Image advertising focuses on the lifestyle and/or image of the user of the product rather than on the product (Kelly et Al, 2002). Alcohol advertisements are targeted at young people depicting scenes associated with dancing and clubbing along with presenting a lifestyle opposed to selling a product (Kelly et Al, 2002). Advertisements with image-oriented visuals directly produce a more positive attitude towards a product (Kelly et Al, 2002). .
The magazine chosen for this data analysis is Cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitan is a prominent magazine for the 20 and 30 something's of America, especially women. This magazine has been labeled the "Bible- for sexual relationships. Tips, quizzes, and advice on sex, relationships, occupations, beauty, what men think, and fashion can be found throughout the pages. Targeted market individuals are mostly women as young as 16 and as old as 40. .
METHODS.
Materials.
Alcohol advertisements found in 12 issues of Cosmopolitan magazines were used for data analysis. Total number of ads used = 67, Ads containing people = 43,.
Ads not containing people = 24.
Procedure.
The general research strategy was a content analysis. All pages of the magazines, 12 issues were viewed and pages containing alcohol advertisements were ripped out. A checklist of topics (see results section) was written out. Articles were separated into corresponding piles, tallied, and recorded. .
RESULTS.
Tables 1.1-1.8 contain the breakdown of how advertisements were categorized and the total number of advertisements found for each category. The seven categories used for data analysis included: clothing, colors, age, social economic status, number of people in ad, type of alcohol depicted in ad, and setting depicted in ad. Research found the most predominant ads to contain three or more middle class individuals, ages 25-30, socializing in a bar, restaurant, or party wearing a limited amount of clothing.
