When was GQ launched
1931
what does GQ stand for
Gentlemen’s quarterly
who was GQ produced by
Conde Nast
target audience
ABC1
Men
20-44
monthly print readership
212000
social media following
2 million
what % of readers have bought or plan to buy products in GQ
88%
What % of readers own designer fashion
93%
signficance of low angle
- Presents him as an idol that audiences shold look up to
Leather trousers
High fashion + luxurious appealing to ABC1 audiences + reinforcing affluent values of GQ + also appeals to ideas of sexuality, similar to anothe rfootballer, david beckam wearing a sarong
sexuality
mastheard partly not in image
brand is recognisable and iconic
font
sans-serif - connotes power and masculinity
target audiences of this issue
- Football player - males
- shirtless - gay males
muscular body
suggests muscular bodies are attractive, reinforcing spornosexual ideology + hegemonic masculinity
jewellery
connotes wealth + success
body language
defiant
dominant
cool
religious imagery
wings - BLACK - powerful, holy, evangelical etc, to be respected/worshipped, black wings support black rights
anchored by “guardian angel” cover line
religious imagery on tattoos - moral but also powerful
racial stereotypes
- black men typically represented in media as agressive, but on this cover has more positive representation, focusing on positive, moral and heroic qualities, subverting marginalising stereotypes, reflecting modern contextcs and diverse audiences
Colour palette
masculine
wealth + power
aristocracy
“speak no evil” cover line
dictatorship in Chile
enigma code (barthes)
use of direct adress
Machine gun kelly overline
- hyperbolic language
- hedonisytic lifestyle
- ESCAPISM (Uses + Gratifications)
GQ heroes coverline
- “exclusive” gives the magazine a unique selling point and induces feelings + “keeping up with the jones’”
- “sizzle” suggests hot + sexual content, which reinforces GQ’s understanding of ABC1 audience’s maturity
“Westminister ahs become a living nightmare” coverline
-Hyperbolic emotive language
- “master plan” suggests burnham and as an extension men as a whole as clever/cunning, a convention
Broken suit/beltbag coverline
-Imprative tone, GQ can teach audiences how to dress, ETHOS
