| Product: |
Star Magazine |
| Date: |
14/10/06 (186 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: nice red dresses, TV guide, Good for a laugh
Disadvantages: full of peope i am not remotely intersted in.
The newsagent’s shelves are awash with celebrity focussed magazines such as Heat, Star, New and Now. I am not sure how they all survive, as they seem to have the same faces and the same stories on their front covers. I have occasionally bought them but I must admit I generally find them very shallow and a bit boring.
I am being cheeky here by reviewing a product I did not buy myself. I spotted a copy of Star left behind on the train and picked it up to have a flick through. Star is apparently “the hottest celeb weekly” and is published by Northern and Shell PLC (publishers of the equally intellectual OK, New, Star newspaper and Daily Express). It seems to be very much a rival to EMAP’s very successful publication Heat. It has the same feel and even has the same bright red, bold font used in it’s banner. At a quick glance they could be the same magazine. It’s main distinguishing feature and USP is that at £1 it is 65 pence cheaper than Heat. The cover does not excite me. We have Barbie Jordan slagging off stick insect Posh. Both women repel me with their freaky fake bodies and their utter lack of talent. Seems this might be a running theme in this magazine.
So to the actual contents of the magazine. I must admit most of it did not hold my attention for too long. The main story with Posh and Jordan seemed an utter non-story to me. The interviews seem to be mostly from reality TV G listens promoting their latest obscure TV show on a satellite channel. We have Horse Faced Grace and abnormal Leah from Big Brother as well as a report on Pete moving in with his new girlfriend. Correct me if I am wrong but Big Brother finished a couple of months ago. I am not interested in how they are clinging onto their notoriety for another two seconds. There was also an interview with Ruth Badger the runner up from the Apprentice plugging her new show on Sky. I at least found a flicker of interest when reading the interview and respected her for not wanting to talk about her private life and not wanting to lose weight just to fit into the media’s stereotype of what a woman should look like.
Flicking through the114 pages of the magazine I was confronted with page after page of who is seeing who and who is wearing what. There even was a non-story of Pete Doherty going grey. How pathetic is that. The again I did think the pictures of Will Young and his new boyfriend were very sweet but why can’t they leave them alone.
Want to look like your favourite so called celeb? Well Star will tell you where to go on holiday, what beauty creams and potions they use, what diets they have been on and what rat like powder puff on leg (I mean dog) to buy for that ultimate accessory. (Well it was actually a photo story of cleebs and Michelle from Big Brother 5 fawning over their pampered pooches.
There was an article on Gwynth Paltrow (someone who I am semi-interested in as I do like some of her films such as Shakespeare In Love and Sliding Doors) about how wonderful she looks after getting her figure back after pregnancy. Her diet might have been fairly sensible but what type of message is that to be giving women that you have to lose the extra weight from pregnancy as soon as possible.
At the end of the magazine were the staples of all women’s magazines such as the crossword (celebrity focussed again), horoscopes and reviews. I had a quick look at the reviews but the book ones were all chick lit and the music ones seemed to slate indie and alternative. There was a short interview with Jo Whiley, a DJ I respect but did not gain much insight as it was more just about the celebs she had met rather than her musical taste.
On the plus side an article on the 10 best red dresses inspired me. I liked them as they were mostly from High Street stores and very affordable. There was even a couple I quite liked and might think about buying for a Christmas do. The only other plus to this magazine was that there was a seven day TV guide although most of the highlighted TV programs would not be ones I would watch
The number of adverts that magazines have normally annoys me. Here there are not too many but
t I am not that annoyed as they are as interesting as the actual stories and articles in this magazine
I am the target audience for this magazine beieng femle and in her 20 but I hated it. I am really glad I did not waste my money and actually spend £1 on this magazine. I would rather buy a quality newspaper or buy a book from a jumble sale or charity shop. I simply am not interested in celebrities enough (well not interested full stop) to buy this magazine
Summary: A clone magazine only for celeb diehards
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