The American Market: Selling you yourself

Charles Atlas and his Titan Class Ad

“The American Market: Selling you yourself”

Charles Atlas – One of the most famous comic book ads in existence. This ad created and introduced the “98 pound weakling,” named Mac (pictured second), who birthed the cliché of having sand kicked into his face by a bully. As you may know, Mac has spawned several impostors through the years. The final ad pictured is current from Mr. Atlas’s company website and has changed very little with the exception of a somewhat dubious use (if viewed by current society) of the ads original male oriented machismo.

Many ads through history focus on the gender gap or the roles and duties placed upon the genders by a society’s view of “proper” women and men. In the venue of male stereotypes perhaps none were more pervasive in the early years than the fitness regimen, and it's subsequent marketing platform, which was innovated by Mr. Atlas. This same ad would introduce the world to the stereotype of the 98 pound weakling and made generations of males both old and young take note of their own physical condition.
The idea behind Mr. Atlas's regimen was complete holistic health format involving forms of exercise and stretching along with eating habits and endurance conditioning. These ad's and the regimen itself was heavily geared to a male market with the intent of selling you good health and manliness.                 
Many of the Charles Atlas parodies that I've been able to track down (and there are many) do in fact tend to focus on the idea of "manhood"--or, more accurately, masculinity: both how to define it and how to obtain it. The bodily and personality changes that Mac undergoes are essential to our understanding of the ad's larger impact, both on its intended audience-- males wishing to become more fit and manly--and on the audiences of future (or current) parodies or ads of similar intent. Joseph Gustaitis, writing in the September 1986 issue of American History Illustrated, remarked that the original ad campaign created by Charles Roman had resounding success because Atlas "did not pitch health or larger arms, he sold manhood. When you signed on with Atlas, you did not enlist for fitness alone, you bought courage, self-reliance, and sex-appeal--and you got the goods to deliver them."

The original ads define self-improvement not only as enhancing one's musculature but also as embracing Atlas' philosophy of life. The copy (above) asks if men are "fed up with seeing the huskies walk off with the best of everything" and if they want a physique "which makes other fellows green with envy"; another Atlas ad (not pictured here), titled "Message to the Thin Young Men of Britain," promises not only a "rugged, handsome body" but also "a rough-and-ready ambition surging out of you that the world can't lick." These appeals imply that by attaining physical perfection men also automatically and necessarily attain social position and prestige. Only "real men" enjoy these privileges; further, they deserve to. Atlas' ads promise a great deal, but they do so by causing the reader to face fear that he is not a "real man" who is not "truly masculine," a fear that might further be exacerbated by seeing the ad in conjunction with stories of fantastically powerful heroes.

As I have mentioned, these ad's made themselves prevalent throughout generations of American and British comics though it didn't stop there. Many home magazines and catalogs (including Sears, Roebuck and Company) ran this add often. Especially in regard to male oriented articles and items. Charles Atlas also promoted his work nation-wide beach to beach and gym to gym, working on his perfect tan the whole way. I on the other hand as an impressionable young boy living in the smoky mountains far from city gyms and especially beaches found there constant appearance in my comics a sure sign this was the right path to my own man-hood. How could I not? Many of the comics I found the ads in were from my father's generation so to my mind this was significant. So for the sake of my current ramblings we shall continue to focus on the ad's use in comics.

Mac's bodily transformation in the classic ads (which have been repeated with variation since 1949 till the present) follows a pattern familiar to superhero-comic-book readers. The narrative in the ad's comic strip is intuitive and straightforward; the 1972 version (pictured below) is probably familiar to most readers. Our attention is immediately drawn in the first panel to the bully's muscular body, implying a threat to the reedy and spindly Mac. In a deft piece of exposition, Mac's girlfriend, Grace, informs the reader of the bully's reputation. In the second panel, the posturing bully humiliates Mac by commenting on the smaller man's size; note how Mac's stooped posture makes him appear not only skinnier than the bully but also shorter. Mac reaches his limit in the third panel as Grace delivers the final humiliation, berating him as she preens and poses.

And another variation on this add, with a more formal approach;

As the accompanying examples demonstrate, cartoonists often embrace the Atlas ad as a vehicle to explore issues of masculinity and power--always with a wink and a laugh, but also with an eye toward discussing larger matters, “right under the nose” so to speak, in society. In the original ads, Charles Atlas clearly invites his male readers to join him in the ranks of the cultural hegemony; both the ad copy (which implores men not to be left behind the leaders of society) and the comics narrative (where men are either skinny and ineffectual or muscle-bound and in control) create a simplistic have/have not scheme--for the men only, of course; women exist here solely to reinforce a man's perception of himself. (I should add here that the real-life Charles Atlas was regarded as an individual of sterling character, beneficent to his family, friends and strangers, female and male alike; however, the gender-related subtext in Roman's ads remains undeniable.) The superhero comic books that ran the Atlas ad campaign (and where a multitude of these ads appeared) also featured characters that occupied the same hegemonic niche of masculinity, as they upheld society's notions of law and order for the protection of the weaker among them. Buried within a not-so-humble advertisement we find the potential for a classic comics narrative and when Mac used the insult to become a man, he also became, perhaps unwittingly, a cultural icon. 

With the amount of hidden-fear, famous person testimony and bandwagon techniques linked to this most classic of male targeted ad's it is little wonder why after years and years of seeing it and reading it over and over in comics that it resonates to me as an important piece of Americana. I know for a fact this ad framed much of my early formative views of manhood. So much so in fact that when I think of the term bully the first thought that flashes through my minds eye is one of some meat-head kicking sand in poor 98 Lbs Little Macs face.  
While the 1940's and its prevailing years have shown the original strength and potency of this add with its direct appeal to men to be strong, tough, no-nonsense types. As was the concept of the American male then. I believe that today's market is so cluttered with excessive workout ideas and fitness regimens and so much more slanted towards equality of sexes in many ways that I believe the Time of Mr. Atlas's glory has been laid to rest. No doubt the sheer effectiveness of the ad will stay a piece of Americana but only as a footnote to an era. In today's market these ad's would most likely be viewed as demeaning and under poor social context, at least by American viewers. It's highly possible, that unless done in a jesting manner such as used by the old spice guy, that this ad may no longer even make the cut to be ran on current mainstream media. The obvious weakness here is the ad's test of time. Mr. Atlas just couldn't seem to get away from that whole damsel in distress idea and that skinny is ineffective and today that just wont fly in the world of advertising.




If you are interested in learning more about Mr. Atlas check out these links:
Charles Atlas: Biography
Charles Atlas: Smithsonian
Charles Atlas: Art of Manliness
Charles Atlas: Daily Workout