Magazine Advert Analysis 2

In this image the artist is shown in front of a typical council estate. The fact that the artist is shown in front of the estate suggests that this shows the artists past. This could suggest that the artist is showing that he has moved on from his poor or hard life and he is now got past that and is moving on to his future. It also shows the artist looking back at the block of flats which could show that although his successes has moved him on from his previous life he still has not forgot about where he has come from. The image also shows the artist in a plain white t-shirt and baggy trousers with rosemary beads hanging out of his left pocket. This is traditional of the Hip/Hop genre that the artist is associated with as they are all fashion icons that are stereotypical of the Hip/Hop genre. The image also shows the arms and part of the artist’s neck being blacked out. This accompanied by the artist’s white t-shirt brings emphasis to the artist face. As he is a new artist this could be to make the artist more recognisable to a new audience and also establish the artist’s star image. The arms and neck of the artist have also been blacked out to give the effect of graffiti art. This also establishes the artist’s star image as it is further helping him to conform to the Hip/Hop genre.  

The colouring of the advert is in black and white. This has been done to emphasis the important parts of the advert such as the text, the artist and the building in the background. Also by using this colour scheme it makes the effect of the graffiti abundantly clear which continues the recurring urban, inner city theme. The brightness behind the artist also seems to increase to the right of the image. This could further show how the future of the artist seems to be bright and successful. The black and white theme has also been continued to the text. The advert shows white text in front of a black box. This has been done to make the text clearer whilst still keeping the main focus on the image of the artist.

The combination of all these factors shows an accurate interpretation of the artist. The advert is purposely untidy which gives an indication of the music that the audience should expect when listening to the artist. Also with the artist’s costume, setting and the effect of the graffiti clearly show that the artist is likely to belong to the Hip/Hop genre as all of these factors have key codes and conventions conform to the genre. It also shows through the use of the setting the artist may not have had the most privileged upbringing which could reflect on the artist’s music and his star image. Also the poster shows the featured artist’s on his album. As they all belong to the Hip/Hop or Grime genre this also suggests to the audience what the artist is like and what genre he belongs to.

The advert also has well known and obvious brands in the bottom right hand corner. This break from the them obviously shows to the audience where they can buy a copy of the artist’s album. The poster also shows a smaller image of the actual album that the poster is advertising. This makes it shows the audience what to look for when purchasing the album.