The YMCA is a well-known charitable chain of facilities across the world offering many different amenities. The YMCA prides themselves on offering accessible and affordable fitness to their respective communities. This brand used to be the “Young Men’s Christian Association” originating in London in 1844. Its goal was to give people a place to discuss religion outside of the Christian church, but it soon became a safe and accepting space for all to gather regardless of the religion, gender, or sexual orientation.1 Their brand has also changed overtime as society has become more accepting. To reach a broader audience, they had to change their practices. This advertisement is from the YMCA in Kamloops, BC. Its goal is to entice people to buy a membership to their facility which offers a gym and pool. This advertisement focuses on the social issue of continuing exercise into retirement or older age. As Wangui Anthony Muchiri, et al. state in their study, “There is often a radical break with the working lifestyle among the elderly. This ends up eliminating activities that require physical exertion thus leading to a progressive sedentary lifestyle.”2 As a result, the YMCA is attempting to target an older audience to encourage acting living by joining their facility.
The advertisement shows a still image of an older man participating in a fitness class in their facility. He is in focus on the right of the photo, whereas the other participants in the back are slightly blurred. This forces your eye to focus on him. However, it is important to see that the other participants are a similar age to the man and are a Varity of genders. This shows community and inclusion in their facility. In advertising for older people, it is effective to show different genders and ages. By showing the audience that they can participate no matter their age, gender, or fitness level, they can sell their memberships. In addition to this, it shows socially responsible practices through minimal impact, adaptive fitness for seniors. Thier awareness and inclusion of seniors in an environment usually monopolized by younger people really drive this socially responsible stance home. This ad demonstrates the theory of empiricism, as we know and have established truths about the importance of fitness in seniors through scientific examination. “Moderate intensity physical activities such as stretching, swimming, brisk walking or water exercises are of great advantage to elderly people. They improve their balance, flexibility, coordination, endurance, mental health, cognitive function and muscle tone. This enhances their functional independence.3
The YMCA is known for being an inclusive and safe environment for their members. I believe I am in the target audience for this ad because I interact with a lot of lifestyle and fitness content on social media. While an image of an old man may not be the most eye-catching ad, it targets an audience that cares more about comfort and inclusivity than fancy equipment or trendy atmosphere. By the neutral colors and soft lighting in the image, it gives a comforting feel. It is important to notice that the man is not looking in the photo. He is looking forward towards where we assume the class instructor is, making it look like he is too engaged in his class to look at the camera. This ad uses a bright red semi-transparent shape to showcase its short message. Red is a color used in the YMCA logo, making it easier to identify the brand in the ad.
Joiner bonus incentives are a very common way to attract new clientele. In this case, the YMCA is offering a no joiner fee to new members. For an adult (19+), it is an additional twenty dollars to become a member.4 While this may not seem like a lot, not outlining the cost in the ad gives the audience the sense they are getting a great deal. A 2018 study found that nearly twenty percent of people who own a gym membership fail to attend the gym more than once a month.5 By using a negative opinion contract, the YMCA continues to charge the account until the member affirmingly cancels it.6 This results in the YMCA having more paying members than attending members. Their true goal is to make money. By producing an ad that catches the attention of different generations and offers what seems to be great savings, they are able to achieve that.
Bibliography
Kamloops YMCA-YWCA. “FAQs – Kamloops YMCA-YWCA,” n.d. https://www.kamloopsy.org/faq.htm.
Kamloops YMCA-YWCA. “Membership – Kamloops YMCA-YWCA,” n.d. https://www.kamloopsy.org/membership.htm.
Muchiri, Wangui Anthony, Oloo Micky Olutende, Issah W. Kweyu, and Esther Vurigwa. “Meaning of Physical Activities for the Elderly: A Review.” American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 6, no. 3 (n.d.): 79–83. https://doi.org/10.12691/ajssm-6-3-3.
Sullivan, Emmet. “‘Pain of No Gain’ – Using Hypocrisy to Increase Commitments to Physical Fitness.” SSRN Electronic Journal, n.d. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3590830.
YMCA Canada. “YMCA History,” n.d. https://www.ymca.ca/who-we-are/ymca-history.
Aiden Goetz
I think this student did a great job at catching the greenwashing aspects used with this ad pointing out the 0$ joiner fee, but in reality if you’re 19+ it’s 20$. They also did a great job of pointing out the age of the man within the photo and how potential viewers can interpret this meaning. Along with speaking on the different genders, showing inclusivity within this advertisement and portrayal of the business.
This student’s main points were the age, gender, and fitness level of the man showing anyone can workout at the YMCA. Along with the joiner bonus, which incentives new customers to join their gym but in reality the cost will be $20 for a membership. This student brought up that 20% of gym goers only go to the gym once a month so this gives the YMCA profit for people not even using their facility.
One thing I had a problem with was accessing the URL links to the scholarly sources. I don’t know if it was written incorrectly but the links do not work. I found this problem with both the doi.org sources.
One thing I would’ve done differently is looking at the description underneath the image to further analyze the advertisement. Other than that I thought it was a really good analysis.