The first thing that pops out from the cover is the cleavage of a
seductive, attractive blonde.
Nothing new there! But at the top of the cover is the intimidating face
of Samuel L Jackson covered in war paint, looking out from a hole within
the ’O’ of the Front logo, which attracted attention.
Inside, unlike many of its competitors, there weren’t many ads,
especially in the first few pages. This made me take more notice of the
ads that were there.
This may seem sexist but, like other red-blooded males, I feel sport and
women are two of the most important features of life. Front covered
these essentials with numerous photographs of models and an interview
with Coronation Street’s Tracey Shaw. These were interlaced with
sport-based interviews with Tony Adams and the referee who sent off
David Beckham.
A picture of the tennis player, Anna Kournikova, combined both elements
superbly. But most of the information given in the sports interviews is
already common knowledge.
Of the numerous competitions, three struck me. First was the prize of a
Paul Ince England shirt; in another, a crate of beer could was on offer
for sending in photographs of your friends looking the worse for
wear.
The third was the chance to win a bottle of water that once belonged to
Glenn Hoddle ...
Overall, it seems Front is just copying other successful magazines,
taking bits from each one and putting them together. It lacks a sense of
originality.
But at pounds 2, it is cheaper than its competitors. So it may be able
to establish itself with new customers in the market. I will probably
buy the next issues.
Oliver Walsh, 17, is the son of Mike Walsh, chief executive of Ogilvy &
Mather Europe
