Dominant Image

Unlike most magazines this one has three unconnected people as part of the dominant image. The way that the three boys are set out is significant in terms of fame and importance: Niall Horan (at the forefront of the three boys) is from One Direction – the most popular boyband in the world; Justin Bieber is a very popular singer – particularly popular among teenage girls; And George Shelley is from Union J – a popular British boyband, best known for being contestants in the X-Factor and a brief cameo in Kick-Ass 2 (they are marginally less successful than One Direction, hence him being at the back of the dominant image). All of the boys are making eye-contact with the audience, forming a direct mode of address with them, making them more likely to pick up and buy the magazine. The fact that part of the dominant image (Niall) is above the masthead shows that they are more important and bigger than the magazine ever could be. All three boys are smiling showing that whilst the fact that they are bigger than the magazine they are more than happy to be featured in it because they care about their fans.

Colour Scheme

The colour scheme of this magazine is white, yellow and red with accents of black. The yellow connotes happiness, sunshine and cheerfulness – this means that when the audience looks at the magazine they will feel happy and positive and will therefore want to buy it. The white connotes purity and cleanliness – this signifies that this magazine is safe for tween girls to read and it will be clean from any bad language or triggering themes. The red connotes romance and love – this is enforced by the attractive boys as the dominant image, that the target audience will probably fancy. The accents of black make the magazine slightly more grown up and will make the target audience feel more mature.

Main Sell Line

The main sell line, “Single and ready for Snogs!” grabs the audience attention as it will make the target audience feel as though they have a chance with the three boys on the dominant image. In reality that will never happen as they are about 20 and the target audience is around 11-13. The use of colour and typography greatly effect the impact that the main sell line has on the audience. The fact that the words ‘single’ and ‘snogs’ are written in all caps and are in a bolder font than the rest of the main sell line make them stand out more and they will be the words that grab the audiences attention rather than the whole sell line. The fact that it is on a yellow square over the dominant image makes it stand out a whole lot more.

Subhead

The subhead is directly under the main sell line in a yellow circle, to make it stand out. The two fonts used are the same as the two fonts used for the main sell line. However, the colour of the font for the bolder one has changed from white to black, perhaps to establish a difference from the main sell line and the subhead. The subhead has the names of the boys in the dominant image in it to make it explicitly clear that they are the main focus of the magazine.

Sub Images

There are not too many sub images on this front cover, unlike other pop music magazines. There are only three sub images of people: one of Richard Wisker, one of Jessie J and one of Aston Merrygold. The other sub images are of clothes items and accessories. Each of the sub images of people have a coloured border that helps them stand out against the dominant image/background. The image of Richard Wisker is forming a direct mode of address with the audience as he is holding up a sign saying “kiss me”. A similar thing is happening with the sub image of Jessie J as there is a speech bubble next to her saying “is it hair to stay?”, this is asked to the audience even though it is obviously a rhetorical question.

Sell Lines

Some sell lines are linked to the sub images - like the sell line “Richard Wisker has something to ask you”, this is a direct mode of address as it is in the second person and is a direct question to the audience. The sell line net to the sub image of Aston Merrygold just draws attention to the fact that it is him saying “Fit Aston poster”. The other sell lines are written in alternating colours so that they will attract the audience’s attention and to stand out from each other. There are three other sell lines, with the one in the middle being written on a yellow rectangle. The final other sell line is linked to the pictures of accessories, drawing attention to the fact that this magazine is an accessory special.

Essential Information

The essential information for this magazine is placed in the bottom right-hand corner of the front cover. It contains the price, the barcode, the date the magazine is available from to when it is not longer available, the issue number, the web address, cautionary information and the magazine company it is produced by. This information is essential as: you need the barcode to actually be able to purchase the magazine so that it can be scanned by the cashier; and you need to be able to know the price to know if you can afford it; you need the date to know if the magazine is still in date; the issue number is there for people who collect the magazine so that they will know if they’ve missed an issue; the web address is essential as you may want to visit the website to find out more information or to subscribe to the magazine; and the cautionary information is there for legal reasons and to keep the readers safe.

Cover Line

The inclusion of a quiz as a cover line will attract the target audience as it makes the magazine more interactive for them. Girls aged 11-13 tend to enjoy quizzes and will look for quizzes to complete in the magazine. This is, also, in one of the pugs of the magazine.

Masthead

The masthead of this magazine is “We Love Pop” and is actually a logo rather than a generic masthead. The fact that the masthead is in a speech bubble implies that this is something that the target audience would say – making it more relatable to the target audience. The ‘love’ is actually a heart which is something that tween girls might do when writing – once again making it more relatable.