2. THE ENEMY MAGAZINE ADVERTThis poster emulates a train station
timetable, which ultimately emphasizes
the name of the album ‘We’ll live and die
in these towns’, as it is linked to the idea of
leaving a town or city. This idea is
reinforced by the text at the bottom of the
advert as it says ‘arriving’, which again has
connotations of a train timetable board.
This idea, like Indie music itself, is quite
anti-mainstream and would therefore,
appeal to The Enemy’s target audience.
In this advert the band members are not
shown, despite the fact that it an
advertisement for their debut album.
This could be perhaps because they want
to be taken seriously as musicians and
want people to focus on the music rather
than their image, or it could have been
done to reflect that anti-mainstream
ideology that characterises the Indie
genre.
The font used for the name of the band is
quite simple, but it stands out because it
is in yellow. This suggests that The
Enemy are quite a simple band in the
sense that they focus simply on their
music rather than mainstream gimmicks.
The yellow font used could perhaps
signify that as a band they stand out
from the all of the other Indie bands on
the market. Moreover, the use of yellow
and white font on a black background
makes the advert quite eye-catching.
The font style, colours and background used in this magazine
advert is replicated on the album cover, billboard posters and the
tour date posters, which helps to create a brand identity for the
band.
There is also a connection between the
album cover, magazine advert and the
music video for their song ‘We’ll Live
and Die in These Towns’ as in all thee
the backgrounds are quite dark (on the
album cover and magazine advert the
background is black and the music video
is set at night so there is dark lighting).
Also in the music video includes lots of
shots of road signs, which links to the
train timetable format of the advert and
album cover as they both refer to
travelling to a different town or city.
Ultimately, both the music video and the
album cover and advert are all quite
simple, which creates an image that
they are normal people that their target
audience can therefore, relate to.
The text at the bottom also says ‘featuring the hit singles...’,
which is likely to make audiences want to buy the album as it
suggests that they are quite a well known and popular band.
3. THE ENEMY MAGAZINE ADVERT CONT.
Tour Poster
Album Cover
Billboard Advertisement
4. KAISER CHIEFS MAGAZINE ADVERT
There is an obvious connection
between the album cover and the
magazine advertisement as the
advert contains a pack-shot of the
album cover. This could have been
done so that when their target
audience goes into a music shop it
will be easy for them to identify
the album and buy it. Also, much
like The Enemy’s album cover and
advert, the Kaiser Chiefs use a
bright colour like yellow on a dark
background to make their product
stand out.
The same typography is used for
the word ‘Employment’ on both
the album cover and the
magazine advert in order to help
their target audience make the
connection between the advert
and their album.
The Kaiser Chiefs do not appear in this advert for their album. This could possibly be because by the
time that this album was released the band was already well known and established, so they didn’t
necessarily need to appear in the advertisement as their target audience already knew who the
band members were.
The whole advert has a late
1970s and early 1980s feel to it,
as the font and layout is arguably
quite dated because it is
reminiscent of the style of old
advertisements. Furthermore,
the pack-shot in the centre of the
advert has connotations of old
vinyl records, which is reinforced
by the worn looking edges of the
album cover. This is then
therefore, a way for the Kaiser
Chiefs to subtly incorporate a
reference to their musical
influences that were famous in
the early 1980s; by doing this
they create an image of
themselves as being an
authentic, anti-mainstream, Indie
group that is aware of how and
when Indie music developed.
This image would appeal to their
target audience as it highlights
that they are aware of their roots
and take their music seriously,
which would appeal to their
target audience as it shows that
they aren’t just another
manufactured band.
5. KAISER CHIEFS MAGAZINE ADVERT CONT.
This tag line gives the album a
mass appeal by suggesting that
there is something for everyone in
the album. By including this text
on their album cover and poster it
highlights that the Kaiser Chiefs
are aware that Indie music is now
becoming much more mainstream
and it therefore, allows them to
appeal to the widest audience
possible.
The phrase ‘Does exactly what is
says on the box’ is an intertextual
reference to the phrase ‘It does
exactly what is says on the tin’,
which is a popular phrase in the
UK that originated from
advertisements for woodstain in
the early ‘90s. This adds a slight
bit of comedy to the advert, which
according to XFM’s audience
research is a ‘key interest’ to the
Kaiser Chief’s potential target
audience.
Album Cover
The music videos for ‘Every Day I
Love You Less and Less’ and ‘Oh
My God’ also include retro mise-
en-scene (e.g. wallpaper in the
former and costume in the latter),
which reinforces the image of the
Kaiser Chiefs being an authentic
Indie band that has musical
influences from the past. Thus,
there is a connection between the
album cover, magazine advert and
some of the music videos for
songs contained in this album.
6. STEREOPHONICS MAGAZINE ADVERT
The band are shown in this magazine
advert in order to establish their image
and brand identity. The mise-en-scene
used in this advert highlights that they
are an Indie band, as their attire is
reflection of the conventional Indie style
of clothes (leather jackets and blazers)
therefore, their target audience will able
to relate to them, as they will wear
similar clothing themselves. Thus, this
then creates the image that the
Stereophonics are a cool and relatable
group. Also, the majority of the band
members are looking away from the
camera in this shot, which suggest that
they are a laid-back band that are not
overly confident or arrogant - this idea is
reinforced by the fact that they do not
dominate the shot.
The album name ‘KEEP CALM AND
CARRY ON’ is an intertextual reference
and historical allusion to the WWII
poster used by the British government.
Since 2000 the phrase has somewhat
come back into mainstream use and by
using it as their album name they are
reflecting the new mainstream
popularity that Indie music is
attracting. This will therefore, appeal to
their target audience as it reflects their
mainstream desires and attitudes.
Furthermore, the font style that the
album name is written in emulates the
font style of the WWII poster, which
reinforces the intertextual reference to
the poster.
The typography used for the band’s
name is quite clear and simple which
reflects the idea of the album title of
being ‘calm’, as the font is clear and
easy to read. Also the use of the bold
font and underline grabs the
audience’s attention straight away.
Similarly, the fact that all the text is
written in capital letters also helps
them to get their target audience’s
attention.
Like the other magazine adverts
that I have analysed this
advertisement contains all the
relevant details on how to obtain
their album in a clear and concise
way, in order to get the message to
their audience in the quickest way
possible.
Furthermore, the background image of this advert
would immediately grab their target audience’s
attention as it is quite comical and unusual and
would thus, stand out from the other adverts in
the magazine.
The paralanguage created through the use of this
image suggests that the Stereophonics are an
interesting band that like to stand out from the
crowd. This would therefore, help them to
reinforce their band’s image.
7. STEREOPHONICS MAGAZINE ADVERT
War poster issued by the British Government
during the beginning of WWII to raise the
morale of the British public in the case of
invasion.
ALBUM COVER
There is a very strong connection between the album
cover and the magazine advertisement as the same
picture is used as a background in both of the media
products. The font style and colour used on the album
cover is also replicated in the magazine advert, which
helps establish a brand identity for the band as
audience’s will be able to recognise this picture as being
to do with the Stereophonics.
8. STEREOPHONICS MAGAZINE ADVERT
SCREENSHOTS TAKEN FROM THE STEREOPHONICS MUSIC VIDEO FOR ‘INNOCENT’
After watching the music video for the song ‘Innocent’ by the Stereophonics it became clear that there was a strong
connection between the album cover and the music video, as within the music video there are historical allusions to the
‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’ World War One poster (as shown by the screen grab on the left) that gives the
Stereophonics album its name; this therefore, creates an immediate link between the two media products.
Furthermore, the band is shown performing in the middle of a street that is holding a massive street party. The clothing
that they are wearing during this performance is quite similar to the clothing that they are wearing in the magazine
advert and album cover (e.g. dark jeans, leather jackets and blazers), which again creates a connection between the
music video and the advert.
9. MANIC STREET PREACHERS MAGAZINE ADVERT
The typography used throughout
this advert is reminiscent of the
type of writing you get when using
a stencil; there are two possible
reasons for this:
• Firstly, this stencil-like font has
connotations of, retro, 1980s
England, which would ultimately
appeal to the Manic Street
Preachers’ target audience because
it gives the band an air of
authenticity by showing that they
are aware of when
Indie/Alternative music started.
•Secondly, the disjointed and
broken lettering could be a
reference to the fact that since
their band member Richey Edwards
vanished the band are no longer a
complete group, despite the fact
that they are still together.
This magazine advert contains three reviews from magazines and newspapers. Both ‘Q’ and ‘NME’ are magazines that Indie/
Alternative music fans would either read or know of, so they would therefore, trust their review of the album. Moreover, ‘The Times’
is likely to appeal to their slightly older target audience who may have been fans of the band since their formation in 1986. Thus, by
including these reviews the Manic Street Preachers are instantly attracting their target audience by highlighting their popularity and
success in the music industry.
The mise-en-scene used in this
magazine advert has connotations
of the 1970s and 1980s. For
example, the Polaroid camera and
the rocker hairstyle (slicked back
quiff) all have retro connotations.
Furthermore, the advert is in black
and white, rather than colour,
which again has connotations of
old-fashioned and retro
photography. (Also by making the
magazine advert black and white it
is more likely to grab the reader’s
attention, as it will immediately
contrast with the full colour
spreads found in magazines). Thus,
the mise-en-scene used will meet
the Manic Street Preachers’ target
audience’s needs and desires by
creating the image that the band is
an authentic, anti-mainstream
group, that is aware of the roots of
Indie/Alternative music.
This advert also contains the
band’s website details and the
record label's logo.
10. MANIC STREET PREACHERS MAGAZINE ADVERT
ALBUM COVER
As with the Stereophonics, there is clearly a
connection between the magazine advert and
the album cover, as the same picture and font
is used in both. However, there is one obvious
difference between the two and that is the
layout of the picture, as in one the man is on
the right hand side and in the other he is in
the centre.
Unlike all of the other adverts that I have analysed so far, this is the first advert that explicitly refers
to downloading song through iTunes. This reflects the changing methods of media consumption
and is more likely to appeal to their target audience than details of what format you can purchase
the song in, as teenagers and young adults are now choosing to download music rather than buy a
physical copy of it.
The band do not appear in
this magazine advert for their
album ‘Postcards From A
Young Man’; this could
possibly be because they are
a really well known band so
their target audience will
already know who they are
and what they stand for,
therefore, they do not need
to appear in the advert in
order to establish their image.
