Magazine Album Advertisment Analysis

The target audience for this artist and the advert are males and female, early-mid 20’s. This is shown through the use of a black and white image filter, this shows that audience who the artist is but it doesn’t focus on his ‘star image’; this effect is suitable for his audience because they will be buying his album for the high quality music not because of his celebrity status or image.

The sketched drawing on the front of the album is a child-like impression of the artist Joe Zeffa. This ‘character’ has been used in the advert, he is hiding behind the artists shoulder, and this may link to the mood of the album. The music may include themes such as loneliness- this is indicated by the sketch of the artist being alone on the CD cover, the songs may also use themes of longing for companionship and friendship- this is indicated by the sketch being behind Zeffa’s shoulder, it could be seeking protection or company.

The advert highlights the artists name and the album title, this has been done to make the audience create a link between the artist and his debut album. The title of the album ‘After the Cake’ is quite obscure, unless the song focus on food and cake the title does not reveal much about the content of the album. Zeffa’s pre-existing audience know his style and understand any references that he may be making in this title. If somebody has not heard his music before, this tile may seem odd or random, this could make this new audience interested and intrigued and want to listen to the album to find out the hidden meaning. But it could just confuse them and make the album less appealing.

This is a full page advertisement; this makes sure that the audience can easily see this advert. Because no distinct colours are used the greyscale colour scheme will stand out against the bright colours on the other pages surrounding it.

Because the album cover has been put into the advert, the audience will know what the cover looks like if they plan to buy it in a shop. The advert also states that the album is available to download form his website, this is ideal for the early-mid 20’s audience who use a lot of technology in their everyday life and increasingly for music.

Half of the artist face is shown; he has a stubble beard and shaggy hair. This is his image which his target audience will recognise but he is not relying on his image to attract this audience. At the very top of the advert it says “Manchester born”, this represents his roots and background. It shows that he is a normal, inner city man who has found success; his audience may feel that this makes him a more down-to-earth and honest person, who they can relate to.

The artist’s logo is large and bold. It dominates the top quarter of the page making it stand out. This will draw the audience’s eyes to the artist name so that they know who the album is by and who he is if they don’t recognise him.