Today, I won’t be posting any recipe concerning mangoes. Instead, let’s talk about melons (the big ones that you see below). Oooopps, I mean let’s talk about FHM or For Him Magazine for those who pretend that they don’t what FHM stands for.
Click here to learn more about FHM.
This one is the November 2010 issue of FHM and its cover girls are the celebrity sisters Ehra and Michelle Madrigal.
Anyway, we had an exercise in class wherein we had to bring a magazine to class and critique its design and layout. I chose FHM since I like it and I’ve been collecting it since third year or fourth year high school, I think.
These are some of the FHM copies that I have right now since I left my other older magazines at home in the province.
So in class, we discussed about the magazine, who are its target market, and its design and layout. It is very significant that we must know who are the target market of FHM in order for us to appreciate and understand why FHM is designed the way it is. Like what we are always taught in class, “Everything must make sense.”
| Category | Target Market | Percentage |
| Age | 18-35 | 85% |
| Gender | Predominantly male | 84% |
| Economic status | Currently employed | 87% |
| Social status | Single | 56% |
| Total Monthly Readership | More than 1.12 million readers monthly across all socio-economic classes (based on 2008 Synovate Media Atlas Survey) | |
Since the readers of FHM are predominantly male, the FHM editorial team calls them the Today’s Man. They are described as:
- passionate as he is witty
- He admires beautiful, sexy women and isn’t ashamed to admit it.
- He’s a go-getter— always eager to learn new things to improve himself and be in the know.
- He’s funny and is the life of the party.
- Like the magazine he reads, he, too, is a good “pare” who sticks it out with this bros through thick and thin.
- have a diverse mix of interests ranging from cars, internet, entertainment, fashion, sports and gadgets
- They are young, active and dynamic.
Though it is the men that are the target of FHM, there are a plenty of women who read FHM too – like me. Interestingly, women do read but they are not the ones who buy the magazine because they are afraid to be seen by other people. One of my friend, who constantly borrows my magazines, admits that she is afraid to buy one herself because the cashier lady might think of her as a lesbian, or a slut, or even worse, a woman who is addicted to sex. That’s how patriarchal and conservative our society is until today.
Anyway, we now know that FHM readers are predominantly young (not kids) male who are from the A-B socio-economic bracket. So let us know look on the content of the magazine. The content includes photos, articles, and advertisements inside the magazine.
- generally, the photos are all young and fresh (again, they are not kids) women who are scantily clad in one-piece or two-piece bikinis; there are a number of photos of nude women
- photos are mostly placed at the right page
- articles range from sex, women, technology and gadgets, sports and sometimes, politics
- There are more ads inside the magazine compared to the articles. These are usually liquor, clothing (such as jeans, shirts, underwear and shoes), condoms, cars, and gadgets.
Let’s now check out the design and layout of the magazine. Have you noticed that the letters F,H,M are in bold and the color is red? What does red signify? How does it relate to the desired target market of FHM?
As you have observed, my friend, red is the strongest color among all the colors. It can easily catch people’s attention. And also, red expresses strong emotions too -like anger and happiness. But in FHM’s case, the red tries to bring out the suppressed sexual desires of people. Red here tries to evoke passion and lust.
Next, FHM photos are generally more appealing to the readers, obviously, due to its sexually provocative content. But other than that, photos are more powerful in conveying a message. Photos are placed at the right page because our eyes normally looks at the right page first and then to the left.
FHM stories are usually short, usually about 150-350 words. The only long stories are the interview stories, but they are in question-and-answer format.
There are more ads compared to the articles because the magazine needs to earn and have profit. Also, if a magazine has many ads inside it, it means it’s a prominent magazine. Advertisers do not just buy a spread or an entire front cover spread because the magazine has a wide circulation. Advertisers are very specific with their target audience too. You noticed that the ads inside FHM are usually for the males – liquor, condoms, pills for endurance, sports merchandise, etc. Advertisers won’t put their ads if they know that nobody will be interested to buy their product.
Publications don’t merely design and layout their magazines in any way that they desire. FHM must be able to relate to their target market in order to make them stay and attract the others to buy and read. Again, everything must make sense.
Avimangoes 