MAGAZINE ADVERTS RESEARCH
BY BECCA SIMS
The feature to note is the image. The image dominates the page and covers about 3/4 of it which is quite a lot for a magazine advert. The picture is very different as it shows a part of each band members face in four different sections to make one whole face. Also in the four sections is different parts of an owl's face split up and put over the top of the mens faces. This creates a very odd image of a cross between an owl and humans face which is very unusual. However, due to it being so unusual, it becomes an effective piece of art for the advert, as people tend to remember the image the more weird it is and therefore increases sales and an increase of people talking about the album.
The second feature to note would be the location of the titles. The title of the band name ''Kings Of Leon'' is placed right at the top of the advert, this is because it is of high importance on the advert, as despite your attention immediately being drawn to the image, because the image is so unusual it makes you immediately want to know who the band is and who the album is produced by. The words "Kings Of Leon" are written in bold white writing as this contrasts well against the black background and therefore jumps off the page to the reader of the advert. The blue underscores are also effective here when trying to get the name of the band to stand out on the page.
Just below the image the name of the album is clearly stated. It is written in the same bold letters as the name of the band at the top and is of the same font size. This suggests that the two lines of text are of simliar importance on the advert. The name of the album also uses the underscores again to allow a common theme to be conveyed on the page. The bold letters are used again in order to catch the attention of people reading the magazine.
There are several other pieces of text on the page, first of which is written in the same white writing as the words "Kings Of Leon" but in a smaller font. The text goes into detail about the songs that you can expect to see on the album, which gives the reader important information about the CD they are interested in. The songs listed here are most likely popular songs that a lot of people have heard of as this will be something they can relate to easily, and if some of their favourite songs are on the album they may be more tempted to purhcase it. Second of which is the "Out Now" placed in the centre at the bottom in bright red in order to let the reader know that they do not have to wait and that the album can be purchased now, it gives a across a sense of urgency and the idea that if they do not go and get it now they are missing out.
The Two Door Cinema Club magazine advert is advertising their new album ‘tourist history’.
What originally drew my attention to this album advert was the strain and quirky main image of a cat wearing a cardboard crown which is also used on the album cover; this image seems to stick with me and is very memorable and recognisable for its oddity. I also like the aesthetic of the main image in the style it is taken, it looks as though a Polaroid camera or film camera has been used with flash and possibly aperture priority to give it that washed out and over exposed appearance which only ads to the style of the image.
This image has also been edited with what appears to be lines coming from the cats eyes, which look to be hand drawn, again adding to the hand made and personal style of the poster. The lines add a sort of comic, animated quality to the image and add another layer of interest to the picture. Not only this but the direct address given to the camera from the cat captivate the audience, as well as this the lines coming from the eyes outward almost give the impression that the cat is trying to hypnotise the audience; the cardboard crown adds to this effect, the cat is crowned royal and puts the animal in a position where it seems to be more powerful and important than the viewer, which is rather humorous and random when depicted in such a way.
Also, the layout of the album advert, with the simple white sans serif font framing the image and bringing together the over all advert at the top and bottom of the page, it gives a classic quality and I find it to be very aesthetically pleasing in its simplicity. There are several fonts used throughout the advert, all rather similar in style and linked together in their colour of white which I think is important in ultimately giving a professional appearance. The band name logo is a combination of a bold square sans serif font and a much thinner and almost feminine font on the rounded letters which creates diversity and makes the title more interesting to look at; the rest of the font on the advert mirrors this with combining on the same line thin lettering on either side of the bolder chunkier lettering, this centres the text and brings a balance to the text aligning it with the main image and title above.
The image of Ellie Golding is very stunning in my opinion. It is very dramatic with her look into the distance and with the glitter traipsing down her hair. There's an effective link between the gold of the glitter and the title of the album 'lights' due to its brightness, this is also seen through the glow effect on the text 'Ellie Golding', the name is in gold which contrasts against the black background and stands out. The gold lights against the black background is very eye catching and fits with the album name.
Unlike the two magazine adverts above, the image is of the actual artist, as she is identified as a solo artist, whilst the others are adverts for bands. Her make-up is natural looking and she isn't heavily done up as she would be if she was part of the rock genre where they are heavily made up in make up with harsh defining features. This helps us automatically know she must be a part of a softer genre if you didn't know who she was.
The target audience for this magazine advert is most probably mainly teenage girls. The subtle lights and the way in which the text is thin and curvy helps to suggesst it is more female orientated.
Another feature of the advert that the other two above do not have is the star ratings. This was something we wanted to replicate on our own advert as we thought it made the advert seem more authentic as you can see what other big brands think of the work so that the audience knows whether it is good or not and whether to buy it. Ellie Golding's poster has ratings from four different companies, all giving the album 4 stars. This is quite a lot to have 4 different companies ratings on a advert and for them all to give a high rating of 4 stars, means for the audience, it is reliable enough to trust these ratings as they are all the same and that the album is good.