The photo(s) on the front cover of ‘select’ are trying to advertise Glastonbury as it looks like they are in the countryside and as there is a tent behind the people on the front cover. The middle person is wearing a mud protector, which shows that Glastonbury will be muddy. I say ‘photo(s)’, as computer has edited almost everything on the front cover as it is possible to see that they are not all in the same place, and are not in the countryside. They are different photos taken at different times in different places but put on to the front cover because of a computer.
Gendered
The image of ‘Smash Hits’ carries certain meanings or messages about how we think differently about males and females and how they are represented. ‘Smash Hits’ assumes the readers are female. The central image of the image is ‘Lisa’, but the whole of ‘Steps’ are looking directly at the camera. Primary colours are used to make the image brighter by the white background. Different styles of writing are emphasised by the different use of colour.
Target Audience
‘Smash Hits’ is aimed at the younger generation, mainly 12-year-old girls. This can be shown as the front cover involves the types of bands that this age group are interested in such as Steps, Westlife and ‘N Sync. This is because these bands are well known and many youngsters adore them. This can also be shown in Lisa, one of the members of ‘Steps’. This is because the reader’s representative of Lisa is that she is an innocent, ordinary, girl-next-time type of woman.
‘Select’ on the other hand is aimed at the middle-aged group, around 20 – 35 years old. This can be shown as not many youngsters know about ‘Glastonbury’ and the bands and artists mentioned on the front cover. These include bands such as The Chemical Brothers, Travis, Moloko and Fatboy Slim.
Writing and Language
The language on ‘Smash Hits’ is slightly childish but it contains alliteration and assonance phrases such as ‘Best of British’ and ‘Non-stop Pop’. It is also simple to read due to the target audience that it is aimed at, and because all of the writing is in large bold lettering. The font of the title is bold to catch the reader’s eye automatically with extra information down the sides of the front cover. The title also has a coloured background, which is another thing that helps catch the reader’s eye. It also includes a double entendre – ‘in the sack’. Most of the writing down the side is in ‘slang’ as this is what most youngsters talk in so they can relate to what the author is saying. At the top, it is referring to Kellogg’s Frosties as it is saying “TEN GRRRREAT POSTERS & SONGWORDS CARDS!” This is another thing that youngster can relate to as most children like to eat Frosties.
The language on ‘Select’ is extremely different to ‘Smash Hits’ as it is more adult oriented. It has writing that adults would understand and not children, as the front cover revolves around ‘Glastonbury’. The font of the title is not in capitals like ‘Smash Hits’, but is in-fact in normal font, but is enlarged to an extremely large size. This to is to attract the attention of the reader. The type of font used for some of the writing suits the audience that the magazine is aimed at due to the fact that it is in hand-written text which youngster would not find attractive on the front cover on a magazine. The phrase ‘An everyday story of simple country folk…’ is the connotation of the picture shown on the front cover. This type of magazine uses words such as ‘enlightening’ and ‘conversations’ as this is the type of language that the more mature generation would understand. Most of the writing is in capitals but is in a sensible font as it is not too immature for the audience.
Music Representation
The music represented in ‘Smash Hits’ is mainly chart and mainstream music. It has individuals from group’s song as a social gathering rather than the expression of the individual. This is whereas ‘select’ represents a variety of musicians from as DJ’s and dance musicians, to heavy metal. It is also representing ‘Glastonbury’ which involves a great deal of different musicians such as DJ’s, heavy metal, dance, indie and other types of music.
Layout
The layout of ‘Smash Hits’ and ‘select’ are similar as most of the pictures are in the background and the writing in the foreground. ‘Select’ looks more 3D as there are some pictures covering the writing and some writing covering the pictures. Both front covers have extra information about the inside of the magazine down one of the sides. The title is labelled at the top of both front covers with some sort of additional phrase following the title.