Magazine Advert Analysis - Miss Georgiou

Magazine Advert Analysis

There is many purposes of a magazine album advert. It gives a clear representation of the artist and how they want to be portrayed, it shows this through the use of colours and images, the design and layout, the typography and also the style of language. I have chosen to analyse two different adverts, one by Birdy my chosen artist and another one by Lana Del Ray which is a similar indie artist. I have chosen these two adverts to analyse as they are both quite similar yet portray differences in their positioning and colourings. 

Birdy

A screenshot of Birdy's tour advert

Birdy's advert for her tour represents her in many ways. A main representation that is portrayed through the advert is that she is pure and innocent. This is shown through the use of her positioning, facial expressions and clothing. Birdy is positioned at the side of the advert, dressed in a casual dress and a red knitted jumper. Her facial expression shows no emotion as she looks blankly at the camera. These elements represent Birdy as quite vulnerable and sweet, which is also a connotation of her chosen genre which is the indie genre. This is because indie artists usually portray themselves as vulnerable and isolated as this is a common emotion which the target audience may be able to relate to as this is a stage you could go through between the ages of 15-25. Artists from the indie genre also usually sing and write songs about heartbreak and their emotions which is shown through the use of Birdy's tour advert which is also another common situation that the majority of the target audience may have experienced themselves. The blank facial expression that Birdy is presenting in the advert shows that she is neither happy or sad but has no emotion. This could perhaps intrigue an audience to want to find out how Birdy may be feeling and they can then find this out in her songs persuading them further to buy a ticket to her tour. 

The colours used in the advert are mainly dual and lifeless colours which represents the genre. For example we would expect for a pop genre to have a advert with bright and vibrant colours to represent an exciting and fun club like atmosphere. Therefore the plain colours used in the poster represent the genre to be that of which doesn't represent an exciting and uplifting genre full of positive songs and lyrics. The colours used in the advert are mostly pastel colours such as green and peach. This goes back to the certain representation that Birdy is portraying which is to show her to be quite young and innocent as she is still a young artist.
The design of the advert is quite simple as Birdy is positioned on one side of the advert and all of the typography is placed on the opposite side of the poster. The main focus of the advert other than the artist is Birdy's name which is the biggest piece of typography positioned on the advert. This shows that Birdy is the most important element of the advert and this is where the audience's focus should be. This is also conventional of the indie genre as indie artists mainly produce material and music videos which maintain the focus on them as an artist and their talent.The font is also quite plain yet bold which could also represent Birdy as an artist. It could represent her as this because she is a quite a new artist and the audience may not recognise her, or may only know her face. Therefore by having a long shot of birdy beside a larger text of her name will help for the audience to remember her as an artist and also be intrigued to find out more about her as an artist and also the material that she produces. The typography in the advert also gets smaller the further down it goes. This could also represent the importance of the information on the advert. The small font at the bottom of the advert is the least important and the much larger font of Birdy's name at the top of the advert holds a sense of importance.
The style of language used in this advert by Birdy is quite simplistic giving only details about the event. This is conventional as in this genre the main focus is on the artist and they give very little elements of distraction to maintain that focus. The genre is also very simplistic with not much going on which also represents the way in which the style of language is produced on the advert.
The typography on Birdy's advert is very limited stating only important dates and information for the audience to look at. However, it does include Birdy's website www.officialbirdy.com, which is conventional to the indie genre as it creates a sense of realism for the audience. They feel as though they can find out everything about Birdy and almost feel like they know her personally and this will make them feel appreciative and that Birdy is grateful for their loyalty as an artist. This also makes it more relatable for the audience as they begin to understand that Birdy is an ordinary person like them who has made her dream come true through her talent and material. This will also make the audience aspire to be like her as they begin to idolise her and want the same thing to happen to them. This makes them more loyal to her as an artist as they want to see more of her material to see what she is like as a person and this is furthering Birdy's career and promoting her as an artist.

The advert represents the music genre as unique and independent. It shows that their music is produced by artist who want to express and explore themselves as a person and show the target audience who they are and what views they have through the use of music. This is conventional to the indie genre as they mostly produce music videos which make the focus mainly on the artist and their talent. This is because they sing and write songs about real life experiences hoping to gain the audiences loyalty and affection towards them. This will help for the audience to be able to relate to the artist and build a relationship with them helping Birdy further promote herself as an artist and create a better career for herself.

The advert promotes the artist as quite a vulnerable and young girl. The advert makes her look as if she is almost an ordinary girl which makes her relatable to the target audience and helps them to build a relationship with her as they can begin to understand that she is also much like them and holds some of the same traits and characteristics that they will learn through watching the music video. However she is almost overwhelmed by the size of her name positioned next to her which also portrays to the audience that there is something extraordinary about her like it states in Dyers theory. This could symbolise the vulnerable and innocent characteristics that Birdy possesses and this would help for the audience to relate to her as they can understand that she has also gone through a hard situation and she can get through it which would idolise the audience to be more like her. This advert will make an audience believe there is something special about Birdy and will make them intrigued to find out more about her. Her body language and facial expressions makes her seem as if she is almost mysterious in some way as she doesn't give off any emotion in her facial expressions or body language. This will also make the audience more likely to want to find out more about her and will therefore look into more of her music and material which is further promoting Birdy as an artist.

Lana Del Ray

This poster presents Lana Del Rey's open road tour and she features as an artist from the indie genre. It represents Lana in different ways as an indie artist. The advert represents Lana as holding a sense of innocence and purity. This is portrayed through the use of the design and layout and also her use of costume and this is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists are usually portrayed as vulnerable and innocent as they are usually narrating a journey they have been through where they have been through an experience that was hard for them personally and they want this to be relatable for the target audience. The colours of blue, white and red in her costume and makeup also represent the colours of the American flag which also represents her background and culture being an American artist. The white shirt that Lana is wearing shows Lana to portray a sense of purity and also innocence as this is conventional to the indie genre, as they usually want to portray themselves as inspirational and someone who is trying to portray hidden messages through the use of facial expressions and body language. For example, Lana is holding her head high in the advert but looks as though she is almost looking down on the audience. This portrays her as having a sense of power and importance which would make the audience wonder how she is powerful and would be intrigued to find out through watching the music video. By portraying Lana in this way this is also representing her as inspirational and motivational which would aspire the target audience to be more like her and this may also help for the audience to feel closer and build a relationship with her as an artist.

The design and layout of Lana's advert is also conventional to the indie genre in many different ways. Lana's name is in a larger and bolder font in white against a blue background to make it stand out against the rest of the typography on the advert. The use of this shows that Lana is the most important element of the advert and that Lana should have all the focus on her being the artist. This is also conventional to the indie genre as indie artists usually produce music videos which are low budget and simplistic to maintain a thorough focus on the artist and their talent throughout the video to also represent a sense of realism to the target audience as they will begin to notice that the artist is just an ordinary person like themselves, this would also help to further build a relationship between the artist and the audience. The typography gets smaller the further down it goes on the advert which portrays to the audience that this information is less important. The colour theme of America also runs through the colours of the fonts as the date of the tour appears in blue and the tour name appears in red which further represents an American theme to show her cultural background.

The choice of image used in this advert by Lana is very conventional. The use of a mid-shot clearly shows Lana's body language and facial expressions which is conventional to the indie genre so that the audience can focus on the artists feelings and emotions and understand how they may be feeling and also what to expect in the music video. However in this advert by Lana it feels as though Lana is at a higher angel and it looks like Lana is looking down on the audience which gives her a sense of importance and power which shows the audience she is independent and strong. This is almost unconventional to the indie genre as artists from this genre are usually portrayed as vulnerable and versatile as they are usually producing material which represents loneliness and isolation through the themes of broken love affairs and heartbreak.

The typography used in this advert is very limited although it does make use of a unique feature which is Lana's personal signature. This is conventional of the indie genre as it is portraying a sense of realism through the advert and makes the audience feel as though the artist has wrote her signature personally to them which makes them feel appreciated and have a closer connection with the artist. This is also another way in which the audience can relate to the artist as they can understand through her music videos that she is an ordinary girl like them and goes through the same situations as them which may be hard for her. This also makes them idolise Lana as they see her as someone who they aspire to be like and understand that she can get through the same situations as them so it also motivates them to work through any situation they may have that is bringing them down. If this inspires them then they will be intrigued to watch more of her material and hoping to receive the same impact and effect that they have received from her previous material and this will further promote Lana as an artist.

 

The advert promotes the music genre as it is appealing for the target audience and helps to give the audience a better understanding of what sort of material the genre and artist produces. For example, in this advert by Lana it portrays a softer and purer atmosphere of music as the design is quite simplistic and also makes use of pastel colours which represents an indie artist as they are also quite gentle and peaceful colours much like how most indie artists are portrayed. The genre is represented as one that is quite calming with slow paced music which isn't very loud and produces music with a sense of realism opposed to pop music videos which represent a club like atmosphere. This is represented through the use of location and backgrounds. In the advert, Lana is positioned in front of a background which includes a blue sky with white clouds and also trees. This is representing a nice day which is also connected with positivity and happiness which is portraying Lana as a happy individual and someone who is connected with nature as most indie artists are people who like nature and the outdoors and this is seen through their location and settings which is also conventional to the indie genre.

The advert promotes the artist as a confident and strong women from the positioning of her and the effect that the mid shot gives her showing the audience both her facial expressions and body language. The shot makes it look as though Lana is almost looking down on the audience as if she has a sense of importance and power. She is being represented as fierce and strong which is a positive aspect of an artist representation as it will portray to the audience that the artist has the ability to overcome any situation and this will make her someone to look up to and for this reason the audience will begin to idolise the artist and want to be more like her. It also makes the audience feel as though she is in control of her music and social wellbeing which will make the audience intrigued to find out more about the artist and her situations.

 

The advert attracts an audience through many different features. Firstly the use of the American colour theme will intrigue any American fans and will help them relate to Lana due to their similar cultural backgrounds. Also the use of Lana's facial expressions and body language through a use of a mid-shot shows the audience that there is something mysterious about her as an artist which will make them highly likely to want to find out more about her and the material that she produces. She gives of a sense of importance and power which will make the audience think there is elements of this in her material as they may like to watch songs from a fierce and independent artist. Her name appearing in large letters at the top of the advert will attract the audiences attention bringing their thoughts back to Lana as an artist. Some people may have heard of Lana but never heard her material and by having her face just positioned below her name may make people remember her and therefore want to find out more about her material and her as an artist.

I have taken inspiration from both of these adverts to include in the production of my own indie advert. I have gathered that using the artist's name in large bold letters attracts the audience and maintains the focus on the artist hoping that the audience will recollect their thoughts and feelings about this artist and look deeper into their material and gain more publicity for them. I feel as though this will be effective as it is conventional to the indie genre as most indie artist's produce material and music videos that maintains a focus on their talent as they usually have low budget locations and videos to create an edgy and unique effect which isn't like music videos from other genres. I also think that Lana's choice on camera shot in her advert worked more effectively than Birdy's long shot. I think Lana's was more effective as it showed her body language and facial expressions more clearly giving the audience a clearer understanding of what the artist and their material may be about. I also think that this worked successfully as it was conventional to the indie genre as most indie artists produce a narrative style music video which allows the audience to understand how they are feeling through their facial expressions and body language. If they enjoy the look of the advert and the artist facial expressions and body language and have a sense of what the artist may be feeling then they are more likely to want to visit the event that they are promoting on the advert as they feel as though they can personally understand and relate to the artist making them feel as though they can build a relationship with them which is also a convention of the indie genre.