Empire magazine front cover analysis

The masthead on this magazine front cover is the word 'Empire', which is the name of the magazine. The font is in the colour red and in flames to represent the film being advertised. This film is called 'Hellboy 2' which is stated at the bottom of the magazine as the main cover line and an image of the main character is featured as the main image. The use of flames coming off the masthead is very clever and links in with the film because the main character, Hellboy, is immune to all forms of fire and he comes from hell which has connotations to fire. The use of red as a whole on this front cover attracts the audiences attention because naturally red is the colour which stands out most to the human eye. This is why we address danger with the colour red. The cover lines on the left are in white to stand out against the black background and attract the audiences attention to inform them of the other films featured inside the magazine. On the right of the front cover is the secondary lead in a 'splash' containing extra information and the words '40 movies that will get you sex' which implies that they are targeting a young audience of promiscuous teens that have no responsibilities. This is their unique selling point which encourages the reader to purchase the magazine due to the additional information supplied. The beige colour chosen is also relevant because it is the same colour as Hellboy's teeth which gives the magazine a uniform, neat look. Another example of this is Hellboy's eyes and the other 'splash' in the bottom right corner, within this are the words 'SNEAK PREVIEW CLICK HERE'. This is because this magazine is an online version as well as a printed one. The use of capitals attracts the audiences attention because capitals are always used to show important information, and if the audience is getting a sneak peak inside the magazine (which online cannot always be done) it may be just enough to tempt the reader into purchasing the magazine. Finally the bar code is situated in the bottom left corner which is a necessity for it to be sold in high-street shops.