Task
1:
Analyse the following magazine advert. Ensure that your analysis is detailed and that you have included excellent examples to support the points that you have made. Also relate back to the music conventions and the target audience.
Analyse the following magazine advert. Ensure that your analysis is detailed and that you have included excellent examples to support the points that you have made. Also relate back to the music conventions and the target audience.
Representation of music artist
The artist representation taken from this particular advert, conforms to the conventions of an indie artist as a result of many contributing attributes. One being the appearance of the artist; she is wearing lipstick and heavy eye-liner which is typical of the indie style of it gives an edgy twist on the natural look. As well as this, the artist is wearing what appears to be vintage style shorts with a jumper, also very typical of the indie style. Not only in her appearance, but her choice of background contributes to the typical indie artist representation; the use of a brick wall. This connotes quirky places such as Camden and Brick Lane, locations deemed both edgy and indie. It reminds the target audience that the artist has also been brought up in a location they can relate to and therefore allow the audience to build a relationship with her. Furthermore, the tour dates revealed remain in the UK, indicating that the artist is only within the UK and give a sense of exclusiveness; she is only known in the UK and therefore prone to being unique in style and music as a result of lack of record label demand. Through this the target audience may assume that the artist is more truthful to her actual personality, subverting mainstream ideologies and in turn, found more appealing.
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| Advert of Nina Nesbitt's tour |
Connotations of the advert
Design/layout
In consideration of the size of the advert itself, the image of the artist is relatively large and takes up a large amount of the area. This allows the audience to focus on her appearance and style, giving them something to take/maintain an interest in. For example, what clothes she is wearing in order for them to purchase/adopt a similar style so that they feel similar to the artist. Similarly, the artist's name is also very large in the advert, emphasising that it is in fact an advert for 'Nina Nesbitt' attracting the audience whether they are aware of her or not, as the large name will create awareness as it is easily visible. With both aspects of the poster being large, this makes the aim of the advert very clear to the audience as they quickly become aware of who the advert is about. The large proportions of each aspect are engaging also as they are attention grabbing whereas small proportionate aspects become hard to see and therefore unrecognisable to a potential target audience. Furthermore, the lack of additional and unnecessary information on the advert, engage the audience into the facts that are vital; her name, what she looks like, her tour dates. In this case, the target audience know who she is, where she is performing and when. Any additional information in terms of single sales, record label etc become uninteresting and therefore the target audience no longer are engaged in the advert. It is the minimal but vital information on this advert that make is successful as it encourages potential audience to purchase tickets to see her perform.
In consideration of the size of the advert itself, the image of the artist is relatively large and takes up a large amount of the area. This allows the audience to focus on her appearance and style, giving them something to take/maintain an interest in. For example, what clothes she is wearing in order for them to purchase/adopt a similar style so that they feel similar to the artist. Similarly, the artist's name is also very large in the advert, emphasising that it is in fact an advert for 'Nina Nesbitt' attracting the audience whether they are aware of her or not, as the large name will create awareness as it is easily visible. With both aspects of the poster being large, this makes the aim of the advert very clear to the audience as they quickly become aware of who the advert is about. The large proportions of each aspect are engaging also as they are attention grabbing whereas small proportionate aspects become hard to see and therefore unrecognisable to a potential target audience. Furthermore, the lack of additional and unnecessary information on the advert, engage the audience into the facts that are vital; her name, what she looks like, her tour dates. In this case, the target audience know who she is, where she is performing and when. Any additional information in terms of single sales, record label etc become uninteresting and therefore the target audience no longer are engaged in the advert. It is the minimal but vital information on this advert that make is successful as it encourages potential audience to purchase tickets to see her perform.
Choice of images
There are two main images in the advert; the artist herself and the background, creating a very simplistic advert as a whole. The lack of visual variation limit a possible over-crowding effect, which may appeal to the target audience of a pop artist, however less likely in term of an indie artist, as they appear simple and focused on their music rather than their image. The image of the artist herself is also very simple; she is just standing. However this shot of her allows the audience to see her style, whereas if the shot were of just her face, this would not allow the target audience to engage an interest in her style, giving them reason to keep up to date with the artist. The background is a brick wall, again simple as the target audience view this as a familiar location easy to relate to. It is suggestive of the artist's past, that she also lived an everyday life and therefore portrays a quality which is similar to the target audience. In turn, the audience feel more similar to the artist and are able to build a relationship based on common ground as they feel the artist is down to earth and realistic.
There are two main images in the advert; the artist herself and the background, creating a very simplistic advert as a whole. The lack of visual variation limit a possible over-crowding effect, which may appeal to the target audience of a pop artist, however less likely in term of an indie artist, as they appear simple and focused on their music rather than their image. The image of the artist herself is also very simple; she is just standing. However this shot of her allows the audience to see her style, whereas if the shot were of just her face, this would not allow the target audience to engage an interest in her style, giving them reason to keep up to date with the artist. The background is a brick wall, again simple as the target audience view this as a familiar location easy to relate to. It is suggestive of the artist's past, that she also lived an everyday life and therefore portrays a quality which is similar to the target audience. In turn, the audience feel more similar to the artist and are able to build a relationship based on common ground as they feel the artist is down to earth and realistic.
Typography
The font used to write the artist's name, is always used on any product in which the artist's name features in i.e. adverts, album covers, artist website. Therefore, this begins to build an image of the artist as the consistency of this particular font allows the audience to associate such font with the artist, therefore creating increased awareness of her. Also, her name is very large in size, letting the audience know straight away that the advert is about her; it is engaging regardless if the audience has heard of her or not as they are immediately drawn to her name as a result of the size of the font. Furthermore, the tour dates are all in capital letters to emphasise to the audience that she is on tour and when she is performing. It encourages the target audience to purchase tickets as they are efficiently informed as to when she is performing.
Style of language
The advert lacks information on the artist herself in terms of her music, background and style. The key language used is the promotion of her tour dates. The lack of information doesn't provide the audience with any additional information on the artist and therefore the language of the advert is solely purposeful to promote her tour dates as well as the website to purchase them. The language is encouraging the audience to purchase tickets rather than informing the target audience of her as an artist. The tour dates encourage the audience to watch/listen to her and then develop their interest accordingly, in which case they will then find out information on the artist themselves, encouraging them to remain interested as there is more to find out.
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How does the advert promote the
music genre?
The content of the advert lacks any information about the artist or her music and therefore the audience do not focus on any additional and arguably unnecessary information about the artist that may take them away from actually listening to the artist and rather just know more about her. Therefore, by only including tour dates of the artist's, the advert encourages the audience to attend a live performance of hers, a typical convention deemed significant in defining the indie genre. Live performances are conventionally associated with the indie genre because it is representative of the artist's appreciation for the audience and how down to earth they are in order for the audience to directly connect with the artist. Therefore the advert promotes the genre as it highlights the importance of live performance and included the audience in the artist representation, conventional of the genre.
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How does the advert promote the
artist?
The advert promotes the artist as it encourages potential target audience to listen to her, in which they wouldn't be if the advert were not to exist and therefore there would be no method of persuasion to encourage others to listen to her; in which case, a limited amount of people would. Therefore the advert is successful in conveying his image from the picture included and as a result, the audience are familiar with her image, portrayed as easy to relate to for she is dressed simple and conventionally indie. It promotes her as a down to earth person in which the audience find appealing as they can relate to her. Furthermore, the tour dates encourage the audience to purchase tickets in order to see her live and therefore it promotes her ability to provide a successful performance,suggesting her talent and dedication within music.
The advert promotes the artist as it encourages potential target audience to listen to her, in which they wouldn't be if the advert were not to exist and therefore there would be no method of persuasion to encourage others to listen to her; in which case, a limited amount of people would. Therefore the advert is successful in conveying his image from the picture included and as a result, the audience are familiar with her image, portrayed as easy to relate to for she is dressed simple and conventionally indie. It promotes her as a down to earth person in which the audience find appealing as they can relate to her. Furthermore, the tour dates encourage the audience to purchase tickets in order to see her live and therefore it promotes her ability to provide a successful performance,suggesting her talent and dedication within music.
Representation of music artist
The advert represents the artists conventional indie artists for it has incorporated several indie conventions; one being the theme of nature, as they all appear to be in a field. Such location represents the artists as down to earth and natural, rather than falsely constructed in order to encourage consumption. Such representation is conventional to the indie genre as the target audience favour the realism that indie artists portray; they appear genuine and therefore the target audience can relate to them easier. Furthermore, each of the band members are holding a guitar, suggesting that they can all play them in which case, are represented as very talented. Once again, this representation conventional to the genre as the target audience favour the real talent that the artists have, rather than being famous for the sake of it. Also, this representation is easy to relate to as the target audience may share a similar interest or hobby regarding instruments and therefore this gives the audience a similar quality
to the artists that they can build a relationship upon through mutuality.
The advert represents the artists conventional indie artists for it has incorporated several indie conventions; one being the theme of nature, as they all appear to be in a field. Such location represents the artists as down to earth and natural, rather than falsely constructed in order to encourage consumption. Such representation is conventional to the indie genre as the target audience favour the realism that indie artists portray; they appear genuine and therefore the target audience can relate to them easier. Furthermore, each of the band members are holding a guitar, suggesting that they can all play them in which case, are represented as very talented. Once again, this representation conventional to the genre as the target audience favour the real talent that the artists have, rather than being famous for the sake of it. Also, this representation is easy to relate to as the target audience may share a similar interest or hobby regarding instruments and therefore this gives the audience a similar qualityto the artists that they can build a relationship upon through mutuality.
Connotations of the advert
The colours of the advert are both conventional and unconventional.Such colours of blues, browns and greens are conventional colours within the indie genre as they connote nature; a theme that is clearly visible in this poster. This connotation reinforces the artist representation as being down to earth and therefore easier to relate to as the target audience feel increasingly similar to them. By conforming to such convention, the audience can clearly recognise the artists as being indie and therefore the appeal in increased. Contrastingly, the poster also consists of the colours black and white, typically associated with genres such as Rock, as they connote evil, anger and darkness in personality. Arguably, these colours have been used to highlight the nature motif through complete contrast. Also, these colours are very basic and minimalistic, conventional to the indie genre; and therefore the colour connotations can be justified in this advert.
Design/layout
The layout of the advert conforms to indie conventions. Although the band are separated in their own image, each of the members are proportionate to the other and therefore this implies their equal status within the group. Typically in genres such as Pop, there is a lead member within the band that typically appears more important than the other members; however this advert represents the band as unified due to their equal importance and therefore encourages the audience to focus on their music rather than the arguments disproportionate status may cause within the band i.e. the Pussy Cat Dolls.
Furthermore, the name of the band is easily visible for the audience to see; conventional to the genre. This method of having the name of the artist may be strategical for encouraging the audience to remember them as the representation of the artist is very minimalistic and simple and therefore gives the audience nothing in particular to remember or associate with. However, by enlarging the name of the artist/band, this encourages the audience to focus on it, thus encouraging them to remember it. Therefore, this appeals to the target audience as they remember the artist, encouraging them to find out more i.e. look at provided pictures, song titles etc.
The layout of the advert conforms to indie conventions. Although the band are separated in their own image, each of the members are proportionate to the other and therefore this implies their equal status within the group. Typically in genres such as Pop, there is a lead member within the band that typically appears more important than the other members; however this advert represents the band as unified due to their equal importance and therefore encourages the audience to focus on their music rather than the arguments disproportionate status may cause within the band i.e. the Pussy Cat Dolls.
Furthermore, the name of the band is easily visible for the audience to see; conventional to the genre. This method of having the name of the artist may be strategical for encouraging the audience to remember them as the representation of the artist is very minimalistic and simple and therefore gives the audience nothing in particular to remember or associate with. However, by enlarging the name of the artist/band, this encourages the audience to focus on it, thus encouraging them to remember it. Therefore, this appeals to the target audience as they remember the artist, encouraging them to find out more i.e. look at provided pictures, song titles etc.
Choice of images
The images used are very conventional due to their nature motif; each band member is laying in a field and therefore this implies their representation of being down to earth. As a result, the audience feel they are easy to relate to as they appear 'normal', encouraging them to build a relationship with the artist in order to maintain an interest in them. Furthermore, each of the members appear to be sitting on the ground, again reinforcing the representation and qualities that they are ordinary people rather than celebrities who appear spoilt. Also, the only images on the advert are the band themselves and therefore is very minimalistic. This limits the effect of feeling overwhelmed by too much visual content, thus highlighting the image of the band as being focused on their music and not over the top in doing this.
The images used are very conventional due to their nature motif; each band member is laying in a field and therefore this implies their representation of being down to earth. As a result, the audience feel they are easy to relate to as they appear 'normal', encouraging them to build a relationship with the artist in order to maintain an interest in them. Furthermore, each of the members appear to be sitting on the ground, again reinforcing the representation and qualities that they are ordinary people rather than celebrities who appear spoilt. Also, the only images on the advert are the band themselves and therefore is very minimalistic. This limits the effect of feeling overwhelmed by too much visual content, thus highlighting the image of the band as being focused on their music and not over the top in doing this.
Style of language
The advert includes a quoted review on the band, sourced from NME; a corporation that provides music and information on artists that aren't usually mainstream, but rather appeal to those of a niche market, much like the indie genre. Therefore by having a review by NME, indie fans will recognise such name is being associated with niche artists that are typically alternative to mainstream, thus appealing to them as they are provided with a trusted opinion. Also the source is unbiased and therefore more valid, emphasising the encouragement to listen to their music. The quote itself reads: 'A band who know they are onto something not just good, but something spectacular' which implies that the band are much better in comparison to the existing bands already known amongst the target audience through the use of the word 'spectacular', again reinforcing the encouragement to listen.
The first advert that you have analysed, demonstrates an excellent understanding of the codes and conventions of an indie advert. You have included excellent examples throughout and you have focused on the purpose of the advert in some detail.
ReplyDeleteNow you need to analyse your second advert and include a summary, to explain how your research will assist you with planning your own advert.
The second analysis of an advert that you have included, demonstrates your understanding further of conventions.
ReplyDeleteHowever, a summary is still needed, to explain how your research will inspire you in creating your own advert, to promote your artist.