Secondly I am going to look at the next thing you would see after the title, the models. Both models on “Cosmopolitan” and “Cosmogirl” are female because the audience is female and want a magazine that can tell them how to look and act and the models are examples. They are around the expected age of the readers and are maybe what the magazines editors’ picture as their ideal reader. They reflect what the magazine stands for and the position of that age group at the time. For example, a magazine aimed at eleven to twelve year olds would have a younger model on the cover and it would be girlier than a magazine aimed at teenagers aged fifteen to seventeen.
In the case of my magazines the cover girls are very attractive but in different ways. The model for “Cosmopolitan” is aged around twenty whereas the model for “Cosmogirl” is about 16. This obviously makes them look different, but their style and pose also set them apart from each other.
The cover model for “Cosmopolitan” gives the impression of a strong, independent woman but without lacking in femininity. Her clothes are reasonably revealing but not in a pornographic way and her hair and makeup are well styled and glamorous. She portrays the image of the magazine well and women might aspire too be like her and buy the magazine to find out how to be.
On the other hand, the model for “Cosmogirl” is also good at promoting the type of magazine she is on. Compared to the “Cosmopolitan” model she is very relaxed and natural. Her clothes are what every day teenagers might wear and her hair and makeup are also very natural. She looks friendly and inviting so people will be attracted to her and the magazine. It is a much more casual approach than “Cosmopolitan” and I think that is what “Cosmogirl” wanted to achieve.
I think that both models do their job well and have the right image for their magazines. It would look out of place if there were an older woman on the front of a teenager’s magazine and vice versa. Also it wouldn’t promote the magazine very well. I think they used models on their covers rather than celebrities so that they could attract a wider audience. For example if they put “Gareth Gates” or another recent popstar on the cover, someone who had never read the magazine before who didn’t like that popstar, wouldn’t buy the magazine.
The language on both covers consists of puns, double meanings and slogans to attract readers such as:
“Confessions of the bitch and famous”
“Keep him coming”
“Catch him out before you catch him at it.”
The tag lines are aimed directly at the reader and use words like:
“Your” and “my”.
The tag lines also suggest that this magazine can solve your problems. Some say things like:
“17 ways to make love last”
“Cosmo comes to your emotional rescue”
“Quick fix-it hair advice”
This would appeal to all the people who wanted to improve their lives and make themselves more socially acceptable. The language on “Cosmopolitan” is more mature and explicit than the language on “Cosmogirl”. On “Cosmogirl” they use words like
“Fab”
“Snog”
whereas “Cosmopolitan” uses mostly full words and sentences. Not as much slang is used.
Some of the contents in the magazines are similar, such as fashion and beauty, though the products differ to suit different price ranges. In “Cosmogirl” there are more articles on gossip, music and advice whereas “Cosmopolitan” has more pages devoted to sex, fashion and real life shock stories. I think this is because these are topics that are interesting to the relevant age groups of the readers. “Cosmopolitan” has three hundred and six pages compared to “Cosmogirls” one hundred and twenty. I think this is because adults generally have a wider attention span than teenagers do.
I am going to look at two articles, one from each magazine and compare them. From “Cosmogirl” I chose an article called
“The friendship jigsaw”
And an article called
“Look into my eyes, the drinks are on me”
From “Cosmopolitan”.
I am going to look at the article in Cosmopolitan first. It is basically about a man that can hypnotize you to make you think that you are drunk. To begin with the article wouldn’t be suitable for a magazine like “Cosmogirl” because its about alcohol and it is illegal to consume or purchase alcohol under the age of eighteen. This is older than “Cosmogirls” target audience.
The article itself is written in an informal style and is addressing the reader personally. Rhetorical questions are used, for example,
“Sounds too good to be true right?”
The first page of this article is mainly taken up with a large picture of the hypnotist holding a cocktail and a watch. It’s well placed because it breaks up the text and when you’re flicking through the magazine, the picture catches your eye so you stop to read the article. The article talks about the method being
“New” and
“Revolutionary”.
This gives the impression that “Cosmopolitan” is up to date and “with it”. I think this article was included because alcohol is a subject that interests many young adults and I think it is also to promote a healthier lifestyle, an alternative to alcohol. I like the amount of detail they go into and the article isn’t too long so it holds your attention.
The article I chose out of “Cosmogirl”;
“The friendship jigsaw” is about
“Identifying the six special types (of friends) you should know”
To someone older, this concept could seem a little bit shallow, but friendship is something that is a very real issue for teenagers.
The title, with a picture, takes up a whole page. This attracts the reader’s attention, along with the bright red background. There are a lot of youthanisms used throughout the piece such as
“Snog” and
“Crush.”
There are also some specialty phrases used such as
“Inferiority complex”
Which makes the article sound professional and as if the writer knows what they are talking about. This makes the readers trust the authors’ integrity.
The text is broken up into sections to make it easier to read and concentrate on. It has outtakes in bold, which make you focus on the piece to find out what the quotes are talking about, they entice you in. The magazine uses celebrity experiences as well to make the article even more interesting because celebrities always fascinate people.
I think the articles I chose were relevant to their audiences but not to each other’s.
So far I have discovered major differences in the content of my magazines. Another difference is the amount of adverts in each. There were one hundred and thirty five pages of adverts in “Cosmopolitan” compared to only twenty-one pages on “Cosmogirl.”
I am going to look at one advert from each magazine in detail to see if they are different and what different products are advertised to each age group. I think that there will be more stylish, smart, expensive adverts in “Cosmopolitan” than in “Cosmogirl” because that appeals to an older audience whereas teenagers have less money to spend and are therefore looking for cheaper alternatives. The advert I chose from “Cosmogirl” is for picture messages and ring tones for mobile phones. This is aimed at teenagers because mobiles are fashion accessories and a lot of teenagers have them. The idea of having a pop-song as your ring tone would appeal to a younger audience and the advert uses bright colours to attract them.
The advert I chose from “Cosmopolitan” is advertising wine. This would definitely only be placed in and adult magazine because only adults are legally allowed to buy alcohol. The woman in the article looks like she is having fun so this would lead the reader to associate fun with the product. The woman also looks like she’s in a fantasy, maybe this is meant to be associated to being drunk.
I have looked at both my magazines in detail and found out their similarities and differences. Both magazines seem to know what their target audience wants and cater for the very well.
I think that “Cosmopolitan” is much more suitable for older women because some of the content wouldn’t be suitable and probably wouldn’t interest younger readers because they don’t have the same experiences as older people. It’s concentrated on improving your life so you can be a “better person” which wouldn’t be good for younger readers because it’s important to fit in as a teenager and they need reassurance that they are O.K people as they are. There is also alot a lot of emphasis on fashion and expensive products cleverly incorporated into it so you don’t notice.
“Cosmogirl” is a typical teenage magazine. It focuses on reassurance, advice and information. This is what teenagers need and I think that most of the content is helpful, though some is a bit shallow. The magazine is also used to market products but it plays on the need for teenagers to fit in. The people who own the magazine are very careful to put in things from the high street that mirror catwalk designs to make teenagers feel more sophisticated and also to give them a credible reputation.
Overall I think the magazines are suitable for the age rangers at which they are targeted. There are similarities in layouts and article/feature ideas but they are tailored to suit their own age groups.
