Top Gear Magazine Analysis

The title of this magazine is ‘Top Gear’. The reason it is called this is because it is the name of a TV show shown on the BBC, which they then made a magazine for. The words ‘Supercars on ice’ suggest it is a male magazine, because it is about cars and very good cars (the word supercar suggests this) which most men enjoy looking at and fantasizing about their ‘dream car’ which is probably something like the one in the picture. The cover of the magazine connotes cars, people working with cars (the man in the white with the helmet on ‘the Stig’). Also, the quote at the bottom ‘Possibly the worst idea we’ve ever had’ is a quote from the TV show which suggests comedy in the magazine as well as the other aspects of it.


The publisher of the magazine is Adam Waddell, part of the BBC. Adam Waddell does not publish any other magazines other than ‘Top Gear’. However, the BBC has published many magazines, most of which come from television shows and follow them.  For example, another magazine they published was the ‘Top of the Pops’ magazine which was also a television show. However, this was aimed at teenagers, mainly girls. Even though this television show isn’t broadcasted anymore, the magazine is still published as usual. The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is the largest broadcasting network in the world which is why this magazine would be popular as it is published by the BBC and everyone knows who they are. The magazine is published monthly and is at the price of £3.95. The website for the magazine contains a preview of the upcoming issue, about the television show, games, videos etc.


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. We know this because of the content of the magazine as it regularly contains articles about family hatchbacks. This would be 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 inside.
The cover of the magazine has three cars on it (Lamborghini, a 599 and a DBS). However, there isn’t just a list of the cars, it is trying to portray that inside the magazine these three cars are being compared. The words ‘supercars on ice’ suggests that these three cars are the best cars and they can move on ice which is difficult to do. The car closest to the camera has snow on the bonnet. This suggests that the car was going too fast in which case it crashed into snow. This is showing that the cars are very fast and men like fast cars. The words ‘On ice’ are light blue which suggests ice or cold. This is a good idea because the issue was released in October 2010 (autumn/winter time). The front cover helps to identify the middle-aged target market as it is formal and professional with a very up-market look to it. The title ‘Top Gear’ is a Grey colour which stands out and is immediately noticed because the background colours are White and light Blue. Generally, the covers of ‘Top Gear’ magazines are different and are all unique. This is easy to do as it is not a weekly magazine, it is monthly. However, some of its rivals may slightly copy the covers making them the competition.

The publisher of the magazine (BBC) has made it look as if it is really expensive with the photos of fast and expensive cars. However, it is only priced at £3.95. We would expect the magazine to be a lot pricier than this as the publisher is the BBC and gets its funds from the government and the photos on the front show expensive cars which also suggest a high-priced magazine. It could be compared to the ‘Auto-trader’ magazine because of the similar front covers. For example, both have expensive, high-end cars on the cover. This connotes that these magazines could be in competition with each other therefore making the front covers slightly the same.

The magazine addresses the readers through its layout and of its looks. It speaks to the reader through the title ‘Supercars on Ice’ which entices the reader as the word ‘Super’ suggests that these cars on the cover are the best cars in the country, world etc. 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. The audience knows what is going to be included in the magazine because of these words which are already telling the reader what to expect.


The main types of products being advertised on/in this magazine is cars. As said earlier, the magazine contains articles of second hand vehicles for the older generation. Another type of product being advertised in this magazine would be other cars, car parts and other car accessories. The products are aimed at the same target audience as the magazine, who has a normal income and probably working or middle class which is why the magazine is relatively cheap. This means, the products they are advertising wouldn’t be high-priced because the target audience wouldn’t be able to afford it. There is a photo of one of the ‘characters’ on Top Gear (the Stig) and he relates to the products being advertised because of the clothes he is wearing (white motorbike clothing and helmet to match). He relates to the products in this way because he is dressed like he would be in or on some sort of vehicle which is what the magazine involves.


Another title in competition with the ‘Top Gear’ magazine is ‘Auto Trader’ the price of which is £2.70. this is relatively cheaper than ‘Top Gear’. However, the publisher of ‘Top Gear’ is much more well known to the public, therefore more people would be more willing to buy this instead of ‘Auto trader’ magazine. The covers of both the magazines are quite similar; however, ‘Auto trader’ is more about selling cars unlike ‘Top Gear’ who give information about cars. On both the magazine’s front covers have photos of expensive cars which makes the competition go up.