Friday 2 October 2015

Magazine Advert Analysis - Miss Georgiou

The main purpose of a magazine advert is to promote the artist and their upcoming album and/or tour. It may also help the artist to reach a wider target audience through presenting themselves to those who read that magazine and this may include some who have not previously listened to the artists music. Publishing several posters to several mediums also constantly remind the audience of the upcoming album/ tour and so will create a buzz around it and get them excited. As a result of this they may tell others about it and promote the artist through word of mouth.  Another purpose of a magazine advert is to link in with other advertisements of the  artist. I have chosen to analyse two magazine adverts of indie artists. The first I have chosen is a tour advert for the artist Gabrielle Aplin. I have chosen this advert because it is the artist that I am going to create a music video for and so I think it will be useful to see how she choses to advertise her music and promote herself as an artist. 
'English Rain' tour poster
The artist is represented as carefree and easy-going as she is wearing a summer dress and dancing in the rain not seeming to care about getting cold etc. This is could be because the artist is trying to portray herself as down to earth and happy-go-lucky so her audience can relate to her as they feel she is not much different from them and does possess the typical singers ego because she is relatively level-headed and relaxed. She can also be seen as unique as the image used in this tour poster is different from most others and therefore it stands out. Most tour posters or advertisements feature a close-up image of the shot especially on their first tour as it is introducing them to the audience while this advert hides the artists face and she is very small. This portrays her as creative and individual because she is not following the norms as well as not giving everything away about her so portraying her as mysterious and suggesting there is more to find out. 

The artist is seen running through the dark field which has connotations of her feeling emotionally and physically free and having a light personality which lights up the dark. This could suggest to the audience that the artist has had a bad past but is living through it and is happy now. The black and white filter conotates a high contrast which could be positivity and negativity such as the artists positive attitude and outlook juxtaposing with hard situations and personal experiences of her own. This helps the audience to build a relationship with the artist as she is portrayed as a role model and inspiring to the audience as she encourages them to think positively even about bad situations. 

The advert has a very simple design and layout with the artists name in a large font size at the top so it stands out to the audience and they can easily realise that this is an advertisement for Gabrielle Aplin. This is helpful because the audience can not see the artists face so it is important that the title is set out this way. The artist is shown through a large picture that takes up the whole advert and shows her in the middle. The artist is not showing her face and it turned away from the camera which portrays her as mysterious through creating enigma as she is not revealing much about herself and make the audience want to find out more. The bottom half of the advert is focused on the tour date information for the audience so they can decide whether to attend one of the artist shows if they are interested. They will be able to quickly and easily decide where and when they could watch the artist if they wanted to before booking.

The language style in this advert is very simple and ordinary. This is because it is aiming to both be representative of the indie genre and Aplins stripped back style as well as not giving away much information so the audience want to know more. The style of language is representative of the indie genre because artists and music videos from this genre tend to be laid back and ordinary in terms of costumes and editing etc. For example, the artist will not wear designer or expensive clothes and the music videos are low budget and simple.So this is represented through the simplistic advert and style of language. 

"Plus guests" is written in a slightly smaller font underneath the artists name. This explains that there will be other artists accompanying the artist on her tour. However, it does not elaborate on who the guests are which may be because they are rather unknown as Aplin is a relativity new artist but also because the main focus is placed on her. The artists name is the only name mentioned which puts the main focus of the advert on her. The artists debut album is listed at the bottom of the advert very simply and plainly. There is no extra detail or adjectives to describe it which adds to the effect of creating enigma by holding back information to make the audience want to know more. 

The image choice is conventional of the indie genre as it portrays the artist as unique and quirky as it shows her rebelling to the norms of society and running barefoot in the rain. She is also not conforming to the norms of an advert in that she did not choose to use a close up image of her looking at the camera. The image is strategically placed so that it is the main focus of the advert and sits in the centre. This engages the audiences and focuses their attention on the image before anything else so they can get an idea of the artists style and music genre. The image leaves the audience wanting to find out more about the artist as she is not revealing much and so the audience will look closer at the advert to try and do this and therefore may consider going to one of the tour dates so they can finally discover more about the artist and her music and build a relationship with her. 

The typography on this advert is very plain and simple which makes it easy to read and creates a stripped back indie effect. The letters are not completely straight which creates a slightly distorted effect and differs away from mainstream so the typography appears unique and quirky. This is conventional to the indie genre as the artists and songs tend to be unique with quirky styles. 

The advert promotes the indie genre through portraying quirky and unique aspects and rebelling against mainstream aspects of an artists advert in the pop genre etc. Examples of this include the typography being slightly slanted, the image not being a close-up of the artist and the artist running through a dark rainy place in a dress and no shoes. These all portray the artist and her music as unique and different because she stands out. This therefore makes her more interesting and so would engage the audience and attract more fans.

The artist is promoted by the tour dates listed that given the audience the opportunity to see her live as well as portraying her as successful and therefore making people more likely to buy into her music as they assume that she must be good is she has her own tour in a variety of locations. She is portrayed as bright and colourful through the iconography of the umbrella in the dark and gloomy setting. This  connotes her as being a role model and carefree. 


'Peroxide' tour poster
The second advertisement I chose to analyse was advertising Nina Nesbitt's 'Peroxide' tour dates because it is from the same music genre as my chosen artist and so it will be useful to analyse conventions of my chosen genre. The artist is represented as bold, happy and lovable through the use of bright colours. This also links in with her music which is usually upbeat and this makes the audience want to listen to her music as it is portrayed as fun and enjoyable. She is looking straight at the camera with a serious expression which portrays her as dominant and in control of her image and music which also conveys how she is serious about connecting with her target audience as she is looking directly at them through the use of the close-up.

The main colour throughout this advert is red with a slightly pink tint. There are many annotations of both colours. Red is a very emotionally intense colour as it increases respiration rate and raises blood pressure to those who see it. Therefore it could portray an intense experience of the artist (such as a negative relationship) that she sings about in her advertised album. Red is the colour of fire and blood and is therefore associated with danger and war which could portray the problems and arguments in this past negative relationship.  This colour also portrays love and passion and therefore it represents both sides of the relationship - good and bad, which suggests how dysfunctional and difficult it was. This is conventional to the indie music genre as indie artists are known for writing their own songs and therefore their lyrics will be based upon their own personal experiences. This means the audience can build a relationship with the artist through believing that they know them better and feel like they are similar if they can relate to the lyrics.

Red is also the colour of determination which reinforces the artists serious facial expression and how she is eager and determined to connect withe her audience and be in control. Furthermore red is of high visibility  which is why stop signs and fire equipment etc. are usually painted red. This means that this advert will also be of high visibility and so will stand out in to the audience meaning more people will see the advert and be encouraged to listen to Nina Nesbitt's music.  

The only choice of image is a close up of the artist looking straight at the camera. this is conventional of a magazine advert because artists will often feature close-up, clear and large images of themselves in order to promote their image and music. The image takes up the entire top half of the advert which makes the artist the main focus of the advert. This will help the audience build a relationship with the artist as they will feel that she is directly addressing them through the picture and they therefore believe her music will be directly relatable to them.

The typography of this advert is fairly simplistic and consistent throughout as the majority of it appears to be in the same font and the words are only either black or white. This creates a simplistic effect which is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists tend to be stripped back and down to earth, not flamboyant or hiding anything like other mainstream artists may be. However, the font of the artists name is not completely straight and neat like the font of the other words. This creates a contorted effect  and so appears quirky and different which is also conventional of the indie genre.

The style of language is representative of the artists image. 'Peroxide' is the name of the tour and shows up in the biggest font on the poster. Peroxide is also the name of a type of blonde hair. The artist has this type of blonde hair and it stands out on the advert through the use of the close-up. The word 'Peroxide' reinforces this bold representation of her. 




I have gained several ideas and inspirations from writing this analysis post that I will interpret into my own magazine advert for my artist. For example...


 



2 comments:

  1. This post demonstrates some understanding of what a magazine advert and the purpose it has. You have made a start in analysing the various codes and conventions that are evident in the advert. You have also referred your points to well chosen examples.

    Aim-
    1) Complete 2nd analysis
    2) Include points on the language that is used
    3) Consider how the target audience can build a relationship with the artist

    ReplyDelete
  2. The points that you have included on the 2nd advert, helps to demonstrate a further and more detailed analysis of the magazine advert.

    However, you need to include a conclusion, to explain what your ideas and inspirations are and how your research will help you with planning.

    ReplyDelete