Magazine advert analysis - Miss Miller.

A magazine album adverts purpose is to get the album out to the target audience and persuade them to buy it. The advert uses several devices in order to achieve this purpose, these include: representation of artist, connotations of the advert, colours, design/layout and images. I will be analysing two magazine adverts from the dance genre and discuss how they achieve there purpose. The first magazine advert I will be analysing is Examples album "Won't Go Quietly". The second advert I will be analysing is Basement Jaxx "Rooty". I have chosen both of these adverts as I feel they will benefit me most when it comes to creating my own album advert as they are from the same genre as my artist.

Example - Won't Go Quietly

The artist representation in this magazine advert is important in persuading the target audience to purchase the album. Here, Example has been portrayed to the audience as a controversial artist through the title "Won't Go Quietly", therefore suggesting that Example is an artist who is different and trying to make a name for himself. Furthermore we can see several images of Example in which he is wearing unusual clothing such as a bear outfit, this suggests to the audience that Example is a unique artist and not afraid to be diverse. This will attract members of his target audience as they can see that he is likely to stand out in his genre. Through using the combination of clothing and the title it allows the audience to clearly recognise which genre that the magazien advert is from. For example the title is what attracts them first to the magazine advert and then when they take a more detailed look at the images they are further attracted to purchase the album as they can see it is unique and from the dance genre.

The connotations of this album advert are clear to see. The album title "Won't Go Quietly" connotes to the audience that Example is planning on making a name for himself and staying around in the genre for a long time. Furthermore the connotations of the artists stage name "Example" are that he is setting the example for the rest of the artists in his genre, meaning that he sets the ball mark. Furthermore it portrays the artist as being an idol for the target audience as he is "Example". This will attract the audience into purchasing the album as they appeal to the artist and feel that purchasing the album allows them to join the artists lifestyle.

The colours used in this advert are mostly white and black. These colours are effective as they are bold and stand out, this means that it is likely to grab the audiences attention. Furthermore the colours black and white connote that the album is going to be bold and stand out. The other colours that are used in this advert are on the clothes that the artist is wearing such as red and orange, this means that he is therefore likely to stand out against the plain background and the audiences attention is therefore drawn to him. The use of colours in this magazine advert promote the artist effectively therefore as he stands out, meaning that the audience can see that the album belongs to him and fans of the artist will therefore purchase the album.

The design and layout of this album advert is unique as you would usually expect to see one main image of the artist that stands out, however in this case there are a variety of smaller images of the artist. Although this means the artist does not stand out as much, it demonstrates that he is going against conventions and attempting to be diverse. This is something that is likely to attract the target audience as the dance genre is often seen as being diverse. The layout of the font is is at the top of the advert and the bottom, I believe this is well placed as it means that the target audience are able to see the title easily and it also allows room for the main images. Finally the names of the singles in the album are placed at the bottom of the advert, this allows people who may take a deeper look at the advert to see songs that will be featured in the album and if they recognise them they may be persuaded to purchase it.

The images used in this advert have been chosen well. We can see several images of the artist, this informs the audience who the album belongs to and if they are a fan of his they may choose to buy the album. There is one image of Example holding a microphone and shouting down it, this links in well with the title of the album "Won't Go Quietly" and means that the images are related to the album. We also see a lot of diverse imagery in this advert, such as Example wearing a crash helmet, although this is not related to the genre it shows that he is attempting to be diverse and this may attract people to purchase the product.

The typography used in this advert is bold as the artists name and album title are written in a thick font. This means that the advert will grab readers attention and they will therefore be more likely to buy the product. The font in this advert is also written in black and white, this keeps a consistency and makes the album look professional as well as original. 

This album advert promotes the dance genre and the artist as being diverse through the use of different images used. The variety of strange costumes we see Example wearing in this advert enables us to see him and the dance genre as being unique. It also promotes the genre as standing out through the album title "Won't Go Quietly", suggesting that the dance genre is made up of artists who want to be bold and make a name for themselves. 

This album advert attracts its audience in a variety of ways. It relies on its bold and original typography in order to catch the eye of readers. This is likely to entice them to further examine the advert and then the diverse imagery and which stands out against the plain background attracts an audience who is appealed by diversity.

Summary:
I believe that this advert is successful in presenting the artist Example as a diverse artist. I can see this as the artist is shown in many diverse outfits and I believe that this is effective as it makes the artist stand out among others and the artist can therefore recognise him more easily. However I believe that the advert is not very successful in showing that the album belongs to the dance genre. In my opinion the colours used are too bland to make the advert look like it is from the dance genre. I think it is important for an album to look like it is from its genre as this is what attracts the target audience. As a result of this I will not be taking any inspirations in terms of colour from this magazine advert. However I will take inspiration from the bold font that is used to make the artists name and album name stand out and appeal to the target audience.

Basement Jaxx - Rooty

The representation of the artist in this album advert is not easy to see as the artist them self have not been included on the cover. However, the use of the unique images in this advert suggests that the artists is representing themselves as being diverse much like Example did in his album. This diverse representation is something that is likely to appeal to the target audience as it means the artist is differentiating from the normality and therefore making them self more appealing.

The use of the space image in the background of this album advert connotes to the target audience that the artist is 'out of this world' and therefore head and shoulders above the rest. This connotation will persuade the audience to buy the product as it is a positive connotation. Furthermore we can see a main image of a Gorilla in this advert, which is often referred to as the king of the jungle, therefore connoting that the artist is the king of their genre.  The images are almost abnormal, which is connotation you may also associate to the sounds within dance music. The amusing images and colours also suggests that the content of the album doesn't include emotional and serious content but the conventional exciting and uplifting dance music, appealing to the target audience.

The colours that are used in this album advert are bright such as pink and yellow. These luminous colours make the advert stand out and catch the eye of the target audience as well as suggesting that the artist are bright and edgy. The bright colours used also contrast well with the black background and make the font which is written in yellow and green stand out. These bright colours that have been used help display that the artist is from the dance genre as this genre is often related to bright luminous colours. This therefore makes the advert conventional to its genre. The abstract affect of the colour also indicates the abstract sound that would be involved within the album; linking to the electro house genre which consists of computerised abstract sounds.The fact that there is a dark background which is of a night sky indicates the atmosphere and setting that the music is often listened to. Dance music is usually referenced to the night time, when the taret audience would attend a club. It appeals to the target audience and the use of bright colours attracts newer audiences which would become interested and intrigued with the album.

The design and layout in this album advert works well, the artists name "Basement Jaxx" is positioned well at the top of the advert making it stand out and attract fans of the artist. The album name is also positioned very cleverly just below the main image which means that readers attention will be attracted to the name of the album after they have seen the main image. The main image is positioned dead centre of the advert and is very large, again meaning that it stands out and attracts the readers attention. Finally we see further information such as the release date positioned just below the album name, making it easy for the readers to see. This creates excitement among the target audience and fans who will be encouraged to purchase the album on the release date.

The choice of imagery in this album advert is important as we do not see the artist. As a result of this it is important that the advert includes a bold image which symbolises something. This is achieved through the use of a Gorilla, symbolising that they are the king of their genre as the Gorilla is the king of the jungle. Furthermore the Gorilla is a blonde colour, which is unusual as we would usually expect a Gorilla to be black. This again supports the idea that the artist is trying to be diverse and go against normality. The images and colours used within the advertisement also represent that artist as funny or amusing through the strange picture that is used. This attracts the audience to the artist as he appears to have an amusing personality.

The typography in this advert stands out well as both the artists name and album name are written in capital letters, this makes it bold and therefore is likely to catch the eye of the reader. Furthermore the typography is very edgy and futuristic, suggesting that the artist is the future of the genre. The "Basement Jaxx" font is coloured yellow, green and pink, connoting to the audience that the artist is standing out and also attempting to be edgy. This reflects the artist themselves. The typography also matches the usual font that is used for the artist name, the chosen font style is the one that is associated with the artist and has become their logo. The same font continues in the name of the album which keep the advert consistent, labeling the important information in the same recognisable typography.

Summary:
I believe that this is the much stronger magazine advert as it is very effective in achieving its purpose. I believe that it advertises the artist very well as it represents them as being unique and standing out from the crowd which is likely to appeal to the target audience. Furthermore I believe that it is clearly recognisable that the album is from the dance genre as it is a very conventional advert. As a result of this I will be taking many inspirations from this magazine advert. I will try to replicate the use of bright and luminous colours to make the advert stand out and part of the dance genre. Furthermore I will try to include diverse images to make the advert memorable to the target audience.