This is my first analysis of a front cover in the pop genre.

1. The masthead says ‘Top of the Pops’ which
immediately shows the genre of music that the
magazine will be writing about and focusing on. It
also suggests that the magazine will only present
the most popular artists. The font is in pink which
will attract the young female audience to buying the
magazine and will reflect the fun and bubbly
personality or the brand identity of the magazine; it
also has a white bubble around the magazine
name, highlighting the importance of it, and
catching the attention of the buyers. The font is
extremely feminine and bubbly, which suggests that
the magazine is aimed at a younger audience. The
way the ‘S’ has been written in the title is a fun and
different way than usual, and that reflects the genre
of pop.
The main image is of Justin Bieber; a very famous
and very successful artist in the pop industry. The
main image is usually of the artist who the main
article in the magazine is going to be about, so a
convention is being followed here. He is
represented as being young and innocent, which
is relatable to the target audience, and the pop
genre as a whole. He is pointing at the camera
which, when combined with him making eye
contact at the audience, shows direct address to
the audience, making them want to buy it and
making them feel they are being appealed to
personally by Bieber. The mise-en-scene consists
of a lot of purple, pink, yellow and white which are
youthful, feminine colours which attracts the right
target audience and shows the genre of the
magazine immediately. The main image sticks to
conventions of pop magazines, as he is smiling
and ‘welcoming’ the young audience to the
magazine.
Feature article photographs include Taylor Lautner, a
famous actor; he is in movies like ‘twilight’ which
younger teenagers may be interested in, and would
attract them to the magazine. The female target
audience may even have a ‘crush’ on Lautner, which
will also draw them to the cover, especially as he
smiles so pleasantly at the audience and the feature
article is accompanied by the text ‘Could you be
Taylor’s girl?’ Frankie from the Saturdays and Diana
Vickers, along with JLS also feature on the front cover,
showing the magazine will include a variety of artists
within the pop industry. It also adds more visual
information about whose going to be featured in the
magazine, rather than having all text which would bore
the younger audience, and it is not appealing to look at.
‘Dying for a tan?’ is a rhetorical question that would attract the audience and draw them in,
and uses emotive words like ‘dying’ and ‘shocking’ to make them feel like they need to
know the ‘truth about sunbathing’, as the sell-line says. It’s written in white over a dark blue
box so it stands out from other sell-lines and shows the content of the magazine. It is also
in the left hand third so it attracts the eye straight away. However, the sell-line is placed in a
fairly inconspicuous area of the left hand third and is quite small, which could suggest that
covering serious content is not a priority of the mag; TOTP is all about fun!

2. The main sell line is about Justin Bieber who is
the cover model, and gives an insight of what’s
going to be inside the magazine. The bright
colours used makes it recognisable, and it’s in
the left hand third so the audience’s eye goes
directly to it. A quote from the article in the
magazine is used saying ‘wanna see my
bedroom?’ which immediately interests the
audience, as the audience will love the idea of
having private access to a secret place like
Bieber’s bedroom, especially if they ‘fancy’ him..
It also says ‘Private pics!’ which gives the idea
that it’s an exclusive secret that only they will get
to see it, making the reader feel special, and
making them buy the magazine so they can
know all the ‘secrets’.
The puff is giving readers of the magazine a
chance to win tickets to meet JLS; a popular
boy band. This would interest audience, and
make them want to purchase the magazine in
order to win this prize. The puff has been
placed in the left hand third so it catches the
readership’s eye. ‘Win!’ is written in a larger
font, and the exclamation mark emphasises
the importance of the puff and generates a
sense of excitement. The circle itself is purple,
fitting in with the colours of the magazine, and
the yellow font saying ‘MEET JLS!’ is
capitalised so it stands out and almost makes
the audience feel that this could be possible,
that it’s guaranteed to happen.
Taylor Lautner is a famous actor taking on
roles in films which would be watched by
young teenagers. The rhetorical question,
‘Could you be Taylor’s girl?’ will excite the
audience, and make them feel like if they
buy the magazine, they could have a
chance with a good looking celebrity. As this
is accompanied by the words ‘Find out
inside’, it makes the audience feel like the
magazine can provide the secrets to dating
a pop star. Direct address is used when
saying ‘you’ which makes the consumers
feel special, and like they should buy the
magazine. Pink and White are used which
link to the other youthful colours on the ‘top
of the pops’ magazine. This also shows that
it is for a younger audience, as older woman
wouldn’t really be interested in such a ‘fluffy’
colour scheme. An image of him looking
handsome is also used to show it more
visually and to attract the audience.
‘BOYS!’ is used in capital letters and with an exclamation mark to make it grab attention and
attract the audience. Young girls are usually interested in attractive boys, so this sell-line entices
people and makes them want to buy the magazine. It suggests that the magazine will tell you
‘what boys really think about’, which would help girls to understand them and ‘get’ their dream
guy. The pink font shows the magazine’s continuity in its use of a feminine colour scheme.

3. Another sell-line is ‘LOVE YOUR SUMMER!’.
Summer is when children get time off school
to enjoy the weather and spend time with
their friends and family; this magazine
mentions this happy time of year and tells
readers how they can make their summer the
best. This would interest young girls and
make them want to buy the magazine. ‘Your’,
another example of direct address, is used,
making it personal so the reader feels like it is
specifically addressed to them. The writing is
white which is a youthful colour, and pictures
of celebrities make it more visual and it
suggests they will be giving tips on how to
make summer great. The readership will love
the idea of doing exactly what the celebs do
in order to make their summer fabulous
An image of Cheryl Cole is placed
alongside images of clothes, shoes and
makeup; girls are interested in this as they
want to make themselves look good.
Cheryl Cole is famous, and always looks
glamorous – the sell-line suggests that
readers too can be like Cheryl, and see
how she looks so good, so they can look
good as well. It also uses the word
‘bargain’ which would interest anyone,
especially young girls who don’t have
money from work, and are dependant on
their parents. The audience’s eye is also
drawn to the sell-line through the mode of
address; ‘OMG’ is an expression they
themselves would use.
The barcode, price and date of the magazine
are placed at the bottom, and are small in
size. This is so it does not attract the
readership’s eye, as it’s not important in
selling the magazine. £2.99 is the price of the
magazine; this is reasonable because young
girls rely on parents giving them pocket
money to spend on these magazines. By the
time the readership see the price, of course,
they will already have been persuaded to buy
the magazine by the content on the cover.
At the top of the magazine is more
information about the celebrities that will
feature in the magazine. Jedward are well
known for their big and fun hairstyles, and
the magazine attempts at using humour
when saying ‘it’s hair raising’, which could
make the audience smile, warming them
to the magazine and its cover.
A pink and white spiral pattern is also
placed at the top which reflects the fun
style and brand identity of the magazine,
and attracts the audience’s eye to the
magazine.

4. The main colours used on ‘top of the
pops’ are purple, pink, yellow and white.
This reflects the target audience; pink
and purple are very feminine colours,
while white represents innocence. The
fact that these colours are used across
all ‘top of the pops’ issues consistently
reflects the magazine’s brand identity
and encourages the readership to see
the magazine from afar, recognise the
colours and know that it is ‘top of the
pops’. The colours are also bright,
happy colours, and this strongly
indicates the pop genre. A clear
message is also communicated that this
magazine will be fun and vibrant.
The fonts used are bold and so they
grab attention. The title of the magazine
has a swirl-effect font which shows that
the magazine is aimed at young
females, and reflects the pop genre as
being fun, different and party-like. These
types of fonts are used on most issues
of ‘top of the pops’, maintaining brand
identity. Mode of address is also
featured on this magazine, with words
like ‘Wanna’ ‘omg’ ‘pics’ etc., as these
are words that relate to the young target
audience.
This front cover is effective because of
the bright colours and the visuals which
make it draw the eye of the audience in
shops, and won’t bore them with
excessive amounts of text on the cover.
Famous artists being on the front cover is
effective because they have big fan
bases, meaning that fans of that artist will
buy the magazine.
I think that this magazine is successful in
drawing in the correct target audience
because of these factors. I chose to look
at this magazine because it is similar to
how I want my magazine to be with lots
of visuals and bright colours.
The layout of the front cover is the same in
every issue, and this helps to maintain
brand identity. Key sell-lines being placed in
the left hand third is good because it will
attract people to the magazine immediately,
and having images on the right hand side
gives an insight into what’ll be in the
magazine, and makes it more visually
attractive to look at. The price being small at
the bottom is good because it’s not what the
audience see first, and won’t put them off
buying the magazine.