XXL magazine analysis

I am going to analyse and evaluate the effectiveness that the front page of ‘XXL’ magazine has on their target audience. Firstly, the masthead 'XXL' is significant to the image of the magazine as if has a red background which symbolises wealth to most readers and the letters ‘XXL’ are formed by the image of diamonds which shows the content of the magazine of being rich, popular and highlights the use of 'bling'.

There is also a puff on the front page which advertises the magazine further as it shows the popularity of the magazine as well as superiority. It says 'a decade of dominance' and '10th anniversary, our biggest ever issue'. The first one would be very effective from a readers point of view as it shows that the magazine has been on-going for a decade and it still popular as it continues to impress old and new readers. The second puff appeals to customers purchasing the issue in particular due to the phrase claiming that it’s the best issue so far.

The main image and focal point of the front page cover is a mid shot of baby and Lil Wayne topless and wearing several long thick chains, which is expected to also be made of diamonds in similarity to the masthead. This shows great contrast with the background of the magazine, which is an image of a lower class looking bungalow. This roughly shows the artists roots in the way it differs from where they have reached now. The tattoos on their bodies show a sign of wealth because tattoos are fairly high priced. This is effective because it is highlighting the superiority which links into the genre of the magazine, as the genre is mainly Hip-hip and R&B, world known to be the mainstreams of the music industry.

The sell lines is a list of popular hip hop and rap artist names, arguably the most successful rap artists of our time, which attracts a much wider variety of people who are likely to buy the magazine, just to read the exclusive interviews based around one or more of the artists named.In conclusion the magazine has clearly portrayed the type of style and genre that is aims to show, through the wealth symbolising images and colour scheme used on the over.