Magazine Advert Analysis - Miss Georgiou

 There are many different purposes of a magazine album advert. The main one of being in order to promote an artist's album and reach a wider, mass target audience. This is because it attracts the attention of the magazine readers which may not be an initial target audience option. It could further be a purpose for acting as a constant reminder for an upcoming album. This reinforces the audience of new material that the artist is releasing and attracts more sales due to more frequent advertising and acknowledgement, which makes the audience more likely to remember the release. Furthermore, the purpose of magazine advert also allows a link to be created with other advertisements of the album to further create more marketing as well as getting support from other different companies that could increase sales further. Magazine adverts also link in with other any articles within the magazine on that particular artist, which benefits both the magazine and the artist. I have chosen to analyse Adele's '21' album promotion advert and Paloma Faith's album advert. I decided to analyse these adverts as Adele is the artist that we would like to make a video for and Paloma Faith is a successful soul genre artist of today. 

Adele's '21' Album Advert

Adele's '21' album magazine advert is very conventional to the genre of soul. The artist is represented as being depressed and insecure. This is from the way her facial expression is fairly mutual as if she is hiding something like a feeling or an emotion that is restricting her from being herself. She is looking to the ground in both pictures (the main advert picture and the album cover) which shows a lack of confidence. This could be seen as reflecting insecurity from the way that she feels the need to look down without the confidence of looking directly into the camera. This therefore, is illustrated to the audience too as they are unable to see the artist look directly at them which makes them feel sympathetic towards her. It could also connote the way that she is reflecting back on experiences of her life which is the content of the ones within the album and so, gives the audience a glimpse of the album before purchasing. The colours of the advert are very significant in that the black and white filter mirrors the idea that Adele is reflecting on her past as many moments captured in the past are coloured black and white. Black and white are very dull and simple colours which could infer that her past or whatever she is singing about may be negative. It could also represent the emotion she is attempting to express as black can connote depression. This gives the audience further taste as to what to expect from the songs on the album and this is strengthened by the way the songs are based on personal experiences - which is also conventional to the genre of soul. The use of green in the advert for some of the font, typically connotes jealousy. This slight inference of jealousy could reflect the emotion in one or more of the songs on the album and so, the audience are able to recognise this which could interest them and also be relatable to them if they believe they are in a similar situation to Adele. Having the green on the name of the album '21' and 'available everywhere now' emphasises the album and the message that it is easily accessible. On the other hand, green can also suggest something new and fresh - this could be a message that the advert is trying to portray, that Adele's new album is fresh and natural. A green line also outlines the album which stands out from the contrast to the monotone colour of black and white prominently featured in the advert. This contrast creates a 3D effect as it makes the album seem as if it is slightly more forward and close to the audience than the rest of the advert. The design and layout of the advert is fairly simple but effective. There is a large image that fills the whole of the advert which allows the advert to be more eye-catching, as fans are more likely to notice Adele quicker from the way she takes up the majority of the advert. The same effect would not be created if the advert was filled with mostly writing as it would not attract the audience/reader and would not tempt them to stop and read as naturally, people are visually attracted to something they choose to read. Having the album in the bottom left hand corner shows that the purpose of the advert is still reinforced and that people can still buy it. Furthermore, the way that the images featured on the album are very similar shows the relation between them, however, still ensures interest as it supplies a different, unique image to the advert. The choice of image for the advert is large and shows her positioned on the side of the advert which allows the audience to be able to recognise her, but prevents distraction from the purpose of the advert of showing the album that is being promoted. The way that half of the artist's face is being shown manages to hide her identity, making her seem shady and insecure as it could infer that she doesn't want to expose herself. The typography in the advert is very distinct in the way that the artist's name is in capital letters, in a simple, large and unbolded font. The name of the album '21' is displayed next to the capitalised 'ADELE' which demonstrates the connection between the two clearly. However, they are separated by the fact that 'ADELE' is coloured white, whereas '21' is coloured green. The way that the artist's name has been written in this way gives her an identity as it is distinct and different to any other artist. The simplicity of the font also reflects her emotions and personality that is portrayed in Adele's videos which are illustrated as being quite neutral. 'Available everywhere now' is in smaller print and different font to make sure that it isn't associated with the distinct identity of the artist. The way it is capitalised however, still makes it 'stand out' to the audience, easily readable and shows relevance and significance to the advert as it promotes the release of the album. The style of the language is not lengthy and is actually quite short, snappy and simple. This makes it more attracting to the audience as the message of the advert is delivered quickly, with no effort needed from the audience. This simplicity engages them as, if there was a large amount of text on the advert, a lot of people would not be encouraged to feel the need to read the advert. Having a minimal, simple style of language for the small amount of text displayed on the advert, ensures that all attention of the audience is on Adele and the album. The language does still attract the attention of the audience by supplying key information to engage them and intrigue them about the artist, for example '2 time Grammy Award Winner'. This represents her as being more successful which is attempted to be emphasised here and to purposely be acknowledged by the audience. The advert promotes the soul genre in a way that reflects the content of being about personal, past experience. This is from the black and white filter, as well as the artist's expression from the way she is looking down and not directly into the camera. It also shows the genre as conveying deeper feelings and emotions within the songs of that genre. From the dark colouring and general mood created through this advert, this is displayed. The advert promotes the artist in a sympathetic and relatable way. She is shown being very honest and deep in the way that she is expressing her emotions which are expected to be reflected in the songs on the album. This builds a stronger connection between the artist and the audience because they are able to recognise how she is just an ordinary person going through the same situations that regular audience members would - therefore, this is also a point that attracts the audience. The advert also attracts the audience by including a large image of the artist as it immediately catches the attention of the magazine reader and instantly shows reference to Adele. The audience are also attracted to the advert through the way that there is a limited amount of text. As the target audience is a fairly young one, 16 - 30 years old, they would be attracted to this as younger audiences are found to be more 'lazy' when it comes to reading. Having a small amount of short, snappy text ensures their attention is caught and that they are still able to be engaged in the advert and feel intrigued to the extent in which they feel to go out and purchase the album.

Paloma Faith's 'A Perfect Contradiction' Album Advert

Paloma Faith's album advert, whilst being different to Adele's in many ways, is still conventional to the genre of soul. This particular advert of hers is promoting the release of 'A Perfect Contradiction' - her 'new' album (2014). Paloma is represented in the advert as being quite quirky and unique. This is generally from her initial appearance which is fairly bold arguably peculiar. This is from the way that her hair is vibrant and bright which makes her stand out from others. Orange/ginger hair is sometimes shown as being negative or more of a rarity, however, Paloma is shown to very much flaunt this aspect of her. This shows her as being confident and uncaring of what others think and have an opinion of her. It also reassures particular audience members who may feel they can relate to her and may take influence into following her confident attitude. She is also represented as being quite glamorous from the earrings she is wearing, which would often be associated with more flamboyancy. This way that she is represented is very conventional to the genre of soul from the way that she has her own distinct identity that is quirky, unique and different from others in the industry. The flawless and use of quite a lot of makeup could connote a deeper meaning than just making the artist look more attractive. Typically soul artists tend to write songs on negative situations to do with love, heartbreak, etc. This also applies to Paloma Faith, and so, the way that she is shown to have so much makeup on could be a front and in fact could be symbolic for being something to hide her feelings behind. The more makeup that is worn, the less natural emotions that the audience will witness from the artist. This could show a slight 'fakeness' in the way that she shows herself as being a confident woman when in fact there could be unknowing underlying, negative emotions. This is also reflected in the content of her songs, for example 'Only Love Can Hurt Like This' which is featured on the album. This is a song that illustrates the negative aspects of love as she displays how she is 'hurt' from the situation she is in. This is typically conventional to the soul genre as most soul genre songs are based around the negativity of a heartbreak or love. The colours in the advert show significance also. The dark colouring of the clothes that the artist is wearing is overlapped by the album information and reviews. This emphasises the album from the contrast of the colour of the font being white which connotes innocence and purity, unlike the depressing and sad connotation of dark/black. The way that the artist has been brightened and edited to be more vibrant in the way she is displayed makes her boldness stand out more in the advert making her more attention grabbing to a reader. This boldness and brightness of the colours shown on the artist reflect and emphasise her uniqueness as the contrast between her and the dark background and clothing reinforces the idea that she has her own identity and that she is different to other artists. The design/layout of the advert also illustrates particular effects. Having the artist above the album information allows her to be the main focus point and the dominant feature in the advert. This is the main attraction to the audience as this is what is going to grab their attention before going on to read the advert so this is a very important feature of the layout. As an audience we naturally tend to look up or on the upper part of a page when reading something as we assume that this is the primary information/feature of whatever is being read. Therefore, having the image above the information prioritises it for the audience to initially notice the advert from this. The way in which the album is positioned in the middle of the lower half of the advert makes it seem like it is the centre of attention. This is then emphasised as the reviews and information on the album surround it which reinforces its impact and the purpose for the advert - to promote the album and artist. The choice of image for the artist displays her flamboyancy from the way she is looking away from the camera, looking upwards. This gives her more of a natural look as if she doesn't know that the picture is being taken which makes her admirable for the audience as although the picture has been edited she still looks immaculate. The way she is slightly looking up could show her nature of striving to succeed which is complimented in the reference to the way that she will 'cast a spell on America'. However, it could also be seen that the choice of image reflects more stereotypically conventional to the genre of soul. This is from the way that likewise with Adele's album advert, she is looking away from the camera and not directly at it. This could inferably reflect insecurity and a lack of confidence within herself as it seems as though she cannot face looking to the camera (audience) directly. This makes the audience feel sympathetic towards her, especially as she makes herself out to be very confident and open with her feelings. The typography is purposely different for a few parts in the advert. The artist's name is as expected, the largest written text on the advert. This ensures that the audience can associate themselves with her and her identity as soon as they see the advert. The font of which is very sophisticated, stylish and creative which mirrors the way she presents herself and her personality. The way it is also different to any other font on the rest of the advert reinforces the way that she is unlike others in the industry. The reviews are written in italics which emphasises the fact that they are quoted which attracts the audience as it gives them more information on the artist from an outsider's point of view. As well as this, the reviewers which are magazines and newspapers, have their own font too which give them their identity. This enables the audience to acknowledge their identity and recognise who they are more easily as they may associated the font with that particular media title. The style of the language in this advert is more elaborated than in Adele's advert. I believe that is this because Paloma's audience is slightly older, more edging towards a target audience of 16 - late 30's. This type of audience are more likely to take the time to read the advert than the younger audience. Furthermore, as this advert seems to be aimed at Americans, having more elaborated information such as the short reviews, release dates and comments about some of the songs, helps the American audience to understand and familiarise themselves with this artist. With Paloma Faith being British, the Americans may not know as much about her, so by having well known magazines/newspapers making comment on her positively allows them to get a gist of her standard. Moreover, the way that the first little comment under the artist's name says how Paloma will 'cast a spell on America' shows how different and influencing she is. 'Cast a spell' could be associated with witches which are seen to be arguably fantastical creatures. This could therefore represent Paloma as being extraordinary and corrupting in the way that this has been written. The advert promotes the soul genre as being positive. This is from the way that the artist is described as 'soulful' which is used in the advert as a quality and attempts to encourage the audience into buying the album. The advert promotes the artist as being unique and having their own identity. In addition, the advert promotes the artist as being confident in being different to others and to being original. The way that America is referenced shows that although she is a British artist, she is able to sell worldwide and so this advert promotes her as being world class. This advert also attracts the audience by including detail about the content in the album and opinions from other brands which is likely to influence their way of thinking. The advert attracts the audience also from the large, gripping and powerful image that reflects dominance and manages to engage the audience into the advert.

Both of the magazine adverts are conventional to the genre of soul and so, I will use this research to inform my planning of my advert. I have learnt that all the aspects that I have analysed the adverts about are important in making the advert successful in their own way. I have found from this research that the image has got to be one of the most important aspects - not just the positioning and size but also the choice. Both images were particularly chosen to display emotion and express feelings from the artist that could reflect onto the audience. Additionally, the album images and the images displayed in the advert were very similar in reference to colour and the initial look of the artist, which I liked the idea of as it wasn't repetitive but still managed to create a link between the two appropriately. Having this is conventional, especially as the colouring is black and white in the Adele advert which creates the sombre tone to the advert, linking to the content of the album being promoted. I also like the fact that the typography was also very significant in the adverts as they aided to illustrate the personality and identity of the artist in-particular. The different fonts and sizes of the fonts can help to deter where the audience is ideally meant to have drawn their attention to. This is also conventional to the soul genre as emotion is a prominent aspect that is widely attempted to be conveyed in an effective way and so, for my magazine advert, I will ensure to create the same effect and make sure that the emotion I intend to create is illustrated. I will take this on board when creating my own advert and will make sure to carefully choose which fonts to use for each aspect of the writing on the advert to show a separation between the content.