Esquire is an American men's magazine, currently published in the United States by Hearst. It's a popular lifestyle and fashion magazine which caters for the more distinguished gentleman. It is said to be one of the most sensible of the mainstream men's lifestyle magazines. According to the magazine itself, Esquire targets worldly, sophisticated, literate, affluent and urbane men who have a genuine interest in living well. In terms of Young and Rubicam's 4C's I would day that the main audience would be succeeders as they possess self-confidence, have a strong goal orientation and tend to be very organised.
TEXT 1 - MAGAZINE COVER
Analysis of magazine cover
The black and white background of this magazine makes it look old fashioned, possibly representing the target audience of a more sophisticated man. To further support this, the choice of model, Keanu Reeves, is an older man who has had a very successful career and therefore acts as a role model for an older demographic with ambitions. Like various other Esquire editions, the model on the front cover wears a suit and this has connotations of profession and status. One of the cover lines states ''Real guys in their real clothes''. The repetition of the word 'real' suggests to the reader that this magazine is authentic and true and takes a new perspective on what a 'real guy' and what masculinity really is. Additionally, Keanu Reeves looks as though he is standing on top of a roof, overlooking a city and this connotes power. This magazine cover has many aspects which the Uses and Gratifications model can be applied to. Firstly, there is personal identification with the model on the front as a male reader may be able to identify with another man being powerful and professional. Information is given within the cover lines such as ''The best new restaurants in America''. The entertainment part of this could come from using a famous actor and including ''Keanu Reeves knows the secrets of the universe''. Finally, social interaction could be gained from the use of the coverline '''How we dress now''. The pronoun 'we' connotes community and possibly suggests that Esquire brings men together.
TEXT 2 - KEANU REEVES FACEBOOK COVER VIDEO
Analysis
This video is taken from the Esquire Facebook page and was made to accompany the magazine analysed previously. The caption states ''In our Winter 2021 cover video, Keanu Reeves reflects on the number of characters named John that he's played over the years (eight!), his technical marriage to Winona Ryder since 1992 film 'Dracula,' and working with comedy legend George Carlin''. Using Facebook to promote this edition of the magazine possibly targets an older audience who are more likely to be using the platform. Furthermore, the video is over 10 minutes long and gives fans of Keanu Reeves the opportunity to learn more exclusively about him, and then lead them to the Esquire magazine, increasing sales. One of the comments says that in this video ''You could see the ups and downs in his life'', demonstrating that this was clearly well received by the audience.
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