‘Empire Magazine’ is a film magazine that covers all genres of film, with a target audience of men who are film enthusiasts. They who would read the entire magazine from cover to cover; ensuring they get all the inside information on upcoming films that they will go to see in the cinema. It is competition with another film magazine, ‘Total Film’ which has the same target audience and covers the same genres.

The mast head is a striking bold colour of red, which instantly attracts its audience in. It doesn’t cover the top third of the magazine cover but its slick font with the plain grey background still stand out and catches our attention. The red can also be associated with danger which fits in well with the main image and the main film that features with that week’s issue, as the James Bond films are all about assassination and danger.

The mission statement for the magazine ‘Nobody Does It Better’ is in fact a bold statement to the readership and its competitors that they are the best film magazine and they have the best articles and the best movies in their magazine. Also it can again reflect the character featured on the front cover as no one can beat James Bond at what he’s does; he’s the best at serving his country and catching and defeating his enemies.   

The main image is of Daniel Craig as James Bond in his iconic slick black suit that he ways throughout the film series, asking for martinis ‘shaken not stirred’.  He’s looking straight into the camera, with a dominant, strong defiant look on him that shows he’s back and better than before. The gun shots that are around him create a striking effect, it shows no bullets can bring him down. It could also show that the new film will be shattering to him as a character and to the fans that love the film series. Only one prop was used in this shot, which was a black gun. Even if it was James Bond just by himself it would have still been effective but with the added prop it reinforces his power that he has over everyone around him. His stance shows that he is bracing himself for what is coming for him, as though it’s going to be his toughest fight yet, revealing a bit or the narrative for the audience.

The smaller images are linked to the James Bond film series as they are the bonds that came before Daniel Craig, from the original Sean Connery to the second latest Peirce Brosman. They are in circle frames with gold lining showing the legendary and greatness that lies within all of them and their contribution to the film series.

On either side of the main image are stills from other movies. These help promote them as their individual genres differ from the James Bond genre. The Avengers was a highly anticipated sci-fi/action movie and had a lot of coverage. Also A different genre completely to other images, The Campaign a comedy film starring Will Ferrell. This promotes the magazine as a whole as it shows off the other genres that the magazine covers.

The sell lines

‘Bond Back in Business’ this blends in well with the image and the effects upon the cover as it shows the return of a bigger better more empowering Bond. The use of alliteration stands out and would stick in the readerships head as it’s catchy.

The sell lines aren’t eye catching and do not use clever play on words they are simply the names of new upcoming movies that have been edited. They mainly sell the movies that are featured within the magazine and do not sell individuality of the magazine itself. Only one sell line includes something that has originality which is ‘our greatest awards ever’. This could be a good thing as it focuses mainly on movies and reviews which the soul function of this type of magazine is. The colours that are used match the colours used for the bond images, the colours all coincide with each other. However to make the colour scheme more effective I would make ‘Empire’  gold also to signify a legend being reborn.