Magazine advert analysis - Miss Miller

The purpose of a magazine advert is to:

• Appeal to a wider range of audience
• Raise awareness for album/promotion
• Gain money
• Increase sales
• Link other media to create convergence 
• Target a specific audience 
• Benefits for both the magazine company and the artist
• Support from companies that pushes sales 

The two magazine adverts I have chosen to analyse is Lana Del Rey's 'Born to die' album advertisement and Florence + The Machine's 'Lungs' album advert.

Representation of music artist:

The artist - Lana Del Rey - has an emotionless, stern facial expression in this magazine advert which represents her as being serious which could convey the seriousness of how she takes her music. Furthermore the artist is represented as being conservative and demure  and she is dressed buttoned up which reserves any promiscuous or provocative perceptions.  However there is slight un-modesty within the artists representation as her red bra is vaguely shown which conventionally associates her with passion/danger which could also put meaning behind her music in which she is advertising. In addition, the artist appears to have pin curls and hoop earrings both of which are associated with the 60's meaning that she is representing that era and her style of music through her artist representation.

Choices of image:
The use of the close-up within the image of the artist shows the audience that she is the main focus of the music album being advertised and also stresses the fact that she is the one being promoted along with her album. This gives the audience a visual perspective of what the artist looks like which therefore allows the audience to recognise or take notice of any other work associated with the face shown within the close-up of the artist. The use of Lana Del Rey's body language within the music videos is very conserved which shows that the artist is using her simplicity and the fact that she isn't giving much away in order to entice the audience in to view more into her music and feelings so they can understand what type of person she is and what she has to offer. The white of the shirt that she is wearing within the image shows up the writing more clearly to make it appear more professional to show the importance the artist has on the music industry.

Typography:
The artists name "Lana Del Rey" is in a large and bold font at the top of the page in white to make it clear to the audience of whom is being advertised and to make her artist name well-known and stuck in peoples mind when they first view the magazine advert and may not have yet heart of her which then builds on her artist reputation and star image.The font is bold and easy to read which looks sophisticated due to the simplicity and therefore conveys the artist as being a sophistacated young lady within the music industry. The writing is large and therefore easy to read for the audience to automatically identify the artist as they can vividly see the large title and the style of the writing that is used which therefore can be shown and identified by the audience with no difficulty. The title "Born to Die" is in the matching colours of the scenery of the sky in the image which shows colour co-ordination which could reflect the artist as being co-ordinated and professional. Furthermore, the most popular songs on the album being advertised are shown on the magazine advert in smaller italic writing to show their importance and to promote and make known individual single songs as well as the whole album. The release date is also in large writing to promote when the album will be released to both new and existing fans of the artist who intend to buy the album and making it clear to them of when to purchase what is being advertised.

Colours:
The colour scheme used within this magazine advert seem to be colour co-ordinated in the sense that the typography and scenery match. The backdrop scenery being the blue sky matches the blue font overlapping the white shirt and there is white font over the blue sky which could be this colour to represent clouds in the sky. The use of this colour co-ordination is to show the professionalism of the artist and how serious she takes her music and image in order to look polished. Furthermore there is vague use of the colour red with the artists bra and lips. The use of this gives the audience a vague view into what the artist is about by conveying the conventional colour of red which is commonly associated with passion/love/danger all of which Lana Del Rey's music is about.

Connotations of the artist:
The white of Lana Del Rey's shirt could connote purity and the innocence of the artist which could represent her as being authentic. Furthermore, the use of red colouring could connote the idea of love and romance that the artist is trying to promote and associating with her style of music or it could connote the idea of danger and could make the audience perceive the artist to have a dangerous enigma which would therefore want them to see more of the artist. Lana Del Rey's posture and body language within the magazine advert could connote feminism due to the fact that she is not being provocative nor is coming about promiscuous which could show that she is conveying the idea that women do not have to come across as a sexual object in order to express their individuality and promote themselves to be noticed.

Representation of music artist:
The artist -Florence & The Machine- is not looking directly at the camera/towards the audience which represents her as being concealed and mysterious. The representation of this enigma makes the audience want to know more about the audience which therefore leads to them purchasing the album being advertised. Furthermore the artist is represented as a conventional indie artist due to the individuality and uniqueness of the costume/clothing she is wearing within the image which represents her to be different and therefore exclusive which would appeal to the audience of the indie genre as well as those interested in uncommon artists. In addition, the artist is seen to be wearing a life-size lung necklace which represents her as being an outrageous and artistic artist, the statement is unusual which would therefore grab the attention of the audience.

Choices of image:
The use of a mid-shot within the image of the artist shows the audience both her facial expression and her body language in order to gain the audience an insight into the artist and how she is representing her music. The mid-shot puts pure focus on the artist which shows the audience that she is the main focus of the music album being advertised and also stresses the fact that she is the one being promoted along with her album. This gives the audience a visual perspective and face to the music/name of the artist of whom the audience may already recognise from previous projects. The use of the artists body language and posture within this image appears to be very elegant yet exaggerated in order to emphasise the sophistication of the artist and the music being promoted.

Typography:
The name of the album "Lungs" is in the largest font on the ad due to it being an album promotion as opposed to an artist promotion although the artists name is also in a large font. The writing being large therefore makes it easy to read for the audience to automatically identify the artist as they can vividly see the large title and the style of the writing that is used which therefore can be shown and identified by the audience with no difficulty. The typography of the title "Lungs" is emphasised by the imagery of lungs on the artist which makes the title of the album stick in the audiences mind more therefore making it more memorable to them. Furthermore the typography includes the most popular singles of the album in capital letters to promote the artists singles as well as the album as a whole and informs the audience of what is included within the album. This is placed under the numbered style release date which is unique as the release date is usually written in word style and states the word "released" which this magazine advert does not, instead it is out of the norm which therefore catches the audiences attention as to when to purchase the album.

Colours:
The colours used within this magazine advert include dark/deep greens and subtle pink in the backdrop to reflect the style of nature through plants which is indie based. This is contrasted by the bold colour of white for the typography in order to make the information stand out more against the darkened imagery colours. Black is the base colour in order to emphasise the typography making it the sole focus of the magazine advert.

Connotations of the artist:
The mise-en-scence of lungs on the artist connotes the idea that the artists music is strong and powerful - sung purely from the lungs - giving a literal aspect of the artists music style and singing techniques. The body language and posture of the artist turning away and putting her hand by her face could connote her being concealed and shy and hidden behind her music and voice which tells the audience that she cares more about her music that her self artist reputation.

To summarise, I will use my research of magazine advertisement to inform my planning of my own ideas as I have widened my knowledge of what needs to be included in order to promote an album sufficiently and by taking on board ideas such as the use of close-ups of the artist and bold large typography which I feel should be included within my own advert for my artist.