Methods
An entire year of both Bride's and Glamour were content analyzed,an approach that included the coding of both the advertisements and the articles.Both magazines are owned by Conde Nast publishing house,meaning that the corporation can afford each of them equal access to resources,including advertising representatives,research material and staff members.This choice allows for both magazines to start on equal footing and prevents the controlling company's finances to play a role as a confounding variable.Glamour is a women's magazine with a mass-marketing distribution.It has a circulation of approximately 2 million and targets young white women(Consalvo,1997).Bride's magazine targets the same general demographics and claims to be“the world's#1 bridal magazine.”Bride's is a bimonthly magazine,meaning it comes out once every two months,while Glamour distributes a new issue each month.Due to the way in which Bride's groups its issues(December and January are together as opposed to January and February),we decided to start with the February/March issue of 2001 and continue through the December 2001/January 2002 issue.Issues of Glamour were chosen from the same time period in order to create a matching set of issues.
The articles and advertisements were coded using separate coding schemes.The schemes were based on those created by several previous researchers who had used them to code women's magazine articles and advertisements(Busby&Leichty,1993;Demarest&Garner,1992;Monk-Turner,1990).We coded advertisements to fit in one of eight categories:fashion,beauty,health/fitness,household,jewelry,travel,tobacco/alcohol and food.A miscellaneous category was added to account for all the items that did not fit into any of the previous seven.Advertisements needed to be at least a half page in size to be considered for this study.If an advertisement was continuous and extended beyond one full page,it was coded only once.For example,if a dress designer placed a six-page advertisement that went uninterrupted by other advertisements or articles,it was coded once.However,if a dress designer placed three single-page advertisements in the magazine and each advertisement had an article between it and the previous advertisement,the ads would each be coded as an individual.This prevented the false inflation of advertisement numbers if either magazine were to disproportionately receive large insert advertisements or special advertising sections.
Fashion was operationalized for this study as pertaining to the dress of an individual or group.This included clothing items and clothing accessories,but did not account for jewelry.Items coded as fashion items included dresses,handbags,shoes,jackets,ties and pants as well as designer labels geared toward clothing or accessory consumption.
Beauty was operationalized as items that attempted to improve physical appearance with limited or no health benefits.Items in this category included cosmetics,perfumes,shaving implements,tanning cream and plastic surgery.
Health/fitness was operationalized as anything that was attempting to improve the physical fitness of an individual or improved the health of an individual.It also accounted for hygiene ads that focused on the health and physical well being of an individual.For example,if an advertisement for soap were being examined and the advertisement focused on the anti-bacterial nature of the soap and how well it kills germs,it would fit here.If the advertisement were to focus on the scent or how it would improve the person's chances at gaining favor with a member of the opposite sex,it was coded as beauty.Lifestyle-changing diet programs were also coded here.If the advertisement were for a diet service like Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers that involved counseling and lifestyle changes,it was coded here.If the advertisement was a miracle weight-loss program,such as a“grapefruit diet”or a“miracle-pill diet,”or if the advertisement were for liposuction to reduce weight,it was coded as beauty.Other items that fit under this category included advertisements for pain medication,exercise programs and feminine hygiene.
The household category was operationalized to include items for the improvement of the home or the upkeep of the home.This included items on home furnishing,home fashion and house cleaning.It also included pet items,barbecuing essentials and gift registries.
Jewelry items were all items that advertised for specific jewelry purchases or jewelry shops and distributors.This included necklaces,rings,watches and earrings.
The travel category was operationalized as any advertisement that called for the planning of a trip,a place to stay while on a trip or a vacationing spot that should be considered for a trip.This includes advertisements from boards of tourism,airlines,hotels and tour groups.
The tobacco/alcohol category was operationalized to include advertisements that sold cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.The food category was operationalized to include any food items that were not specifically geared toward dieting or health and fitness.
Articles were coded in a similar manner,but included several other key categories.Fashion,beauty,health/fitness,travel,jewelry and household items remained coding categories and were operationalized in the same manner as the advertisements.A miscellaneous category also remained to account for those items not included in the specified coding categories.In addition the categories of sex,etiquette,party planning,checklists,work/finances,celebrities,relationships and social issues.
Sex was operationalized as having to do with sexuality or sexual intercourse.These articles included ways to improve sexual pleasure,how to communicate regarding sex and the best ways to express sexuality.
