• by Tameka Kee , June 18, 2007

Some 71% of men ages 18-34 spend more time online now than a year ago, according to Maxim's latest annual Man Study--but a resounding 74% still felt that putting an ad on TV would be the "most effective" way to get it seen by guys.

To commemorate its 10th anniversary, the men's magazine commissioned research agency Hall & Partners to do an in-depth study of U.S. men's media usage habits. The findings confirm that although men ages 18-34 have been characterized as "advertising averse," marketers can still target them with entertaining, multi-channel messages.

While 83% of men surveyed said they watch less than 5 hours of television per day, a clear majority (74%) would use TV as their primary distribution channel if they had to create an ad themselves. A little over half would target their demo with ads in magazines (56%) or on the Web (55%), and only 17% would choose radio.

For ad content, 48% of Maxim readers said they would use female models to target men, and 35% would strive to make their ads funny. But while sex appeal and humor were key, so was clearly defined product information--with almost 40% saying they'd "focus on the product."

"If advertising is cool and relevant, this demo will give it the same amount of attention that they give to any other form of content, and they'll even send it to their friends," said Rob Gregory, group publisher, Maxim.

For example, 30% of men surveyed said they "enjoyed using social networking sites," and 26% said they regularly "forwarded content to [their] friends online." The two factors combined illustrate the growing importance of community-based online activity among 18- to-34-year-old males, a bright spot for marketers seeking to leverage viral advertising.

"Advertisers are dealing with the most plugged-in generation in history," said Gregory, "but this shows that the traditional methods are still as viable as emerging media at reaching 18- to-34-year-old-men."

Still, the most successful brands have leveraged media companies like Maxim to target men using a mix of print, online, and even mobile content--highlighting "the increased viability of a 360-degree approach," said Gregory.