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RESEARCH

What is a Magazine Advertisement? - (20/9/15)

A magazine advertisement is an advert that is incorporated within a magazine or a similar publication. The reason for this placement is in order to market and inform the consumer about a subject, event or product. The advertisements can be any size, however the cost obviously increases the larger the advert is. Some are small, taking up a small part of the publication, however some can be as large as double page spreads. These advertisements are particularly seen in music, gaming, film, TV and fashion magazines. The advertisement will often suit the magazine it is put into, for example an advert, advertising a film would be placed into a film magazine, in order to gain the appeal of a consumer interested in the film industry.

Magazine Advertisements Analysis

Olly Murs - (21/9/15)

Here we see the synergy between the magazine advetisement and the album cover, through the use of text and the identical image.

Right Place Right Time is the third studio album by English recording artist Olly Murs. It was released on 23 November 2012, by Epic Records. Below is my analysis of the magazine advert which can be seen to the right. 

Ed Sheeran - (21/9/15)

Here we see the synergy between the magazine advetisement and the cover for Ed's album "plus", through the use of the + on both.

Bruno Mars & Chris Brown Comparison - (22/9/15)

Both adverts for Bruno Mars and Chris Brown feature mid-shots of the artists (Dyers ‘extraordinary’ paradox) which is a convention of magazine advertisements for male pop artists. Bruno Mars is wearing a pale blue blazer with an unbuttoned shirt and brown trousers. This attire is very smart casual and portrays him as being laid-back. Chris Brown however is wearing a white shirt, black tie and black trousers with a burgundy blazer over his shoulder. Comparatively to Bruno’s outfit, this is very formal suggesting that he has a more serious personality to the audience, backed up by his non-verbal communication. Both magazine advertisements feature synergyintertextuality between the adverts and the artists respective albums. However whereas Bruno Mars’ only features intertextuality through the use of identical typography, Chris Brown’s advert uses his album artwork for ‘exclusive’ as the image for his advert, along with the exact font style. This suggests that Chris Brown is mostly concerned with the promotion of his album, which is the opposite to Bruno who wants to publicise his star image. In terms of the layout they are both very similar to one another, along with the Olly Murs advert I previously analysed. They feature the mid-shot of the artist along one side of the page and the rest of the information features around it, starting with the artists name at the top. This is so the audience associates the advert with that particular artist. This layout style is also a genre convention, one which we might consider complying with as its seen very frequently, so therefore it must be successful.

Justin Timberlake & The Weeknd Comparison - (23/9/15)

Below is my analysis of both advertisements in bullet point form:

 

Camerawork

  • Both mid-shots = identical to adverts previously analysed = convention = Dyer’s ‘extraordinary’ paradox + album artwork and advert are same = intertextuality

Mise en scene

  • Justin Timberlake’s advert colour = black and white = suggests class and sophistication = identical to connotations of tuxedo = part of his iconography = Dyer’s Star Theory

  • Whereas The Weeknd’s advert = yellow = autumn connotations = matches song title “King Of The Fall” + red = death and violence + further inferred by black eye = suggests he appeals to a specific market with negative values

Typography & Language

  • Font used on advert = font used on album = synergy = present in all previous magazine adverts analysed = conforms convention

  • Both adverts use word ‘special’ = suggests unique and a rarity = positive = highlights artists talent = similar effect to Goodwin’s performance typology

Layout

  • Advertisements both feature image at centre = after artist name = audience recognises name + associates it with picture = entices audience

  • The Weeknd’s advert = name of tour below mid-shot + name of artist at top = suggests slightly unknown = audience has to familiarise with name/image first

  • However Justin’s advert = tour name first + artist name above image = has an established image and audience = familiar with the name = Dyer’s ‘stars are commodities’ theory

Robin Thicke & Ne-Yo Comparison - (24/9/15)

The camerawork used in Ne-Yo’s advert is conventional of other male pop artists magazine advertisements as he is shown in a mid-shot (Dyer’s ‘extraordinary’ paradox). Comparatively Robin Thicke’s advertisement conflicts with this convention as he is depicted in a long-shot, which detaches a little bit of attention away from himself, so that the audience notices the other information. As with other adverts I have analysed, both of these examples feature the artists in smart, casual clothing, suggesting they are quite laid-back along with the type of music they produce (Dyer’s star theory). Black, white and red are colours that feature on both of these advertisements and in fact a fair few I have analysed previously. Not only does the black & white combination connote class and sophistication, but it also creates a good contrast between that and the red typography, the vibrance of which appeals and attract the audience. There is also synergy between the magazine adverts and the other work the artists have produced, similar to the other adverts I have looked at, suggesting that we need to consider this convention when it comes to making our own. The layout of the advert is also similar to almost all of the other ones I’ve seen in the sense that the artists name appears at the top/ top corner of the page, with the image of the artist all the way down one side. 

Usher & Maroon 5 Comparison - (25/9/15)

Conclusion - (26/9/15)

Throughout my analysis of magazine advertisements I have discovered the following conventions:

 

  • The camerawork used is mostly mid-shots of the artist showing their facial expressions as well as clothing in detail (Dyer’s ‘extraordinary’ paradox).

  • In terms of costumes, the ones worn in the majority of the adverts are smart, casual or just casual which have fun and fashionable connotations, similar to those of the pop genre.

  • Red is often used for the typography on the adverts, which is because it is a very vibrant colour that provides great contrast to the background, making it more eye catching/striking which draws the audience in. Also synergy is always used between the font style of the advert and the album/tour it is advertising.

  • The language included in the magazine adverts I have looked at is very positive, which almost ensures the audience of their success, guaranteeing quality. An example would be the word ‘special’  which appears on four of the adverts and suggest originality, implying that they are a rare talent. This is to do with the specific way that pop stars are ‘constructed’ in order to appeal to a target audience with specific values (Dyer’s ‘common values’s theory) in this case creativity/talent.

  • Finally the layout for almost all of the adverts seems to consist of the artists name first, followed by a mid-shot of the artist that runs all the way down one side of the page, and then the rest of the information after.

 

When it comes to creating our own magazine advert, I believe that we should conform to the majority of these conventions as the adverts I have analysed have been in popular magazines such as Billboard. This means that the formula/conventions create a successful advert that publishers obviously recognise as being acceptable for their magazines (or other publications). It also suggests that the audience appreciates what makes a successful magazine advert that is suitable for the pop genre, as they associate specific conventions with the genre and keep purchasing publications with advertisements that construct their artists in similar ways. However just like when it comes to producing our own, the advertisements need to have differences between them so that the artist is represented using their unique selling point, but with enough similarities to recognise the advert as being from the pop genre (Neale’s ‘genre’s are instances of repetition and difference’ theory). This allows us to be creative and create a advert that is appealing to our audience, so therefore I think we need to think carefully about the mise-en-scene incorporated, along with the font style/colour used as this can massively alter how our advertisement is perceived. For example we can experiment with different colour connotations to produce several different final products and then get our target audience to vote on their favourite, ensuring that our advert satisfies their desires (Neale’s ‘difference is essential’ theory).

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