I have chosen to compare and analyse two front covers of highly popular British magazines, one aimed at the male market (Nuts) and one at the female (Cosmopolitan). I have chosen these two as they have both severe differences and similarities.
To start with, the title... 'Nuts', the word itself is a slang term for men's testicles, which is immediately recognisable, almost telling the buyer that only people who possess such 'nuts' can buy this magazine. The signifier is the title is written in bold, large writing, and in a very powerful red colour, placed on a white background to add emphasis. The signified is the red which connotes passion, sex and in a recent study, food. Examples such as the prominent red on both the KFC and McDonalds logos have been proved to make the viewer hungry, this, in my mind, denotes that the reader will get the things in this magazine (naked, beautiful women) when buying a hamburger, which is deceiving.
In comparison, 'Cosmopolitan' is depicted in a pale, insignificant yellow colour placed on a garish pink background. The pink has very feminine connotations, right from the beginning of life, pink is associated with girls (for example baby clothes... blue for boys and pink for girls). The brightness of it denotes power, a strong sense of feminism, the strength of the colour reflects directly on the strength of the women who read the magazine. The name itself connotes a worldly knowledge, again, the strength of women to get by in the city, both in general life and in the work place. A very strong sense of the equality, maybe even the superiority of women over men.
A clear similarity between the two are the subjects of the images on the covers. Again, signifiers, both women, wearing little. However there are also clear differences between the two. The woman on the front of 'Nuts' is doing very little to hide her dignity, standing in a pose which connotes sex and empowerment by men, pushing her breasts out in a way which signifies herself handing her assets to the man in question. In contrast, the woman on the front of ‘Cosmopolitan’, looking equally as beautiful, is shown looking wholesome and happy, a smile which connotes a sense of ease which clearly contrasts with the sexual look on the woman on the men’s magazine.
A feminist view on the front cover of ‘Nuts’ would be that it is degrading to the woman, empowering men, whereas the woman on the front of ‘Cosmopolitan’ is the complete opposite with the model oozing in confidence and feminine sexuality in a way which, in no way, degrades the model. In both instances, however, the women have undertaken a choice to appear on these magazines, knowing that millions would see the pictures, knowing the circumstances and connotations of each photograph.
Another signifier on the front of both magazines is the content, the highlights of both magazines placed on the cover to encourage the different markets to buy them. The words “Brunettes getting naked” on the front of ‘Nuts’ is written in upper case, clearly to get the man looking at the magazine to buy it and get sexual pleasure out of viewing said “naked brunettes”. The signifiers are all sexual, appealing to the almost perverted side of men. In the other case, the highlighted text on the cover of ‘Cosmopolitan’ says “Be a SEX Genius” again focusing on the sexual side of the person reading, but in a polar opposite way, a way of empowering a woman sexually, making her ‘better’ for herself and no-one else.
Both covers have very similar layouts, however very different messages. Women see the front cover and see a beautiful woman and tips which appear to make her look the way she does. However this is very deceiving, almost sending the message “if you buy this magazine, you will look like this”, when the cover-girl has clearly been photoshopped to an inch of her life to look like this. Similarly, the men who would buy ‘Nuts’ get the message “if you buy this magazine you can get a girl like this”, which, again is completely untrue, most men who read that kind of magazine would never achieve this. Both are misleading, but both work as pieces of graphic design to sell, appealing to the inner-most wantings of the separate markets.
