Advert Ben Howard Analysis

1. The advert advertisement for Ben Howard’s album ‘Every Kingdom’, contains many typical conventions of a album advertisements. The first
thing I noticed was the picture on the advert which is the identical one to the actual album cover. At the top of the advertisement the artists
name is in big bold white writing, this makes it eye-catching and draws the audiences attention to the product. Underneath that is the title of
his album which is also in the same white font and next to that it says that it is Ben’s ‘debut album’ so this tells the consumer that it is the first
time he has released an album and that he is an up and coming artist. At the bottom of the advert is all the details for the album, this is a
typical advertising device method, as it tells the audience when the album is out to purchase and it tells them that they can pre order it now.
The advertisement is very simplistic just like the album cover, but yet it is effective. The basic font represents the artists image as he is a relaxed
artist and likes making calming music. The image is very simple but it focus’s on image of the artist swimming alone in cosmic open waters. The
use of the blue colours of the water also represent the artist and his style. Furthermore, this advert is very meek, featuring only the artist,
album, and release date. There is a very strong link between this advert and the album that it is promoting, as the photo used in this advert is
the exact photo used on the album cover, and the text is in the exact same font and colour. The advert also adheres very well to the
conventions of the acoustic genre, as well as staying true to Ben Howard himself. The colours are soft and gentle, and the advert is not
overcrowded, making it feel calm and easy-going.
The advertisement would appear in magazines like the NME as this particular magazine covers a lot of genres and niche audiences. Ben
Howard is signed to Communication Records, which are an independent record label who sign a lot of independent artists, who are
singer/songwriters. This advert would also appear in smaller independent music magazines who focus on less known acts with a niche
audience.
Ben Howard would have a niche audience as his music is not a very mainstream genre, but he would appeal to both genders but mainly to
males aged 16 - 24. He appeals to a younger audience as he is only a young man himself and people can relate to him. The majority of his
audience would probably be in social category E as they are most likely to be students.
This advert represents the artist and his image and his style. It is a plain simplistic design which represents his genre as he plays cool calm
music, it also represents his style as he is a trendy young man who just wears casual clothing but it could also represent his attitude.

2. Ben Howards album cover features him looking as though he has just dived
into the sea or lake of some sort and the camera has captured him as he is
just relaxing after entering the water. The image is a beautiful calm image,
which reflects his Genre and style of music very well. His Genre is Indie/Folk
and this image fits his music perfectly, it gives the sense of relaxation and
calmness which reflects the soft sound of his music. The way the light is
hitting the water on the picture, hits the bubbles left by Ben as he has hit
the water and reflects the light all around the image. It gives a light, bubbly
feel to the image which reflects the album and his Star Image, it shows how
care free he is, how he relates to the water to express his freedom. The use
of the white writing on the blue background gives the pureness that is
expressed within his music and star image. He has pushed the boundaries of
the usual image found on an album cover. It is unusual for an artist not to
show his face clearly on the front of an album cover, but this is Ben Howard
featured within this shot. By not showing his face, he yet again is expressing
the freedom that he feels, also using the white boarder around the image to
keep on reinforce this freedom that his star image represents. This white
used is seen as pure and free. This can be seen as imagery for a dove, the
white dove represents freedom and can be represented here in this picture
featuring lots of white to keep reinforcing his Star image and genre.
The image is a fresh look that can be yet again so versatile to any age group
or genre, the genre can open up into different genres creating sub genres.
The main target audience is attracted to the album by the light blue to dark
blue background against the white writing gives the bold yet relaxed
appealing note.
The image and font
are the same as his
album.
Promoting his
debut album by
mentioning that it
is his ‘debut
album’.
Informing the audience of extra details like when the
album is out is a promoting tactic, to encourage
sales.
Album Cover

3. A typical convention of singer/songwriter album is minimalism. The typography on this
advertisement is very minimal and simplistic, a simple bold font and a black and blue
colouring used to get the point across. There are no critics or quotes on this advert,
therefore is it is up to the audience to decide on their own opinion of the product.
The image in the centre is the main focus of the advert. It is just like the typical
conventions of an singer/songwriter music video, the image is very scenic and appealing
to the eye. The black and blue colouring of the photograph links well with the font to
ensure multi-model continuity and to once again attract the audience.
The ‘Every Kingdom’ advert is very similar to the digipak. Is features the same image of a
diver underwater as the background and the text are the same font and colour of text.
The text is all in capitals again, both the same as the digipak and what is conventional of
this genre.
The artist’s name is at the top of advert, with album name just beneath. At the bottom
of the advert, it gives a release date and tells the viewer that they can pre-order the
album.