Cosmopolitan VS. Essence Magazines 

The media and writers use a variety of techniques to gather and share information and interests that target a specific audience. By looking at two different magazines, it is easy to identify who the author is trying to reach by looking at the person or object on the cover. This is the first indication of who they are trying to reach, and the imagery can be telling.  In this analysis, I will be comparing the differences of Essence Magazine and Cosmopolitan Magazine. In each, the contents cover fashion, lifestyle, beauty, entertainment, and culture, but they are clearly targeted towards different audiences.. As the elements of each magazine are dissected, the use of lettering, phrasing, and cultural differences is impossible to ignore and it tells a story about perceived or confirmed differences between the audiences and how those audiences are approached. 

 

“Mainstream” magazines can have many definitions, but at wit, it is journalism or media that reaches a mass population full of influential topics and information. It may reach people of differing demographics including age, race, income, gender, etc. Although Cosmopolitan magazine attempts to include people of all races in their publication, their main audience is white women whose ages range from 18-24. The magazine is notorious for promoting body positivity, natural beauty, mental health awareness, and self care. The cover of this particular issue of Cosmopolitan is Natalie Dyer, a white female actress who is featured in Stranger Things and other films. The text on the front cover includes: “Hello, summer!”, “How to find love…”, “Do we really all need therapy?”, “Naked. Unfiltered. Complex. Real.”. All these phrases grasp our attention with the use of open ended questions, declarative statements, and relatable content. They are designed to be universal and intriguing. It is interesting to note that the second page is a woman of color representing Russell & Bromley. There is no context on the page, just the name brand and the model. Cosmopolitan includes diversity in their magazine to reach a wide variety of individuals, this also strategically increases their reach and presumable their success! This magazine also uses male heartthrobs to grab women’s attention such as Harry Styles, Joe Keery who was also featured in Stranger Things, and Chris Hemsworth. It is important to notice that although there are men included in the magazine, they are not promoting any certain product aimed towards men. They are displayed as people of interest who women tend to gravitate towards. Again, these images presume a kind of universality of values and desires that appeal to their audience.

 

As people of color are presented in many other magazines, there are some publications specifically aimed towards them. Essence magazine is much like Cosmopolitan magazine through the contents and products included inside, but the demographic is much different. Displayed on the page of Essence magazine’s media kit, in bold lettering is the phrase: “The Place 31 Million Black Women Call Home”. This clearly sets forth the audience reached, and how popular the magazine is for the female African American community. The data states that the magazine influences African American women whose ages range widely from 18-41, indicating that this magazine includes products and entertainment that could intrigue anyone but children. The cover page of Essence magazine frames Janet Jackson as the main attraction, with text on the side of the page that states: “Black Travel Awards”, and “Fly Girl Flavor”, with the subtitle of “90s Hairstyles That Shapes Us”. A Black woman would gravitate towards this magazine for a product useful for her because it fits her demographic. Although Cosmopolitan magazine includes women of color, there are no products that are generally useful for them. The publication incorporates one on one interviews with Jackson regarding her impact in pleasure, personal agency, self-esteem, spirituality, identity, race and social justice. A public figure like Janet Jackson catches the eye of everyone but specifically women in the Black community. The magazine incorporates ads for Secret deodorant, Starbucks, Triangl bikinis, and more. The people promoting those products are all Black women, this is done strategically. Essentially, if a company knows their product is going to be in a publication aimed towards a certain demographic, they will change the models in the ad to best fit the audience. 

 

As someone who doesn’t relate to Black culture, reading Essence magazine was very eye opening and I obtained so much insight on fashion, music, cuisine, and more. To give some personal perspective, I am a white woman with curly hair. Therefore I purchase hair products from Cantu, Shea Moisture, Pattern, and Miss Jessies, which are all brands subjected toward African Americans. It is a topic of conversation whether white people are welcome to use products for Black women, and it should be a given that any product can be purchased by anyone. Walmart and CVS previously would lock up African American beauty products, Walmart claims this is because the products were “likely to be stolen”. So why aren’t all hair products locked up? This racially motivated act has lost Walmart and CVS tons of business from people of all races, and it was only reversed because of the death of George Floyd. Although I wouldn’t generally reach for Essence magazine for a beneficial product for me, I still saw products in the publication that I own and use on a daily basis. Cosmopolitan magazine includes hair products such as: hair serum, volume spray, hairspray, smoothing gloss and more. This is because the target audience of Cosmopolitan is generally white women who don’t have to deal with waking up an hour early just to do their hair. It may be suggested that magazines similar to Cosmopolitan should incorporate hair products aimed towards people of color, especially if they are included in the magazine as models. 

 

In summation, the difference in audiences is blaring just by looking at the front covers. It is important to consider the difference in interests, race, gender, and age when formulating a successful publication. Both Cosmopolitan and Essence Magazine have reached interests of my own, interestingly. The striking differences between the magazines is that Cosmopolitan includes people of all races, while Essence only focuses on Black women. This further supports the definition of a “mainstream” magazine, as it includes almost everyone, but isn’t always directed at everyone. After analysis of polar opposite publications, it is impossible to neglect the evident cultural contrast in each magazine, and how the authors strategically reach their target audience. 

 

Works Cited:

Cosmomediakit.com. 2022. Cosmopolitan Media Kit. [online] Available at: <http://www.cosmomediakit.com/r5/home.asp> [Accessed 14 July 2022].

 

Essence.com. 2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-ESSENCE-MEDIAKIT.pdf> [Accessed 14 July 2022].