The Enemy - Music For The People
This magazine advert uses colours and imagery to a good extent. The black background forces the brighter colours out of the page and therefore makes the page more aesthetically pleasing. The middle image of the coloured circle, depicting an eclipse, certainly jumps off the page due to the vibrance of it in conjunction with the darker scheme to the rest of the page. The central image refers to the album, as this is what the public see when looking at the album artwork.
The fonts used are basic, however the colours used make them stand out from the background. White on black is a common theme, and we can see why as it works so well. The name of the band and brief description are in white so they stand out - these are the things that will draw the public in as they are seeing something that they are aware of (band name and possibly single). In grey are the album name and in what conditions it is available. The grey used does not make it jump out off the page, however it is still easily visible. These contrasting colours add something else to this advert, making it look less bland.
At the head of the page are the band name and album name. This is something that I would expect to see with the other album adverts I will analyse, as this is where the audience's eyes will wander to straight away. At the top of the page is where the more noticable points are put as they are better seen and are more effective up there.
Here we see the advert to the new album by Yusuf. As I said above, the more important points are directed towards the top of the page and this is no exception - right at the very top of the page reads 'The journey of music continues from Yusuf, the man previously known as Cat Stevens'. This shows a certain level of marketing, as people may not have known that Cat Stevens had infact changed performance name to Yusuf. This will alert people to his new alias and therefore would draw previous fan of his into his new musical world. Again, at the top of the page is the album name and artist title.
The main image is fairly simple, however mise-en-scene has been thought about to a high quality. We see a man (assumed to be Yusuf), busking under a street light to the right of the page. This creates a feeling that the album is going to be slightly folky and acoustic due to the front cover alone. The VW parked to the bottom right further backs up this idea. As it is set late at night, this allows the natural lighting to take effect on the image, with a spotlight from the street light surrounding Yusuf. The lighting of the page gives off the impression that the lyrical side of the album may ensue stories of depression or troubles.
The advert varies fonts dramatically, with at least three different fonts used within 9 lines of text. Firstly, the text depicting Yusuf is fairly smooth, with a golden orange colouring to it. This is in conjunction with the light of the street light, and a gradient is used to take it away from a bland block of text. Underneath we see the name of the album in a rough font with white lettering. This ragged font could again show the folk roots of the album as it is linked in with a busking atmosphere. Under this in a same font is the rest of the album name in the same font however this time in the same orange as 'Yusuf'. The next block of text is formed with white writing in what seems to be Times New Roman, a basic font. This has been placed on a silhouetted building and therefore will come off the page, much as the advert above did. Finally, underneath this block are two more lines, one linking in with the block above. The other is the name of one of the singles taken from the album and this is in the same style as the album name, only slightly smaller.
The more important features of the album are the ones that leap out; for example the name of the artist and album. I was surprised that the album name appeared in a larger text, however if the artist has to introduce himself as 'the man previously known as Cat Stevens' then I don't feel that making the artist name any bigger would have made much of an impact.
Lightning Seeds - Four Winds
This advert is taken from the new album from The Lightning Seeds. This is totally different advert to anything that I have analysed thus far, due to the layout of the page. It is very basic and the colours leave a lot to be desired. The top half of the page I have no complaints about - it is referring to the album (as this is the album artwork) and it is visually pleasant. The sand dunes and foliage shows nature, and once more relates to the album name (Four Winds) as places such as these are normally quite windy. The colours used in the top half are nothing special as it is merely a photograph which seemingly has not been edited.
The name of the band and album title are on the same line with the same font and text size. This for me is a strange move, as there is nothing distinguishing the difference beteween the album or artist. Perhaps this choice is because the Lightning Seeds have been producing music since 1989 and therefore they could be a well-known music group. The fact that this advert was taken from Q magazine may be another factor as Q tend to specialise with music from the '90s.
The bottom half is a confusing piece of advertising. It is bland. It is boring. There is no colour to it. This is something that I would not expect from a piece of advertising in a magazine. Adverts are meant to be eye-catching and striking, however the whole page of this is neither. There is little text, adding to the simplicity of the page, with the only information coming in the form of 'New Album', when it comes out and what formats it is available on. The website to the band is given incase people want to follow up this advert and research further.
Overall this advert does not use imagery or colour to good effect. When the public is flicking through from page to page this advert will not jump out and cause them to stop at this particular page.
Depeche Mode - Sounds Of The Universe
This is the magazine advert for 'Sounds Of The Universe' - the new album from Depeche Mode. The first thing that I was drawn to was the central figure. It is circular, perhaps referring to the 'Universe' section of the album title. The coloured rods emanating from this circular figure are seemingly randomly placed and are a whole host of vibrant colours, something which the advert by Lightning Seeds was lacking. This certainly sticks out as the rest of the page is nothing amazing to look at. The background of the page is grey, and this links in directly with the album cover as the same colours and images are used.
The text at the top of the advert shows the logo and font used by Depeche Mode for the album and for other items they have been promoting. This new font is more modern than plain text and therefore it shows that a fairly old band have made the jump into the new era of music, something that may draw in newer fans. The text of the album name is underneath the main image and is in a white font which is easily visible on the grey background, however it does not really jump out like other colours would.
Underneath this font is something that I have not yet seen, another advert for their live tour dates. This has been non-existent on the other adverts and this band have decided to pack it with information so as to advertise to more and more people, thus raising awareness of their tour. It gives information regarding dates, locations and where to buy the tickets from.
This advert has used an injection of colour to good effect. The slightly differently coloured background is a welcome change to a plain white, however it also makes the text easy to read.
Maximo Park - Quicken The Heart
Instantly this advert does something that not a lot of other adverts do - it makes you stop and look. The completely different background colour and in-your-face imagery makes you stop and pay attention to it. The dark golden background with the occasional yellow spark depicts star constellations and astrological terminology. This is linked directly with the album artwork. Text accounts for 80% of the page, and therefore it seems to be bombarded with information however it does not seem too cluttered.
The white font does seem a bit repetitive and boring, however due to the colouring of the background it would be tricky to find something that would equally stand out. The main text is of the album name - something that I find surprising as it is normally the artist name which is the main selling point. The font is nothing special as it seems fairly bland, however they have used all capitals which make it seem more bulky and therefore more dense.
Once more, information is added to make it seem more appealing. Along with the release date of the album, there is also information regarding formats of the CD. Boxed towards the bottom of the page is what is included when you purchase the CD / DVD edition, which could prove to be a selling point when someone is deciding which format to buy. Underneath the box is information surrounding the single from the album. Again, the band's website is featured as means of research for anyone wanting to find out more.
Codes and Conventions
From looking at these 5 magazine adverts, I have come across various codes and conventions which I feel will be integral to me when I come to creating my advert.
- Colour scheme : This is important as it is the base to a good advert. As we saw with Maximo Park it causes the public to take notice, and the colours are normally linked directly with the album artwork.
- Information : Information is used to good effect. There is info regarding release dates, tour dates, singles and websites and this seems to be a constant in all adverts I have looked at.
- Fonts : Information about relevant information is written in the same style - if we look at Yusuf again we see that information around the album is written in the rugged font, whereas other information is different.
With these things in mind, I can now go off and create an advert which I feel will be competitive in a magazine.
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