Scary how this site was such a big part of my life for so long and even scarier how many of you are ...
Scary how this site was such a big part of my life for so long and even scarier how many of you are still here and still think Ciao is full of real people. I'm off to bigger and better pastures.
Member since:20.06.2002
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I go through fits and starts when it comes to reading magazines. Long gone though, are the days of reading “Woman” or “Woman’s Own”, which were practically the only available women’s magazines printed at one time.
For the past couple of years, I have been buying “OK” from our local newsagent. The magazine is issued weekly, and at the time of writing, is on its 383rd publication. The magazine devotes itself to stories about celebrities, from the world of television, music and film.
The issue I have spread out on my desk has 130 pages and retails at £2.
The most appealing thing about the magazine is it’s glossy, thick pages. So many of the magazines currently on sale, are produced cheaply and this is reflected in the quality of the paper used. “OK” is large, glossy and shouts “quality”!
Also contained with each issue of “OK” is another magazine: “Hot Stars”, which is also glossy, and contains gossip packed reading material.
The front page of the magazine has pictures of the celebrities contained within the issue, each picture accompanied by a headline, which will give the consumer a guideline to the story contained in the magazine. The issue I have is dominated by a picture of Victoria Beckham, and promises the reader a sneak exclusive preview of
her new image.
The contents of the magazine are set out on the first page, containing the title of the piece, together with the page number and more often than not, s small piece about the article itself.
“OK” is very similar to “Hello” in that the main stories in the magazine, are heavily interspersed with large photographs of the celebrity in question. The magazine will normally feature at least one wedding, and this issue is no exception. There is a five page spread on the recent marriage of Ulrika Jonsson and Lance Gerrard-Wright, together with an enormous ten page spread, devoted to Big Brother “celebrities”, Sophie Pritchard and Lee Davey, who featured in the series last year. “OK” and “Hello” both pay celebrities extortionate amounts of money to cover their weddings, and some say this is the curse for the marriage. The Ulrikka story focuses on her meeting Mr. Wright, accompanied by the story of the wedding day.
There are a number of one page stories in the magazine, but these still have plenty of photographs of the people involved, such as a story about Michelle Heaton of Liberty X, and her less than famous boyfriend Andy Scott Lee, who visited a tattoo parlour recently. For the celebrity snoopers amongst us, “OK” gives us snippets about the lives of the stars, such as a series of pictures depicting Kym Marsh and her nearly estranged already husband Jack Ryder, looking full of doom and gloom, on a recent shopping trip. On a lighter note, there is a small story about Jessie Wallace, who plays Kat Slater in “Eastenders”, who has recently become engaged to a policeman.
Of course, there has to be a bit of tackiness in a magazine, and the story in this issue of “OK” is about Jordan appearing in an episode of “Footballers Wives”. Three pages are devoted to a day on the film set, accompanied by pictures of Jordan, bursting out of a small sun dress. Not for the faint hearted.
In each issue, there is normally an article revolving around a popular TV programme or series, and in this issue, it is the turn of “Pop Idol”, which has recently exploded back onto our TV screens. The article tells the story of the weird and wonderful contestants, and has pictures of the panel looking completely mystified. There is also a page devoted to Hayley Evetts, who appeared on the first series of the show. Hayley has her own “column” in the magazine, and uses this to give her verdicts on the people who have auditioned for the current series. Hayley writes in a relaxed and easy to read manner, and the article was quite enjoyable.
Jade Goody, her of the “minging kebab” fame, has a two page spread, mainly a series of pictures of her with her new baby, out and about, and having lunch with a friend. There is not much of an interview with Jade herself, but it’s easy to figure out why.
The “Hollywood Gossip” section is a five page spread, and is devoted to small stories about Hollywood stars. Stories of Arnie the Terminator running for Governor in the good old US of A, and the rapper P Diddy being sued yet again, together with another negative story about the obnoxious Russell Crowe. These pages are full of great gossipy stories about the stars, most of them giving off negative vibes, but that is what good gossip does.
The “Stars in their Homes” section is another lavish spread, featuring pictures of the homes of people in the news, such as Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, the accompanying story has Jennifer stating that Brad is a wonderful homemaker and has an eye for all things interior. The picture accompanying the article, only heightens suspicions that anyone in Hollywood has to have an enormous sprawling mansion, costing at least £10 million. However, the article had me sitting back, absolutely amazed at the ostenticity of some of the homes featured.
In the main magazine, there are an amazing thirty seven full page advertisements for various products. However, my interest in “OK” is still not diminished, as the majority of the stories they run about various celebrities hold my interest.
The media hungry Victoria Beckham has a large article devoted to her new career move, a model for Roca Wear. Although the article itself is very informative, both about Mrs Beckham’s latest job, and the company she is working for, there is no interview with her.
“OK” also specialises in large spreads featuring a celebrity and their partner/spouse, wherein a lengthy interview takes place with the couple, and features many pictures of them in different outfits. The caption for each photograph then lists stockists for each outfit, together with their prices.
The “Celebrity Round Up” section is a collection of short articles, about stars in the news, about who they are dating, who they have dumped, and details of any new plans in the pipeline for them.
The “OK Diary” is a round up of parties and events over the past week, with details of who attended, what they wore, and who they were with. Of course, there are pictures showing the reader anyway!
So how does “OK” compare with other weekly magazines? Well, “Take a Break” retails at 70p per week, but the quality of the paper is poor, the articles in the magazine are reader’s own stories, coupled with competitions, and of course you don’t receive a free magazine either.
“OK” is definitely my favourite celebrity magazine of the moment, and is always read from cover to cover.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I might give this a try having read your review, but only if there is NOTHING about the Beckhams in it...lol
I do agree with you that there is something to be said for
the quality of the paper used for printing and I do like
the idea of there being enough stories to keep you interested in the whole magazine, rather than one feature
dominating the whole issue.
Sep 22nd, 2003
very helpful by (98%):
helpful by (2%):
