This document provides an analysis of an advertisement for the alternative rock band Muse's album. The ad ran in NME magazine in 2009 and targets fans of rock, indie, and alternative genres. It features only the album name, release date, and website in a minimalist style that matches Muse's music and engages viewers' interest. The complex image and lack of band photos imply the band cares more about their music than fame. The analysis concludes the ad is aesthetically pleasing and engaging but may appeal primarily to Muse's existing fanbase rather than broader audiences.

1. MUSE Album Advert

2. Muse – Alternative rock
band from England.
This advert featured in an
issue of NME magazine in
2009.
NME mainly focuses on
rock, indie and alternative
genres of music which
perfectly fits with the style
of the music produced by
Muse.
By targeting existing fans
of the genre, they are much
more likely to gain listeners
rather than taking the risk
of trying to target other
audiences.

3. The logo is featured in the traditional and
conventional top left hand corner. By
placing it here people will immediately
know that this is the band logo and not the
album name and moreover as the band
wasn’t yet fully established in 2009, it
helped people to know the name of this
particular band. Eventually, if the band
were to become extremely well known and
popular then the name may not need to be
included in future publications. For
example, the pop band One Direction can
just put 1D an most people will know who
they are.

4. The only text on the page is the name of the
album, a website and a date. The very few
words match the minimalistic style of the
music and the lack of information causes the
reader to do more independent research to
find out more. This engages the viewers
interest and creates a stronger interactive
connection between the band and the target
audience. However, more text would be
completely unnecessary as there isn't any
other relevant information to include and it
would defeat the artistic style that the advert
aims to portray.
The font also matches the band logo to show
consistency and link with the house style, and
the typography is clear and easy to read
making it very suitable for audiences.

5. The image on the advert juxtaposes the plain and
simple background. The vague and complex artwork is
extremely colourful in order to catch the eye of the
reader and the difficulty deciphering the image will
only further engage the readers interest as it is down
to the audience’s own interpretation, perhaps causing
controversy or discussion amongst fans – This is not
necessarily a bad thing.
Moreover, the clear theme is to do with time and
space due to planet Earth being featured in the centre
.The path leading towards it could connote that it is
someone trying to decipher our planet, much like
what we are trying to do to the album cover.
The fact that the band is not shown through images
on the advert could imply that they care more about
the music, genre and theme as oppose to fame which
is something rarely seen in the music industry now.

6. Overall, I believe that this advert is successful on multiple levels.
Firstly, it is extremely aesthetically pleasing and voyeuristic to look at, aided by
the simplicity of the advert. This is likely to be praised by fans of Muse.
This advert contains just enough information to inform readers with relevant
details, yet the lack of extra information requires readers to find out themselves.
This audience interaction is a perfect method to engage their attention.
The artistic design of the advert is a heavy indicator of the indie style of the music
which will immediately give readers an idea about the genre of the band.
The only criticism of this advert is that it is slightly too stylistic and different to
perhaps encourage a different target audience to listen to their music. From this
poster, I would say that currently listeners are around 17-25 as the genre is rock, it
is not aimed at children and the niche style is likely to appeal a small group of
them, however by not going down a more conventional road (such as including
band photos or advertising in a more traditional way) it is unlikely to branch out
from this.