Magazine Analysis

COLOUR: The colours are mostly dull greys/blacks in order to contrast the image of the colourful Captain America dressed in red, white and blue. It’s also there to connote the seriousness of the film they’re advertising, which is a lot more serious and gritty than the first Captain America. Another notable colour is the colour of the font, which is white and red also. This is to help the brand stand out so you know what it is you’re buying and to advertise other elements within the magazine.  Red also connotes danger, which fits the action genre of Captain America: the winter soldier.

FONT: The font is mainly san serif in order to make it more appealing to the general market of the superhero fandom, whom which may not be into classy material and more iconic characters. With this in mind, san serif font is used to make everything stand out, very in your face like an explosion.

IMAGERY: There is only one main image and that image is a medium shot of the star of the movie. Chris Evans looks very serious, which fits the thriller/action genre of the film and appeals to the main demographic, as nowadays; people like seeing light hearted, colourful characters get dark and serious makeovers. The image is also in front of the title, covering the majority of an entire letter. This signifies how the film they’re talking about is the main focus. It could also be because the brand is so well known that you won’t need to see the whole title to know what the brand is. The strapline for the main image is more to the right in relation to the main image, as the audience will notice the magazine more, when they see a giant image of their favourite hero as oppose to a title of that hero.

COVERLINE: The main coverline is simply the title of the movie they’re promoting, followed by “on set for the second coming of the first avenger”. The simple beginning of the film title clearly implies what the magazine is about along with the main image. The second half is not only a clever pun on the movie that fans will get but it also implies that the magazine will show some behind the scenes information. This helps sell the magazine as the general movie going public want to know as much as possible about their new favourite movie and it represents the magazine as well as the movie (despite it’s dark undertones) as being quick witted and fun. This draws in an audience as the reader most likely wants to read something that’s fun.

MASTHEAD: Empire implies largeness, that it is the biggest and greatest magazine ever! This helps sell the magazine as it appears to be more epic than other competitors.

PUFF: Above the title is a puff and a pug, advertising a special event, the 25^th anniversary of Empire magazine. This can help sell the magazine for anyone who’s an avid reader of Empire.  Other puff includes a sticker saying “SCARFACE SPECIAL”, which, like the 25^th anniversary puff, signifies how unique and special this magazine is, ranking in the numbers.

INSTITUTIONAL INFO: The bar code is small and to the side as people don’t want a bar code right in the middle of the cover. The black and white colour makes it blend in with the white font, making it less noticeable and more part of the magazine. It’s something you don’t notice if you don’t look for it.