Bliss magazine… Doesn’t the name say it all? Ecstasy, heaven, paradise, enjoyment, rapture, happiness, delight, harmony and glee, is this what Bliss magazine really is or is there something deeper to it? The baby gloss magazine sells at least 400 000 magazines a month and goes up by 21% period on period, it has 523 000 readers, so what makes it attract such a huge audience? What is so special about this magazine? Bliss magazine is read by juvenile, vulnerable girls as young as eleven or twelve years old. The magazine, however says its `typical reader` is seventeen years old.
This shows that the magazine is not aware that what they are publishing is attracting the younger girls rather than the targeted readers. The magazine is bursting with advertisements, the adverts are all about beauty, make up and boys. The magazine is quite costly for what is it, there are so many adverts and most of the other articles are also very closely linked with selling beauty products. A third of the pages are devoted solely to advertisements. It costs £1. 75 each month, which is quite a fee for a young girl to be paying each month, not everyone will be able to afford it.
The magazine is jam-packed with explicit type articles which are bound to corrupt the young, vulnerable minds of the readers. Bliss has 194 pages, this seems a large amount, but once the adverts have been removed, there isn’t much left to the magazine. Rachel Stevens is shown on the front cover of the magazine, she is a popular celebrity in the media spotlight and most girls have her as their icon. Just by having a famous face on the cover of a magazine attracts readers to come and buy the magazine, this gives the magazine authority. On the cover it reads ` How to be beautiful like Rachel Stevens.
Puurrrr! ` This is in now way subtle, it says in a very clear cut way that if you read this magazine, you can be just like Rachel Stevens, this will create a centre of attention for those with inferiority complex which is common in young girls, as they are growing up. The magazine cover is predominantly fluorescent pink and yellow, these are very `girly` colours and would surely catch the eyes of thirteen to fourteen year olds. The colour pink has always been quite sexy and this will make young girls who are discovering new things want to buy it, they will find it appealing. 354 ways to look like a sex kitten` – The words SEX KITTEN are in big bold pink letters, the word sex catches the eye of everyone, more so of the infantile girls who are not very knowledgeable about sex. The number `354` strikes out at you, it is a large number and seems to be quite random, not having any significance, it also implies that you can spend a lot of money on this, it is worth it as there are so many ways to look good. Although it says `354` ways to look good, it is not entirely true, there are 354 adverts. 20 things that turn boys on` this will beyond doubt grasp the minds of youthful girls who seek ways to feel older.
At the age of twelve or thirteen girls are beginning to find out more about boys. The name of the magazine itself `bliss` is just asking to be read. Bliss – the best feeling in the world, this is also what people say drugs do to you. The price is written on the top corner of the page, the word `only` make you think that it is worth more than £1. 75. The headline `my mums a porn star! ` Is meant to be serious, but it is written in a very childish form and could be seen as offensive. The girl who grew a willy at 17`, the word `willy` is not very appropriate, but again this is the sort of thing that will catch the eyes of an immature thirteen year old who will find this incredibly funny, or something to talk about, she will feel naughty. The caption `fancy girls? Don’t worry! ` Is written quite negatively, as anyone reading the magazine who does fancy girls may feel uncomfortable after reading this. When is says `don’t worry`, the girls who may not be worrying may think that they should be worrying.
The magazine is glossy meaning that it wants to appear controversial and provokes puerile girls to read it because is makes them think it something bad and your mum wouldn’t approve of it so thy feel daring, hyperbole. After looking at the cover closely, I find that is it a successful cover for the targeted readers – 12-14 year olds, but not very successful for girls older than this because the nature of most of the captions on the cover are to do with sex in an immature way which would drive the older girls away.
There is an entire section devoted to Rachel Stevens and how to be just like her, it is a full guide to being her. I think that this is stripping young girls of their individuality and style, if everyone who read this magazine and followed it, then we would be left with no eccentricity, or uniqueness. The truth is that young girls of today will believe and follow everything they read. The article has a very informal tone, so that the girls reading it can relate to the article which will make them relate to it more. The one who maybe looks a bit minging without make up`. The informal tone seeks to create a lively and vibrant relationship between the reader and the writer. The writers at Bliss want to get rid of any distances between the readers. The writers wish to appear friendly and want to be like friends of the readers. Colloquial language is used throughout the magazine, but especially in this article. `Gutted. ` And `somewhere dead glam I hope` There is also a lot of use of direct address to the reader, this creates a sense of intimacy with the reader.
You can too if you pick up these stylish essentials from the high street. ` There is also use of hyperbole and exaggeration, `the gorgeous Rachel Stevens always looks super-sexy` this is so over the top that it is unbelievable, but the readers do not notice this, as they have already been brainwashed from reading the rest of the magazine beforehand, and they are now obviously used to this type of writing. There is also humour which may wander to the edge of good taste. `life’s not black and white, but Rachel’ gorge top sure is! this seems to me, as a stupid way of describing a top, but this again will not be noticed by the readers, who will find it cool, and will go and buy the top, just because Rachel Stevens is wearing it. There is also a use of abbreviations, such as `gorge` instead of gorgeous, this gives the writing a `cooler` or `more cut-edge` feel, which makes the readers even more so want to buy the top.
The use of ungrammatical sentences is great in this article `we grill the S club sex kitten on her romance with fiancé Jeremy Edwards…` this makes the writing chattier which gives a greater sense of intimacy between the reader and writer. geez` is also used a lot in this article, firstly, it is a very common American term used by teenagers in America, so it shows how hard the writers are trying to be friends with the readers, the writers probably use this word because they are aware that American influence is enormous amongst the teenagers of today. The overall tone of this article is that if you read this and follow what the writers say, you will be beautiful and will have boys running after you and you will be perfect, it is not written in a straightforward manner, there is a deep subtext that you can only be beautiful if you do as they say.
The Maybelline advert on page 13 – this advert immediately catches the readers’ eye as they flick the page. The advert is selling a lip gloss and it is conveniently situated at the start of the magazine. Like in most cases, a model is used to sell this product; her face is placed in the primary optical area. She is wearing quite simple make up on the face that does not strike out at you much. The only thing that is obvious and striking is the lip-gloss, the model isn’t even wearing any jewellery, and this is done so that the reader can solely concentrate on the lip-gloss.
The name of the lip-gloss `water shine liquid diamonds, ` in itself sounds very precious and glamorous. The word diamond, a precious stone, this makes the reader feel important, and diamonds are girls best friends! So this word is very cleverly chosen. There are some diamonds placed next to the lip-gloss, which emphasises the diamond idea, and also makes the product more desirable, although the reader knows that when she buys the lip-gloss she will obviously not receive diamonds, but just the fact that the diamonds are there next to the lip-gloss fools the mind.
The diamonds are very effective. There is also a full body picture of the model, she appears to be very stunning, wearing a diamond like shining dress which stands out, again emphasising the diamond idea. The advert is very detailed, as even her shoes are like diamonds! The advert implies that if you wear this lip-gloss you will look like this model, this will attract any people especially those with inferiority complex. The model used, in each advert is also very important, it is always a familiar face, and they are all similar – beautiful.
The models are associated with success, so again the advert implies that you can achieve all this, just by wearing the lip-gloss. Although this is obviously not true, the advert is so powerful and decisive, that the reader is easily fooled into buying the lip-gloss. The model looks great for a night out and it implies that if you wear the lip-gloss so will you. The advert as a whole has a `slick` feel to it, the models hair is slicked, there is a slick in the background. The models face is shiny, just like diamonds.
The colour of the advert is very girly and feminine, baby blue, and purple, this makes it attractive to girls. The colours are light-hearted. The Maybelline slogan at the bottom rhymes and has a repeated rhythm which makes is memorable and so you are more likely to remember the product and buy it. Very powerful and prevailing words are used, such as `fuse` and `molten` which do not sound as if they are linked at all with lip-gloss. The word `new` makes it more desirable and wanted as everyone likes new things. The `blemish pen` advert on page 9 is also an effective advert.
It features a model also, but this time wearing more makeup and the more prominent characteristics of her face is her skin, which is what the product is all about. This advert uses facts to reinforce the idea that this product will leave your skin spotless and pure. The advert says new, which is attractive it most people, as most people like new things, as the newer is it, the better it will be. There is also the hand print which is by the British skin foundation, this makes supports the ideas in the advert and makes it more believable, and `O.
K. ` because it has been approved. The background is simple and pure, just like the product itself; it is white, which reinforces the idea of cleanliness and purity. The `Rimmel, hard and fast colour nail polish` advert is also very effective. There is a girls hand either opening or fastening a belt, this has many sexual connotations, and will attract young readers because it will make them think that by wearing this nail polish they can do the same. The colours are vibrant and attractive and they would catch the eye of the majority of people.
The models hands do look nice, and so obviously it implies that your hands can look this nice if you wear this nail polish. The words `NO COMPROMISE. NO CONTEST` are very harsh and to the point, they have a `cool` feel, and so the younger girls will be fascinated by this and will buy the nail polish. Overall, Bliss magazine is written in the style which would attract the younger girls, but has the contents which are suitable for the older girls. The adverts imply that beauty is everything; most articles are evolved around boys and sex. These are issues that the younger girls of 11 or 12 should not be faced with.
The adverts all use clever spacing and catchy, good use of words to make the products so much more desirable than they really are. The bliss writers have said in their media pack that their typical reader is 17 years old, when it clearly isn’t, they are aware of this because on all the problem pages, and all the letters, the ages are from as low as 10 years of age. In my opinion, 17 year olds do not read Bliss magazine at all, and very strong issues are discussed in detail in this magazine which are likely to corrupt the girl’s vulnerable minds. The media pack has a lot of assertion in the language that they use. Young women are ambitious` `she’s loyal`.
The media pack is written in a completely different tone to the magazine, it is more formal and serious, and it is targeted at middle aged people, not young girls. The media pack makes a commodity of it. The media pack has many silly comments, `The Bliss reader is finding out about herself and will experiment until she finds a brand that she will remain loyal to for life` this magazine just tells girls what looks good, there is no room for experimentation, the magazine TELLS the girls what to wear, and so this is a silly statement.
The Bliss media pack states that 71% of Bliss readers are single, this shows that the more upset girls who need guidance, the ones that suffer from inferiority complex read this magazine, they are more likely to believe anything they read, as they are more vulnerable. So overall, these magazines use many devices to get deep into the minds of the readers to make them buy the products, they aim at young girls who are more likely to listen.
