Top Gear Magazine

Consider the title of the magazine:

The magazine is called ‘Top Gear’ because the magazine is the top magazine for cars. ‘Top Gear’ connotes the best gear, the gear that excels your car and for the magazine it means the best magazine there is, better than all the rest

The significant word is ‘Top’ because it is signalling the magazine is the top and best of its genre
Top Gear’ connotes the best gear, the gear that excels your car and for the magazine it means the best magazine there is, better than all the rest

The publisher of the magazine:

The publisher of the magazine is Adam Waddell, part of BBC Worldwide
Adam Waddell does not publish any other magazines other than ‘Top Gear’ but Licensed editions are also published in China, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Russia, Netherlands, New Zealand and Romania.
Adam Waddell does not have any other media interests
The magazine costs £3.85
It is published monthly so there are 12 editions per year. However, on occasions there are special editions depending on the event
‘Top Gear’ has a readership of around 1.5 million readers
The magazine does have a website, www.topgear.com

The target audience for the magazine:

The type of reader for this magazine is mostly middle aged men between the ages of 25-40+ whom are working/mainly social class of a mainly white ethnicity
This is told from the content of the magazine as it regularly contains articles about family hatchbacks for 25+ men and second hand vehicles for the older generation. Also the writers in the magazine such as: Jeremy Clarkson appeals to this age range
The reader interacts with the magazine through its articles and the information stored inside

The cover of the magazine:

The image on the front cover is of two vehicles, The ‘Aston Martin Vantage’ and ‘Honda Civic’. Next to each car is a formally dressed girl posing next to the car. Both cars are shot virtually next to each other in a formal manner. In the background is two curtains as if the cars were at the theatre, it gives a performance feel

The front cover helps to identify the middle-aged target market as it’s formal and professional with a very up-market feel to it

On the magazine is a puff with a quote form Jeremy Clarkson, ‘Everything I’ve said about cars is now obsolete’. There is a large circular symbol underneath the masthead with ‘Cars of the Years 2005’ identifying that it’s a special end of year edition. And at the bottom there is a headline, ‘Vantage or Honda Civic’ linking to the awards and which will be the outcome and little sign reading ‘Cover 3’ revealing there are more covers to this magazine.

The main item of the ‘Vantage or Honda Civic’ is featured because this is a special edition of the magazine as it’s end of year and ‘Top Gear’ is giving its verdict on the best cars of the 2005
‘Top Gear’ has a serif font giving it that more professional, up-market feel appealing to more educated audience. The letters are in lowercase bar the first letter of each word again signifying its simple, professional approach. The ‘Top Gear’ is green making it stand out and immediately identifiable that it is ‘Top Gear’ magazine as that is the traditional colour. Additionally the ‘2005’ sign in the symbol below is red signifying its importance as it’s an special addition and it’s immediately pointed out for the reader

This edition of the magazine is unique because it’s a special end of year magazine reviewing the best cars of 2005, but generally the magazine is unique and rivals such as: ‘Autocar’ tend to copy its layout

The ‘style’ of presentation of the magazine

The magazine’s presentation is very formal and profession reflecting its target audience and higher-quality appeal its looking for
The magazine looks expensive and as if all the design aspects have been closely scrutinised to ensure maximum appeal
The magazine is different to other magazines as again this issue is a special and really cannot be prepared, but generally this magazine has a more up-market look to it and other magazines generally try and cram too many things into its front covers to appeal to more readers
The colours present a real classy look. The image itself has been carefully shot and the resulting mix of green masthead and white font for the text give a sort of abstract art feel. Classy yet affective

The ‘mode of address’ of the magazine:

The magazine addresses the readers through its layout and thus appeal of its looks. It speaks to the reader through being a ‘2005 Awards’ issue and thus entices the reader
The reader addresses the magazine as soon as it is aware of what the contents are in the magazine. The reader is persuaded to slowly peak and enjoy the magazine
This edition features articles all about the best cars of 2005 in the eyes of ‘Top Gear’ from the front cover it features the ‘Aston Martin Vantage’ and ‘Honda Civic’
All subjects about motor vehicles are covered in this magazine. In this edition there is information about all the best vehicles of 2005 and there are articles on cheap cars and parts for cars etc