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Aug 19, 2008 @ 2:00pm

WHICH ONE MAKES YOU WANT SOME FERRAGAMO.jpg I actually sat down and read GQ cover to cover this weekend.

1) Because James Franco is on the cover and you know how I feel about who's on the cover and

2) Because I actually love their editorial content.

But on my way there I started noticing the ads.

Something was off. For example, in the four page Gap campaign, only men are featured. I flipped from Hugh Dancy to Joseph Feinnes without an appearance from Clemence, Julia, or even Liv. It'd be one thing if Gap only put their girls in women's magazines, but we get boys and girls - so why do the boys only get boys? Oh, and the Sartorialist is definitively missing, (but so is Sean Avery).

Then we have the Tod's ads. Gwyneth Paltrow is their super hyped, no doubt super expensive face of Fall 08. But while one of the men in the GQ ad version bears a slight resemblance to Chris Martin if you squint and can imagine Chris Martin draping a sweater over his shoulders, Gwyneth is most certainly not present. Though we know from the background that both she and the men are sitting on the same yacht.

Thirdly, and perhaps best, is the Salvatore Ferragamo ad spread. In it, they've used the same Claudia Schiffer and the same background from the ads in women's magazines, but remember that guy who wore tights? Well, in GQ, he gets to wear a proper suit. And Claudia doesn't look pleased. But there are ballerinas in tutus running around him which adds the ballet element in a different way.

So the the only woman who can sell a product to men is Claudia Schiffer? And definitely not Gwyneth Paltrow? But you can use any hot guy to sell something to women?

Or maybe I should just stop memorizing magazines.

posted by guest

Aug 19, 2008 3:34PM

GQ is super heterosexual! They love them some women! Male ballet dancers are too gay for GQ! (insert eye roll here)

Aug 19, 2008 3:38PM

A lot of the women used in women's magazine ads are "aspirational" for women, but not necessarily attractive to men. See, e.g., Gwyneth Paltrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, etc. Thus, it makes sense that they are not featured in the men's ads. And obviously they're not going to have the guy in the Ferragamo ads in a tutu, they're trying to sell men's clothing! In the women's mag ad, the woman's clothing is highlighted, and in the men's ad, the man's clothing is highlighted. Hard to sell clothes if guys think you want to sell them tutus. In general, the truth of the matter is, women, in and outside of fashion, will think that male models are hot. As such, you can use them to sell things to women. Men, however, in general, do not think that female models (of the high fashion sort) are hot, so you can only use a woman to sell them things who cross the barrier.

posted by sarahchivonne

Aug 19, 2008 4:31PM

oh dear, i think you should stop memorizing magazines. that little run through made my head hurt.

Aug 19, 2008 5:08PM

Do you really care that much about this?

Aug 19, 2008 9:31PM

I think you bring up a good point here, Britt. And I especially find it interesting because I would normally expect it to be the other way round, e.g. there are millions and millions of men's magazines that are there pretty much only titilate men with half naked women, yet how many women's magazines are there that feature men for us to drool over? Maybe GQ is trying to appeal to us subconsciously (i.e. the women who will appreciate the editorials and clothes) by putting lots of nice men for us to perve on, and there you go! Double the readership.

Aug 19, 2008 9:47PM

I think 'female models of the high fashion sort' (for the most part) are hot... I suppose I'm an exception though.

Another likely reason women's magazines show men but not vice versa is that women are much more likely to buy clothes for men but men rarely seem to shop for clothes for women

posted by blythespirit

Aug 19, 2008 10:28PM

men in tights is the funniest ad of the season.takes you back to the joy that used to be kelly grey in st john....do you think it is intentional?

Aug 19, 2008 11:43PM

The guy in the Ferragamo ad is actually Roberto Bolle, the Italian ballet dancer, that’s why he is in tights and there are girls in tutus.

posted by ShaSha

Aug 20, 2008 1:46AM

The answer is pretty obvious:

1. Women like to see ads which feature other women because they would love to have the life the women in the ads are having. So they want the shoe, the bag, etc. that the ad is promoting because they want that life.

2. Women want to see men in fashion magazines because most women are attracted to men. They want to see handsome men in ads so that they can pretend that they are with them or can have them

3. Men magazines don't have too many women ads because the female models used in most fashion ads are not consider sexy to the average male. The women are oddly dressed, stick figures. So the ads in a male mag will obviously feature good looking men so that the men can then fantasize about being the dude in the cool ad.

Sidenote: If you read Maxim you will see A LOT of ads featuring scantily clad women because that's what men want to see in their magazines...not skinny Lily.

Aug 20, 2008 9:44AM

there are mens ad in womens magazines because a lot of women shop for their husbands and boyfriends...yet, few(er) men go shopping for their wives or girlfriends

Aug 20, 2008 12:23PM

As a writer at an advertising agency, I can clear this up. It's a strategic move rather than a creative one.

Women shop for women's clothes, but they also shop for their men--sometimes at their significant other's request and sometimes because they just want him to look good. So, women's magazines (and other content) often feature both men and women in the ads.

But men rarely buy clothing for women. (And would we really want them to?) That's why you won't see many clothing ads featuring women in a male magazine. (You definitely see women, just in a more T&A role instead of an advertising one.)

Aug 20, 2008 12:27PM

Most men don't get Gwyneth's appeal, so I'm not surprised that she doesn't feature in the men's mags. Women, on the other hand, want Gwyenth's life and just worship her altogether, so it makes perfect sense that she would be on women's magazine covers, in ads, and disected on sites such as this one.

Claudia Schiffer is someone both men and women can appreciate--she still gets paid to look beautiful--hence her prominent position in these men's ads.

Aug 20, 2008 10:44PM

The Sartorialist Gap ad was in Vanity Fair. Beats GQ.

Aug 20, 2008 11:41PM

you must have not read very carefully, the sartorialist and sean avery are both in the september gq's gap ad.