2 x Magazine advertisement analysis

This is a an advert publicising the artist Lana Del Rey and her new album 'Born To Die.' The soft focus of the camera relates to a more retro tone, which suggests her music is similarly less contemporary and more reflective of an earlier time period. In correlation, her clothing and hair are typical of the 1920s fashion style, thus having connotations of sophistication and a subtle rebellious nature. Blue is a dominant colour in this picture, contrasted by the white of the font and the artist's shirt. This contrast could have links to the variety of songs within the album, implicating that each  deals with different themes, as blue connotes coolness, while white has links with purity and innocence. The direct mode of address from the artist makes the advert seem as though she is looking right at you and therefore conveys the advert as more personal. In terms of text, the most striking is the name of the artist at the top, as the size of it is large and the font is very easy to read. This suggests that this is the information that people should pay the most attention to, and therefore indicating that this artist is well known in the music industry - otherwise the public would just disregard the advert. The fact that the name of the album is placed directly on top of the artist's chest could imply that this album is closed to her heart and as a result is something she's very passionate about.


In comparison, this advert for the band Friendly Fires uses different construction techniques, which suggests they're part of a different genre to Lana Del Rey. While the top advert shows the artist using direct mode of address, this band are all looking away from the camera. The fact that they're all looking in different directions could suggest that the songs in the album are similarly diverse. The colours are also more vibrant, with the palm trees and beach setting implying that the music is quite peaceful and conveys an upbeat mood and tone. By using the header 'the band of the summer,' Friendly Fires are presenting themselves as very much mainstream. Based on the age of the band members and having a cocktail drink as a prop, the advert is indicating that the band's target audience is young adults, most likely females considering that is a stereotypical association with boy bands. 

This analysis has helped put into perspective as to how different music genres are represented in advertisements and that the colour and typography play a big part in the indication of what audiences can expect from the album, in regards to the mood and tone.