GQ magazine

• GQ claims to be “the flagship of men’s fashion and style” with a “forward-looking, progressive and cutting-edge” approach to making men “look sharper and live smarter”.
• The lifestyle magazine is an influential mix of award-winning writing and photography aimed at image-conscious young men who are interested in fashion, culture, entertainment, sport, and relationships.
• Stuart Hall called this theoretical decoding position the oppositional reading.
• Of course, you might see the £850 price tag for a leather belt and completely reject the magazine’s consumerist message.
• Others might take a negotiated position, such as the ignoring the publisher’s liberal stance on many political issues to focus more on the sartorial choices of the politicians.
• The magazine continues to evolve with an online version at gq.com, a strong social media presence, unique video programming, and tent-pole events, including the iconic British GQ Men of Year Awards which reaches a global audience.
• With close analysis of the front cover and a feature from the March 2022 issue, we are going to explore how GQ appeals to the audience and reflects our shifting expectations of masculinity.
• The conventions of magazine covers are immediately apparent on this issue of GQ.
• The dominant signifier on the cover is a celebrity who has the star power to attract the interest of the audience intrigued by his glamorous lifestyle.
• Robert Pattinson, known for his smouldering good looks, charm, and his high-profile roles in popular films, such as Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise and the eponymous hero in The Batman, demands our attention with his direct address.
• The actor subverts his mysterious and intense allure by choosing a more aggressive version of masculinity.
• A thuggish quality is encoded in Robert Pattinson's bruised eyes, broken nose, metal-capped teeth, and thick chains around his neck.
• The carefully spiked hair completes the punk look.
• Robert Pattinson remains incredibly charismatic in this photo shoot.
• The headline “who is Robert Pattinson” positions the audience to re-evaluate their understanding of the actor.
• Robert Pattinson wanted to shake off his boyish persona for his role as the enigmatic Batman.
• The blue gradient background encodes this sense of transformation.
• The masthead appears behind the actor and the headline is in front of his body, a convention of magazine covers.
• The “geometric” design and bold lettering of the title reinforce the brand’s confidence and modern style.
• Editorial decisions at GQ are not influenced by the dependence on advertising revenue to offset the costs of producing and distributing the magazine.
• An advertisement on the back cover of the magazine costs over £24,000, while a double page spread will set you back around £40,000.
• GQ also collaborates with retailers and manufacturers to create advertising features which are designed and presented in the magazine’s house style.
• Powerful media families like the Newhouses and Harmsworths distort the media landscape with their incredible political and economic influence.
• According to the Uses and Gratifications Theory, readers are motivated to purchase GQ magazine to keep up to date about current fashion trends and significant cultural events so they can reinforce their personal identity.
• 61% of GQ’s readers are classified as ABC1 with junior to higher managerial and professional positions because this demographic tends to have higher disposable incomes.
• Readers will also interpret the magazine’s content according to their own frameworks of knowledge.
• GQ’s UK audience has a substantial average household income of £138k and, on average, spends £7.7k on fashion and £1.2k on beauty each year.
• The Audit Bureau of Circulations reports an average circulation per issue in the UK of 89,072 in 2021, down from 110,063 in 2018.
• GQ readers are described as “activators” from the UK’s Consumer Groups because they have a strong sense of personal identity and are at the forefront of consumer activity.
• In the cross-cultural consumer categorisation, the “aspirer” group describes the target audience effectively – materialistic and fashion-conscious with a core need in life for status.
• GQ’s website also has plenty of room for Google Ads, with ads for cars loading between the paragraphs and in the sidebar.
• A billboard digital ad on GQ’s website costs over £44 CPM.
• GQ relies heavily on advertising for revenue, selling space to a wide range of companies eager to target a large and engaged readership.
• GQ uses the data about its primary audience to demonstrate the magazine is a viable option for advertisers looking to target affluent men interested in travel, technology, grooming, fitness, and fashion.
• Coverlines reassure the reader the magazine is worth purchasing by highlighting the main features, articles, interviews, and exclusive content.
• The representation of masculinity and femininity in the Score advertisement is another performance which strengthens the dominant ideology.
• Robert Pattinson and Jonathan Bailey are examples of how our interpretation of both men depends on our attitudes towards social class.
• Stuart Hall’s work on representation focused on the way meanings are not inherent in language or images, but is constructed through a complex process of selecting, organising, and interpreting information.
• GQ plays a significant part in this performativity.
• Condé Nast aims to “entertain, surprise, and empower”.