When asked to choose a magazine that we don't normally read, I decided to use a publication that is supposed to be for everyone, People. The reason I chose People is because I've never had any desire to read a publication that focuses on celebrity news. My guess was that People Magazine was directed towards middle-age adults and younger women.
My theory was seemingly confirmed by the front cover of the edition of People I was using. The cover story was about Prince William and his girlfriend, with teasers on the cover about "Reese Witherspoon's new man" and "bodies after babies," not exactly things that any of my friends would seemingly be interested in. Stories ranged from fashion, to dealing with divorce, to new celebrity feuds and relationships, and even shopping tips. In the 136 pages of the magazine, there were 55 advertisements. Of those 55 advertisements, the only ad that I felt could possibly be directed towards someone my age were all related to food. Hersey's, McDonald's, and Ballpark Franks all had simple ads that only had information about the product, which doesn't make them exclusive to anyone really, except people that enjoy their products.
The majority of the ads were directed towards women. Make up products, perfumes, and tampons all had multiple companies advertise products in this issue. Shampoo (Aveeno) and Deodorant (Secret) used brands that are focused towards females as well. There were some companies that advertised products to someone like me, such as Sony's new digital camera, but they'd use people like Taylor Swift in the ad, which isn't someone a whole lot of guys 18-24 listen to a whole lot. Got Milk (Beyonce and 3 Musketeers ("Be Naughty Tonight") used similar tactics.
Men outside of my age group were targeted as well, but not to the extent that female products were advertised. Bulova watches and a Chrystler van ad saying "Daddy Likes" were the only ads that really focused on mature men.
People is definitely a magazine geared towards women, and men between the ages of 35-50. The magazine still has a nice variety for its target audience, which is shown by the ride variety of advertisers that are present in this magazine, from make-up to fast food. The only possible disadvantage to this is that is someone my age were to have an interest in celebrity gossip, which isn't necessarily a crazy thing to be into during college years, there are so many ads directed at females that it could potentially "scare off" a potential reader.
