Magazines and Audiences 2

This magazine features the typical codes and conventions of a women's magazine, by including a masthead written in bright pink font signifying it is trying to capture a female audience. Pink is a connotation for girlie and it is an assumption that all women like the colour pink, it features a catchy tagline "Britain's Number 1 Women's Magazine" implying again its for women. The masthead is very recognizable and always uses the same font and the way it is set across the page however, the colour of the masthead can sometimes vary according to the magazine topic.

The main image is Amanda Seyfried she is used to not only as a celebrity endorsement to capture the audiences attention, but to be a representation. The left third of the magazine talks about sex articles like “The only thing he really wants in bed” and her body language promoting a promiscuous image to match the topic, also her hands placed behind her head makes her look inviting and girlie. She is also wearing a pink dress, which is stereotypically associated with women. The main image is usually related to the feature article in which case this does.

The magazine uses plugs and puffs such as, “720 HOT LOOKS” and “must read. The shock new threat to your body” and underneath it is written, “Read page 91 and fight back”. Making the audience want to read it to find out this ‘new threat” and find out all of these “hot looks’, magazines practically always use figures on the front in the hundreds to grab the audiences attention by thinking “wow 720 hot looks that’s loads”. And can automatically make them want to purchase the magazine, they also like to include statistics on the front as we as a nation are more likely to believe something if it sounds like a fact, even if we know it may not be entirely true. The magazine uses a clear date and website address.

Also, on the cover it uses a specific “Sans Serif” font, which is usually associated with a younger audience in comparison to a broadsheet which may use “Times New Roman” to appeal to an older audience. The key words of the cover page are also all written in bold like, ‘Men, Men, Men” and “720 HOT LOOKS”, so a potential buyer when skimming the magazine shelf will be drawn to these specific words.

The Amanda Seyfried article also has written on top of it “No Hollywood BS here!’ to indicate that it’s all truth and the reader should believe the magazine, it also says “Amanda Seyfried getting over her ex (thanks to her new Brit crush)”, which leaves the question… Who is her new Brit crush? Making us want to buy it as it is relevant to Britain. It also implies that if Amanda Seyfried can get over her ex everyone can and that they should read what she has to say.

The right third of the magazine, which is usually the side presented to us on a magazine stand is crammed full of plugs and puffs. And on the left third of the magazine the articles are more explicit as they are usually hidden, they may have done this to prevent offending anyone.