Research - Adverts

Album adverts are used primarily to promote the sale of the album, whether it be physical copies or downloads. Album adverts usually only feature very basic information such as band/artist name, album name, release date and where abouts to purchase from. Everything is kept minimal; the colour scheme, the typeface, the layout and the information. Usually found on billboards, the internet and inside magazines, the idea is to keep the design simple yet recognisable. They are used to supplement the other forms of advertisement such as radio, talkshow appearances, music videos and television adverts. Most album adverts just feature one image which is usually of the album cover in order for the audience to identify the album quickly and easily. Occasionally, some adverts will include short quotes or ratings from music-related sources such as well-known magazines, newspapers or other artists. These one-sentence reviews and star ratings give the audience an insight into what to expect on the album. Also, it may boost the perception the audience have of the album before they even hear it if the reviews are positive and praising the record.

To gain a wider insight into the specific adverts of the R&B genre, I undertook some research into R&B adverts to help me with the creation process of mine.

One of the most prominent album advert is Rihanna’s ‘Rated R’ advert. The overall look of the visuals evokes  a sense of rebellion, dominance, and aggression. This look is created through the use of various techniques. For example, the lighting is very dark and there is a lack of colour. The aggressive look created in the advert is always but emphasis on  through the use of mise-en-scene of the make-up. Her hair has a very ‘rock-chick’ look to it. It is shaved on one side, maybe signifying her masculinity, and the rest of her hair is placed on the other side of her head, having a messy look to it. The heavy eyeliner makes the artists eyes look extremely bold, and creates quite an devilish look to the artist. The use of the black lipstick also has the same effect; the audience cannot depict any symbolism of innocence or purity but rather the opposite. It is clear that the artist wants to create a strong, masculine type look through their music video’s, digi-paks and adverts. This is supported by the view that the R&B genre has changed significantly. A typical convention of the R&B genre is the use a female protagonist who is commonly oppressed in a relationship. However, the modern R&B has gone through a number of changes; one in particular is the use of a female protagonist who is presented as quite masculine and superior. Although Rihanna is a prime example of this, other artists such as Ciara who takes the role of a man in her music video ‘Like A Boy’, and Beyonce ‘Run The World’ are other ideal examples.

 Moreover, her posture is strong but there is definitely an element of secrecy through the use of her covered face. Rihanna still uses her appearance to market the album, as she still looks attractive, although not using complete sex appeal to sell it. Aggression and a slightly depressive look is used to match the themes in the album with the advert, so the audience can expect to hear music that is similar to the vibe that they get from seeing the advert, they can also expect that the music won’t be the same genre that is in her usual albums and that the artist is experimenting with her music. The album advert has similar characteristics to that of a simple promotional advert, as Rihanna’s look is used to market the album as she is the centre of attention on the advert. As well as this, the information on the advert is clear and fits in with the ‘punk’ design of the advert, as well as making the advert look more interesting and still stands out. The use of text further depicts the overall vibe that the advert is giving to the audience. The text is bold, and extremely conspicuous. It is clear that the intentions of this advert is to definitely stand out, which is a common technique that Rihanna uses in her designs. The fact that Rihanna’s name is placed in the centre of the frame suggests that Rihanna’s image and name is used as a marketing tool, as she is such an established artist with a huge global fan base, she only needs herself to sell her music.

The main text visible on this CD album advert is the name of the album (Rated R), the name of the artist and her two famous songs ‘Russian Roulette’ and ‘Hard’, instantly enticing the audience to purchase it.  The font styles reflect the meaning of the album as all of the text is clearly visible in bold, unfeminine and edgy fonts (also in capital letters, which is more aggressive) and can suggest that the album contains more controversial and aggressive songs, maybe aiming at a slightly older target audience. The name of the songs ‘Russian Roulette’ and ‘Hard’ also depict a sense of danger . The ‘Rated R’ is also of significance as it relates to the PEGI rating system for films and video games (Rated 18 for example). The font is rough and untidy and the colours consist of black, white and red, colours which are very dull but also eye-catching.

 The cover is quite conventional, with the photograph of the artist large on the cover (highlighting that it’s the main selling point of the advert) and the text at the bottom. The order of importance is quite obvious on this CD album advert, mainly because of the size and colour of the different texts which make them stand out.