''Ralph'' was a monthly Australian

men's magazine This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as adult ones. Not included here are aut ...

that was published by

ACP Magazines Are Media is an Australian media company that was formed after the 2020 purchase of the assets of Bauer Media Australia, which had in turn acquired the assets of Pacific Magazines, AP Magazines and Australian Consolidated Press during the 201 ...

, a division of

PBL Media Nine Entertainment (registered as Nine Entertainment Co. Pty Ltd) is an Australian publicly listed media company with holdings in radio and television broadcasting, newspaper publications and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate brandi ...

between August 1997 and July 2010. The format and style of ''Ralph'' was similar to other men's magazines, such as ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

'' and '' Loaded''.

Content

Similar to its rivals ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'' and ''

Zoo Weekly ''Zoo'' was a British (and formerly an Australian and South African) lad's mag published weekly by Bauer Media Group in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 29 January 2004, and for a time was the UK's only men's weekly after the similar an ...

'', ''Ralph'' published photos of scantily-clad models and female celebrities, without revealing their

genital A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, ...

s or

nipple The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in females, milk leaves the breast through the lactiferous ducts to feed an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively or it can be ejected by smooth ...

s. This allowed for the magazine to be sold in the lifestyle sections of newsagencies, and in other retailers such as

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

and

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. The magazine featured a number of recurring characters, such as Ralph Man, Frank Muddler and Gourmet Gav. Gourmet Gav, who would take on outrageous eating challenges, would earn celebrity beyond the pages of the magazine thanks to the development of Ralph TV. ACP Magazines described the magazine as:

"Whether it is adventure, sport, fashion, travel, music, boys' toys, beautiful women, or life's essential how-tos, Ralph provides an environment that is purely Australian."

''Ralph'' featured photo shoots of Australian celebrities as well as international stars. The magazine was often cross-promoted on other ACP and PBL properties, such as promotional parties held in conjunction with

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

, and as a sponsor of home viewer competitions during the

Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations a ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

coverage. It contained the same kinds of articles published in similar titles, and ran its own poll to find "Australia's sexiest woman". The results were published in an attachment to the regular magazine each year. Unlike ''FHM'', it featured 200 women instead of ''FHM'''s 100, but ''Ralph'''s polling only took in Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

(where a separate edition was produced), whereas ''FHM'''s poll is worldwide.

Circulation

''Ralph'' was reported to have had a circulation of 63,155 at the end of 2009, with a readership of 267,000. Its popularity put it ahead of other ACP titles such as ''FHM'' (with 50,000 copies and 90,000 readers), but behind the market leader among men's magazines, ''Zoo Weekly''. On 4 June 2010, the magazine's publishing company ACP announced that ''Ralph'' would produce its final print edition at the end of the month, with the July cover date being the final monthly magazine, although the popular ''Girls of Ralph'' special issues would continue. ACP said that the ''Ralph'
website
would remain, hosted on the

ninemsn Nine.com.au (formerly Ninemsn) is an Australian news and current events website, owned by ASX-listed company, Nine Entertainment Co. It was originally established as a 50:50 joint venture between Microsoft and PBL Media (now Nine Entertainmen ...

network and via its mobile platform. However the Ralph website now redirects to the

website.

Ralph TV

Ralph TV was a weekly television series based on ''Ralph'' magazine which aired on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...

. It was hosted by Craig "Lowie" Lowe and featured a trio known as "the girls of Ralph TV", newcomers Brooke Sheehan, Candice Manning and Angela Tsun. The show aired footage of the various features and pictorials from the former monthly Ralph magazine. The premiere episode aired on 7 June 2007 and each episode was repeated on Fox8. The series was produced by Endemol Southern Star.

Final Issue of Ralph Magazine

The final issue of the magazine starred Clare Werbeloff in lingerie, who became known as the Kings Cross Bogan following her eyewitness account of a shooting outside a Kings Cross nightclub, which turned out to be a hoax. Her politically incorrect report to a television news cameraman spread online via YouTube and made her an internet celebrity.

References

External links

Ralph - Official web pageRalph TVRalph TV - Video- Ralph editorial on its philosophy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralph (magazine) 1997 establishments in Australia 2010 disestablishments in Australia ACP magazine titles Defunct magazines published in Australia Magazines established in 1997 Magazines disestablished in 2010 Magazines published in Sydney Men's magazines published in Australia Monthly magazines published in Australia