trying to convey something.
I mentioned at the outset I didn’t want to get too analytical. But on preview, I note I didn’t do too well of a job. I’ll shut up now and pose this question to you all:
What Message Does The Linked NYSC Print Ad Convey To You?
With all the talk of Katrina & (US) gasoline prices in just about every forum here on the SDMB, I figured it couldn't hurt to post a quick, diversionary poll.
This print ad, for New York Sports Club Fitness Centers (http://public.fotki.com/JohnBuckLINY/ny_post/nysc_ad.html), once again ran in one of NYC's tabloids yesterday. Without getting too analytical, from the moment I saw it, I was intrigued by the notion that this ½ page color advertisement appears to convey various messages to different people.
If you look at the ad, you'll notice there are 3 subjects / models. The illustration shows a husband (assumedly in his mid-thirties) getting home early from work and walking into the bedroom the moment after his (attractive) wife tosses her (younger) boyfriend’s jeans out the window. As the boyfriend dangles from the 2nd story, he’s attempting to catch his pants with his left leg. The buy line: SCRAM better; and the question; What do you want to do better? are the only text in the ad.
But what is the message the advertiser is trying to get across?
The first assumption: NYSC is telling prospective members that if they attend their gym – they’ll have an easier time evading their girlfriend’s husbands. But that message doesn’t really carry over to a large segment of the population. Granted, from the gyms I’ve been to, approximately 70% of the clientele are male – but I’m not convinced NYSC is solely targeting 20-something males who are out to boink their boss’s (or neighbor’s) wife. If the sole purpose of the ad is to tell men, they’ll ‘what-have-you’ better by attending their gym, I can think of a hundred settings that would have made for a more effective ad. Besides, the boyfriend in the picture looks like he ‘scrammed’ pretty well –unless the husband has a handgun we don’t see in the photo – it appears he’s about 6’ from a clean getaway.
Perhaps they’re also speaking to middle-aged husbands out there: You know, the white-collar professional types with the trophy wife. The guys who knows he’s getting older and softer around the middle. Is NYSC telling the unsuspecting husbands of the world that if the go to their gym, their 'scramming' techniques will improve to the point they need not concern themselves about their wives’ infidelity – and in the worse case scenario, you’ll be able to climb the stairs quicker and catch the bastard.
Are they also speaking to housewives out there: What does this ad say to women? Is there any implication that if ladies join NYSC, they’ll likely find the ‘scrammer’ of their dreams 2 treadmills down? Why would NYSC completely ignore 1/2 the population with this ad? Surely they must be trying to convey something.
I mentioned at the outset I didn’t want to get too analytical. But on preview, I note I didn’t do too well of a job. I’ll shut up now and pose this question to you all:
What Message Does The Linked NYSC Print Ad Convey To You?