Media Practice Test- Front cover of ‘Macworld’ magazine

The purpose of the front cover of the ‘Macworld’ magazine is to persuade is audience to buy the magazine.

To appeal and persuade its target audience, Mac users, to buy the magazine, the front cover uses advertising techniques. One technique used is having flattering words such as ‘exclusive’, which is in capitals and positioned in the top left hand corner of the front cover. The word ‘exclusive’ sends the message to the audience that this magazine is unique and that on one else as the same things as they have. Also words such as ‘exclusive’ are usually seen in gossip magazines such as ‘ok’ or ‘Heat’. The word ‘exclusive’ acts as a unique selling point for the magazine. Alongside the word ‘exclusive’ is a question asking the audience ‘how reliable is your Mac?’ By asking this question, it makes the audience think, in turn making them buy the magazine to order to find out. The masthead is in large bold black font against a white background making the magazine stand out against the others and attracting its audience. In addition, the word ‘Experts’ in the line ‘the Mac Experts’, positioned below the letter ‘D’ of the title, sends the message to the audience that the advice given in the magazine is good advice and reliable as its provided by ‘experts’.

The front cover also gives the onlooker an insight into what the magazine has inside. From the front cover, it shows that the magazine has advice and tips on products involving technology. As technology is advancing within society many new products and gadgets are released on a regular basis. When it comes to buying a product or how to use a product people are always looking for advice on what the best products to buy and what new interesting features the product has. The image of the apple is a logo for the technology brand ‘Apple’. Apple is a large technology company, well know for its iPods, and are rivals of Microsoft. The word ‘TV’ alongside the ‘Apple’ logo indicates that ‘Apple TV’ is available in stores. The large image of an ‘Apple TV’ further reinforces this. Furthermore, by having a glossy cover, the magazine is made to look more professional and sophisticated, whilst the ‘Apple TV’ is made to look attractive and flash. The cover bullets down ‘Everything you need to know’ about the ‘Apple TV’. By using bullet points, it breaks down the information into short and simple points which is persuasive to the onlooker, whereas a longer piece of text would put a person off. In addition, the onlooker will only look at the cover quickly, so by bulleting the points, the magazine can get its point across quickly.

‘7 spam killers’ is positioned in large, bold font at the bottom left hand side of the cover. ‘Spam’ is another term for junk mail. It is always something many people complain about as it clogs up your e-mail space. By emphasising the number ‘7’ it shows the audience that the magazine has more than one solution to solving the problem. In addition, the word ‘Killer’ illustrates that they are solutions which will stop spam completely.

Print magazines are a dying form of media. The arrival of the internet has seen the decline of print texts. Recently, in September 2007, the ‘TV Hits’ magazine went web only as the magazine company realised that they would be more successful if they were to use the internet. Magazines are also using the internet as a way of expanding there brand, so many magazines now have their website on the front cover such as Macworld’ magazine, which has a website under the title. The website has also been made to stand out by having a large font. Also the internet has become successful as it is easily accessible and its information is always up to date immediately, whereas for example, newspapers cannot discuss ‘the news on the day’ until the next day, although now newspapers also have websites. This also reflects how society is fast as we want to find out the latest news immediately.

To conclude, the ‘Macworld’ magazine uses advertising techniques on the front cover to attract its audience. The magazine is also informing, educating and advising its audience about the latest technology such as the ‘Apple TV’. In addition, the use if a white background also sends the message to the audience that the magazine is simple, easy and plain to understand.