1. Kristiana Constantinou 3278
Madonna ‘Hard Candy’ magazine advert
The magazine advert I have chosen to analyse is Madonna‟s advert for her new
album „Hard Candy‟.
Madonna is of the pop and rock genre, however this album release advert has
themes of burlesque. Themes of burlesque include glamorous and sexy costumes
such as corsets and hats, seductive music along with choreography. I feel that this
advert could help me and my group in the production of our music video and
ancillary products.
The layout of this magazine advert is aimed to be centred on the artist. Madonna is
presented in the centre of the advert, ensuring all our attention is on her. I feel
having her in the middle of the advert is a useful tactic in informing the target
audience that the advertisement is about her.
The writing which informs us on the new album is presented around the body of the
primary image. I feel this would appeal to the audience as not only does it structure
the advert through its appearance, but also in an informative way. The advantage of
the layout including the writing around Madonna‟s primary image is that it gives us
the ability to see her costume being a corset (an iconic burlesque costume), her
facial expressions and props. Her facial expression could be seen as quite
seductive, along with her gestures involving her glove which acts as a prop. This
pose is quite sexual and would appeal stereotypically appeal to males (uses and
gratification theory).
A genre can be represented in a variety of ways, mainly through typical conventions.
Burlesque usually is connected to a sexy, sophisticated form of dancing with themes
of comedy. In the past, woman were represented as weak characters. Men would
dominate them and control most of their moves. Burlesque dance/performances
challenge this old stereotype, and empower women through the way they perform. It
challenges the typical stereotype of men being dominant and makes them the
weaker character. Woman are presented in a sexy way through their costumes,
being classy, sophisticated and sometimes revealing whilst the men are clothed and
at the woman‟s call. The way that this advert for Madonna‟s new album „Hard Candy‟
represents the burlesque genre is through the dominance of the primary image.
Madonna is in a black corset which could connote structure and control. The idea of
her sitting possibly in a masculine position however also a sexual position way
connect us to the idea of dominating males. The genre is also represented in a sexy
way. Often in performances, adverts, dances and films women remain mysterious,
sexy and sophisticated. This convention is used within this album magazine advert
through the corset, props and composition. However, the colours used within the
advert assist the way the genre is represented. The colour pink is usually associated
with females, it connotes love and affection. But the colour black is a colour that you
represent dominance and „bad‟ with. To have the two colours combined within the
same advert, it creates a powerful meaning. The two colours describe burlesque
through the combined meaning they connote. This meaning is dominance, love,
seduction and mystery.
The information on the advert is what assists us in understanding it is marketing a
specific product. How do we know it is an advert? On typical adverts whether it is on
TV, in a magazine, on a poster etc, we are provided with the essential and typical

2. Kristiana Constantinou 3278
information to inform us on the advertisement. The practical information such as
dates of the album release, name of the artist and possible catch phrases or cliff
hangers reel us in and makes it an advert. These are conventions of what is
expected on an advert in order to inform the audience (uses and gratification theory)
and persuade them to buy the product. The conventions of this advert that are typical
in many adverts in order to promote a CD is the album date, title name, and catch
phrases. All these conventions are presented within this magazine advert in order to
promote Madonna‟s new album.
I feel that images are the more standing out to an individual. The primary image of
the artist Madonna is the first image that stands out to a particular person. It informs
an audience on the advertisement (uses and gratification theory), so we instantly
know who we are connecting to. The image is quite bold and brought forward, in
comparison to the size of other images and font. The primary image is also a bit in
your face to strike the attention of the target audience.
On the other hand what acts as a secondary image is the pink and white
background. I feel that the contrast that these colours make in comparison to the
black corset outfit the artist is wearing is very directing. By this I mean that the pink
and white patterns connote innocence which therefore directs us to the striking
image of Madonna. The dissimilarity in both the primary image and secondary
image, makes us more focused to the primary image which is seemingly more
important in terms of informative information.
The primary and secondary images help us in understanding the mode of address.
Although the primary image of Madonna isn‟t directly looking straight at us, her eyes
are looking directly looking in the camera showing her direct contact to the audience.
I feel that the tilt of her head to the side helps in the emphasis of the prop in her
hand. It helps us establish the burlesque themes. The direct contact would appeal to
the target audience due to the personal connection they are receiving. If the primary
image wasn‟t in direct focus to the audience, then there wouldn‟t be as much of a
relationship with the audience. However the direct mode of address causes us as a
target audience to feel directly addressed and that we are being informed about
something of our interest. It reels us in to understanding what we are being informed
about.
Language is an important factor in advertisement. The structure of a sentence can
make or break it. Sometimes marketing companies use phrases to help audience
members make a connection to company and product, artist and song, sometimes
logos and slogans are used for a consistent flow. Starting from the top of the
advertisement we are presented with a sentence “on and on the beat goes...” Firstly
the use of a cliff hanger interests the reader due to the curiosity is holds. The use of
the term “beat” enables the target audience to make a connection to a beat of a
song. The use of the repetition of “on and on” could symbolise a sexual connotation
which ties together the image and sentence.
There is bold blue writing displaying the words “new album” to inform us that this is
something that has not yet been released, again causing the level of curiosity to rise.
However it differentiates itself to the words beneath it displaying the name of the
album “hard candy”. This bold yet different colour typography emphasises the album
name, whilst contrasting with the black corset the artist is displayed in. When
noticing that all the writing is in bold shows that all the information provided is
necessary and important.

3. Kristiana Constantinou 3278
Facial expressions help us identify a person‟s mood, attitude or emotions. In
burlesque facial expressions usually remain, teased, seductive, comedic and sexy.
In this advertisement the artists facial expressions are teasing and seductive to draw
an audience in. This would appeal to an audience as not only for informative reasons
but as a form of entertainment (uses of gratification theory). The idea that Madonna‟s
face is hidden from the gloves (props) could connote innocence but also
mysteriousness. The innocence contradicts the outfit and facial expression which is
often done in burlesque. Madonna‟s character remains sexy and dominant. This is
backed up by her sexy figure displayed in the centre of the advertisement. This
controlling character connects to a burlesque set of characteristics and therefore
enables us to make the connections the burlesque in this advert.
A prop is always used in burlesque performances. In this case for this advertisement
the prop is some gloves. It acts as a distraction to the audience and a connection to
burlesque. Sometimes an object is used to bring humour to the performance or to
sexualise the audience.
In burlesque performances there are typical costumes include corsets, feathers,
gloves, hats and lace. In this advert for Madonna‟s new album “Hard Candy”,
conventions of burlesque are presented through costumes and facial expressions. A
black leather corset with lacy high knee boots connotes sexy, mystery and
dominance. This is often used in a burlesque dance/music video, or film to appeal to
the audience through entertainment.