- Sport magazines/fitness: Fitness mag/Running life
- Fashion/lifestyle: Vogue/Glamour
- Teen/girl: Go girl
- Holiday/Moving: Holiday mag/ British airways mag
- Music: Kerrang!/ Rocksound
- Gaming: PC Gamer
There are a variety of language techniques used on the cover and throughout the magazine to attract a specific audience, and to offer a set voice:
- Mode of Address: The way in which the media 'speaks to the audience'
- Alliteration: A literary device that is identified by repeated sounds in a series of words.
- Rule of three: Suggests that things that come as a three are more satisfying to read.
- Colloquial Language: Informal Language (SLANG)
- Emotive Language: Used to have greater emotional impact. Positive or negative mood.
- Monosyllabic: One syllable words. Sharp and snappy.
- Personal Pronouns: A set that shows contrasts of persons, gender, number and case.
- Abbreviation: A shortened word of phrase. Group of letters taken from word or phrase.
- Rhetorical Questions: A question asked with no intention/obvious answer.
- Exclamation Mark:Used to display urgent or strong feeling.
- Repetition: Phrases/words/ideas repeated to emphasise it.
- Rhyme: Words with similar sounding endings. Used at end of sentence or in sentence.
The magazine aside above shows examples of all the language techniques in order to attract it's audience. Judging by the colour scheme of pink and black, the female cover model and what the magazine has to offer, i would assume that it is aimed mostly at a female audience. 'Look' magazine uses directness and first person, as well as personal pronouns such as 'my life' and 'are you a..?' to seem more as one with it's audience, as though having a chat with a friend.
A lot of abbreviation, colloquial language and rhyme is used to bring informality in a more fun and attractive way. For example, instead of saying it's 'Little Black Dress' season, it is both quicker and more appealing to use 'LBD', as it's a frequently used piece of female slang. Also, colloquial language is used in rhymes, for example 'frock drop' and 'rinsta or a finsta?' to make the pleasure of reading more interesting and to create snappy sayings which can be recognised form the magazine. These both increase popularity, as young audiences are commonly attracted to a voice they can relate to, which Look offers.
However, the use of rhetorical questions, the main story of Ellie Gouldings 'health scare' and other lifestyle stories may attract a younger female audience, as they would be interested in those aspects. For example, 'sun damage: can you really reverse it' might also appeal to a sun worshipper of any age, and 'are you a rinsta...' could also interest a more mature audience, as they may want to update themselves on modern slang and situations.
Although it is not a language device, Look have also offered a free voucher, which might encourage a bargain hunter to purchase the magazine. Also, the magazine itself isn't overly expensive considering the content, meaning it's available for all.
Overall, Look magazine have nailed this particular cover, as it uses every language device effectively to attract a variety of female audiences.
The front cover aside is from Kerrang! magazine, which is a more gender shared read. This magazine focuses mainly on music and the lives of bands and band members, as well as offering free weekly posters and chances to win items and tickets.
The mode of address for Kerrang! is very much informal, with the editors making it similar to Look in the sense that it's like talking to a friend. Exclamation and a famous cover star are used to first attract an audience, with 'Clown' from band Slipknot explaining his experience of creating an album using hyperbole.
The offering of free posters and the chance to win 'Motörhead' wine would draw in someone with a collective nature, such as myself, who wants cover their wall in posters/ have cool nick-nacks of their favourite band.
The rule of three is also used when advertising a 'world exclusive' of the bands shown in a circle in the top left hand corner. This is used again as abbreviation and rule of three where 'AAA' is shown mid right of the cover. Abbreviation which could only be understood by someone interested in the genres Kerrang! cover is used when presenting '30STM' cookies. This stands for 30 Seconds to Mars, an alternative band fronted by Jared Leto.
Overall, Kerrang! is very much a music gossip magazine and informative look into what's going on in the rock world. It can appeal to everyone in the particular genre, even if they have no interest in the main story, as it contains so many other reads, gig lists, merchandise pages and free posters, as shown by the front cover.
Personally, i've been buying Kerrang! on and off since 2011, and not yet have i been disappointed.
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