Brief Two - Supermarket Tabloids
Drama at the Checkout
I remember walking through the book section of the supermarket solely on the hunt for the most colorful and outrageous looking tabloid on display. At the time, Tiger Beat and Seventeen captured my little pre-teen heart with their headlines. Articles about if Justin Bieber found the one or what the hot style of summer was, had me hooked. I would beg and beg my mom to put it in the cart and spend hours at home, finding out if I was team Jacob or team Edward. My parents have even fallen subject to it as well. I know my mom has grabbed a couple of those magazines that display, “HOW TO DROP TEN POUNDS IN TWO HOURS.”
While it may seem like supermarket tabloids such as People Magazine or Us Weekly are just a load of garbage, they are indeed a marketing masterpiece. Very few women can ignore the sexiest man alive issue of People Magazine, or Celebrity Drama plastered on the cover of US Weekly. Don’t count men out either; you’ll see them flipping through the pages of a tabloid in the checkout line. These sneaky magazines can catch anyone.
Supermarket tabloids have been a staple of checkout lines for ages. Although the pages filled with loads of bologna. People will open them because of what they promise on the cover. A magazine like People will often have a celebrity plastered across the front with the newest crazy thing they did that week. For example, people magazine will display a large image of a personality and how they spoke on how “they were at their breaking point,” but it is just a little interview on how life was going so far. But would a caption such as “Short interview on Kate’s week” really interest the customers? Probably not! People loves to follow celebrities diet plans such as the article, "Kim Kardashian Reveals Her Kids Eat a Plant-Based Diet - But North, 6.5, Is a Pescatarian", things like this interest the consumers as they feel they can follow suit. These stories tiptoe on the edge of truth and insanity. They are repetitive and annoying as they have virtually the same things in each issue. Often times speaking to the woman's sense of self worth, a weight loss technique, and some sort of recipe. If you're lucky they may even throw in a perfume sample or two.
These tabloids are truly untouchable, as what they say pretty much goes. Following an article from the New York Times, you are fighting a losing battle if you try to sue a tabloid. Say you are a celebrity, plastered on the cover of US Weekly, and you rush into your lawyer’s office in search of a lawsuit. Your lawyer is going to tell you there is no point unless you can prove actual malice, which is virtually impossible. Lawsuits can drag on for years and spend way more money than they are worth.
Supermarket tabloids are a great source of drama and a way to escape reality on a Saturday afternoon. The expert marketing of flashy covers with crazy headlines is bold enough to catch the attention of almost any consumer. I am a victim myself. These drama traps are charging consumers for fake stories, and it just works. The strategy works. They are entirely untouched in the sense that no one can sue them. People, not all but some, have even confused supermarket tabloids with real news, which is so far from the truth, but it is how they get your dime.
I remember walking through the book section of the supermarket solely on the hunt for the most colorful and outrageous looking tabloid on display. At the time, Tiger Beat and Seventeen captured my little pre-teen heart with their headlines. Articles about if Justin Bieber found the one or what the hot style of summer was, had me hooked. I would beg and beg my mom to put it in the cart and spend hours at home, finding out if I was team Jacob or team Edward. My parents have even fallen subject to it as well. I know my mom has grabbed a couple of those magazines that display, “HOW TO DROP TEN POUNDS IN TWO HOURS.”
While it may seem like supermarket tabloids such as People Magazine or Us Weekly are just a load of garbage, they are indeed a marketing masterpiece. Very few women can ignore the sexiest man alive issue of People Magazine, or Celebrity Drama plastered on the cover of US Weekly. Don’t count men out either; you’ll see them flipping through the pages of a tabloid in the checkout line. These sneaky magazines can catch anyone.
Supermarket tabloids have been a staple of checkout lines for ages. Although the pages filled with loads of bologna. People will open them because of what they promise on the cover. A magazine like People will often have a celebrity plastered across the front with the newest crazy thing they did that week. For example, people magazine will display a large image of a personality and how they spoke on how “they were at their breaking point,” but it is just a little interview on how life was going so far. But would a caption such as “Short interview on Kate’s week” really interest the customers? Probably not! People loves to follow celebrities diet plans such as the article, "Kim Kardashian Reveals Her Kids Eat a Plant-Based Diet - But North, 6.5, Is a Pescatarian", things like this interest the consumers as they feel they can follow suit. These stories tiptoe on the edge of truth and insanity. They are repetitive and annoying as they have virtually the same things in each issue. Often times speaking to the woman's sense of self worth, a weight loss technique, and some sort of recipe. If you're lucky they may even throw in a perfume sample or two.
Supermarket tabloids are a great source of drama and a way to escape reality on a Saturday afternoon. The expert marketing of flashy covers with crazy headlines is bold enough to catch the attention of almost any consumer. I am a victim myself. These drama traps are charging consumers for fake stories, and it just works. The strategy works. They are entirely untouched in the sense that no one can sue them. People, not all but some, have even confused supermarket tabloids with real news, which is so far from the truth, but it is how they get your dime.
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