Task 6Cosmopolitan and Glamour Magazine

Emma

From both magazines demographic profile, there are a few similarities. The average age of Cosmopolitan is 31.2 and for Glamour it’s 34 so it’s around the same age so both magazines would be appropriate for that age group. The marital status for Cosmopolitan is 45.3% of readers compared to Glamour readers at 43%. From this you can see the percentages are very close, so I think that both magazines have the same audiences reading them.Along with education, Cosmo readers have 62% of readers who attended college, with 70% of Glamour readers attended colleges. Although the percentages are further apart, it isn’t by much.

The magazine is aimed at woman, the age range of the readers of the magazine ranges from 18-49, but the average age is 32. Miranda Kerr is on the front cover and as she is 30, this is appealing to the average age because she would be more recognisable to females than males. By putting her on the cover, women will pick it up because she might be an aspirational figure who females will look up to.

The colour schemes that are used on the front cover usually consists of pinks, purples, reds, light blues and yellows which are particularly feminine. Those colours are more likely to attract the eye of your target audience. As this colour scheme is blue and yellow, it is feminine orientated. The colours sometimes can sometimes the image and from this cover, she stands out because she is wearing white and some of the text is white so it all flows together.

The title and text change colours every month, but they are bold and bright so you know what you are reading. The title ‘Cosmopolitan’ is half covered up by her arm, but although only half is showing, you know what you are reading because the magazine have such an iconic title you don’t need to think twice about what you picking up.

The image on the front cover is always placed in a way that shows off their best bits. As the image is in the centre of the page, it takes up most of the space and this shows that the image is most important. By having the image take up a lot of room, your eye is drawn to it first and if you have a lot of text, you will get bored.The writing is usually in a serif font, but varies in sizes and boldness. You are drawn to the larger text first because it takes up more room and this would attract you to it more. The larger subtitles stand out and the magazine is trying to tell you that this article is the one to read. The magazine will usually include a feature on the person on the front cover, in the case, Miranda Kerr. This might also make people pick up the magazine if they want to know more about her.

Cosmopolitan – Front Cover

This magazine is also aimed at women aged 18-49, although the picture on the front is of Daniel Radcliffe. Although he is only 24, he is a very attractive male so females would pick up the magazine they can read the article about him. He would be very recognisable to both males and females because of all his acting work, so even males might pick this magazine up.

The colour scheme on this article is pinks and yellows, which is very feminine, so shows that the magazine is aimed at females. The colours used are light colours because he is wearing dark colours, this makes him stand out more because of the colour contrasting.

Like the other magazine, the title is also covered up by his head. This also shows that the magazine has an iconic that you can recognise it straight away. As the title is the largest text on the page, your eye is drawn to it and you know instantly what you are going to read.

The image of him is projected in a way that would be attractive to women. He is lifting up his sleeve as to show you his muscles which means he will have a good body, which women like. His face also has a suggestive look about him. His head is tilted slightly with an expression that says ‘come and get me’. He is the centre of attention and so this draws your eye to the image and especially because he’s a young, attractive, male actor.

Like Cosmopolitan, the font is also in serif with a range of sizes and boldness. You are still drawn to the larger text because this might be seen as the more important and exciting articles. Daniel Radcliffe's’ name is quite large so your eye is drawn towards it. This shows that his article is a must-read and because the article is about nudity, females would be very interested in the featured article.

Glamour – Front Cover

Cosmopolitan - Article

The colours on this page are kept very simple. Black writing with a white background makes the image stand out. The only colour is the flowery top, red hair and the few bracelets that appear on her

The image is of Hayley Williams which is a body shot of her. This image takes up a lot of space and this shows that the text on the previous page will be about her. In an interview or article, you tend to get quotes from them that have been blown up for effect, although on this one there is not any. I think that this is because the article will be aimed at fans of Hayley Williams, and if you are not a fan, you won’t read the article.

The main title is written in a serif font so it stands out more. The fact that it is written in a serif font reflects her personality. You wouldn’t class her as a girly girl because she tends to wear jeans and a t-shirt rather than dresses and skirts. She also has had a rather wide range of bright hairstyles. If she was a girly girl, the font might be in a sans serif font which would mean the letters would be rounded with flicks and swirls. The title suggests that the article will be about Hayley Williams and the fact that she is ‘on fire’ suggests something exciting will appear in the text.

The italic font is a quote from an executive editor from the magazine Seventeen, although she has done some work for Cosmopolitan. It shows her intake on Hayley and who she is. It gives the readers someone else perspective of her from a professional point of view.

How has the magazine changed?

CosmopolitanAs you can see, there are some similarities and also differences between the two magazines. The one on the left is from September 1990 and the one on the right is from June 2013. On the 90’s cover, you can see that all of the text is in one colour and one size, although it does use bold. The titles on both magazines are the same font and they both have half of the lettering covered and this shows that even in the 1990’s that Cosmopolitan was a very popular magazine. The prices of the magazines have also changed over the years. In the 90’s, the magazine was priced at £2.50, yet now they are prices at £3.60 which is an increase of £1.10.

Both magazines contain one main image and this shows that the magazine has kept consistency throughout the years. What also has stayed the same is the background, although not white like the modern ones, there is still a plain background, which makes the woman stand out a lot. The image on both is of a body shot, this shows their best bits and as it takes up a large portion of the cover, both images are shown to be very important. The modern magazine mentions the celebrity on the front cover, the other one does not, so you don’t know whether the inside contains an article about her. The font varies throughout the 2013 cover as it’s in different colours, sizes and boldness, yet the 1990 cover is plain and simple. Both magazines do have a feminine colour scheme with the purples, pinks and reds which would attract more females to read the magazines.

How has the magazine changed?

GlamourFrom these two magazines, there are a lot of difference between them. The magazine on the left is from January 1971, and the magazine on the right is from October 2012. For starters, there is a vast difference in price, the older one is priced at 60cents and the modern magazine is priced at £2. The font is very different on the covers. The writing on the cover on the left is all in italics which actually makes it harder to read personally, yet the writing on the right cover it is all straight with some in bold and some not and this makes it more exciting for the reader. The titles are different as well because in the modern magazine, half of it is covered up, but in the other one, it is in front of the woman.

Both of the magazines contain one main image and this shows that they also have kept consistency throughout the years. The images of both females are different. The 70s cover is just a head shot, this is probably to show the natural features, yet in the 2012 cover, it is a full body shot to show off her body. Like the modern Cosmopolitan, the actresses name is shown on the cover in a large font, to show who it is, but in the older one, you don’t know who the woman is. The colour scheme on the left is feminine because it is red, so shows it’s more of a female magazine. The magazine on the right could appeal to either gender because it’s in orange, although I think females are more likely to pick it up than males because of the content.

Similarities- The magazines are usually aimed at women 18-49.- The readers social class for these magazines would be middle to upper

class, but that doesn’t mean lower classes can’t read it.- Both of the magazines have their titles in the same position, at the top,

which is the typical layout for a magazine. It is also the first thing you look for so being at the top is a good position.

- They also all have an image of mainly females on the cover which takes up a lot of room. This acts as an inspirational figure for the readers.

- On the covers, they all have different captions scattered around the page about what will be included within the magazine.

- They usually all contain adverts and articles for clothes, shoes and makeup which is what females are interested in, so this will get them reading the magazines.

- There is bound to be an article featured in the magazine of the person on the cover.

- In the modern magazines, they both tend to have a subject based around sex.

Age- There are many different stories in both magazines which are targeted at

different age groups, although the average age of the readers is females in their early 30’s.

- When male articles are featured in the magazine, the ages of these men are usually between 20-40. This would get men interested in the magazine more because there a wide age range so they wouldn’t feel excluded.

- Some of the adverts in the magazine are promoting clothes, shoes and jewellery. This could appeal to any age because every woman likes that stuff, although it does depend on the prices of the products. An example would be that a pair of boots at £200 from Guess would more likely get readers over 25 interested because they are more likely to have a stable job and know what they can and can’t afford.

- In the January 2014 edition of Cosmopolitan, there is an article about becoming an Ann Summers party ambassador. This would probably be aimed at the females aged 18-25 because that is the age where you might start thinking about becoming a businesswoman and something like this might interest you because they are young.

- Both magazines also include adverts and articles about anti-aging skin products. This would probably be aimed at women 35+ because they would be more concerned about aging skin than women in their 20’s.

Gender- In Cosmopolitan, they include article about men, for men to read. This

gets men reading the magazine so that they can engage a wider audience to make more profit.

- In Glamour, there are a lot of fragrance adverts inside the magazine, which is promoting both male and female fragrances, so this may be trying to target males to read the magazine as well.

- The colours used throughout the magazines are usually pinks, yellows, reds and light blues. They also sometimes use pastel colours. This is attractive to females as they are feminine colours.

- When men are portrayed in a magazine, it is very often to do with sex or violence. Males are often portrayed as being abusive to a partner or family member or cheating. Men aren’t usually seen in a positive format in these magazines unless they are being an inspiration.

- The advertisements are very female orientated because they promote make-up, clothes, hair styles, shoes, etc. Females like to look their best, so by putting in these adverts, women are more likely to read these magazines.

- There are also interviews with the celebrity on the front cover. As they are usually women on the cover, females are more likely to pick the magazine up because of the image on the front. If there were a male celebrity on the front, perhaps more males are likely to read the magazine.

Positive Representation- There are always clothing and beauty tips for women and this would help

them to feel good about themselves when they use these tips.- Sometimes in the magazines, they have inspirational stories from women,

whether they have been heroic or being very ill. This will show women that they are strong characters, it also shows how some women can be just as capable as men at certain things which shows they can manage on their own.

Negative Representation- Both magazines discuss sex and relationships frequently about white and

heterosexual people, but lesbian and gay couples are rarely mentioned, so the magazine are portraying stereotypes and they focus on what is being the normal.

- They tend to feature models that are sizes 6 or 8 because they are seen to be the most attractive size. This would make plus sized women feel insecure because they may think that they will never look that beautiful.

- They sometimes recommend some ‘beauty tips’ such as implants, stomach stapling, Botox etc. The magazines should be trying to make women feel beautiful in their natural skin, not advising them to get surgery.

- Men are also stereotyped as some articles tend to send messages which affect the way readers view them as a group and are based on what they think all women are attracted to, which in itself discards gay and lesbian readers.