The images used in this advert make it appear very busy. It doesn’t seem to stick to a conventional colour scheme, instead using white text with a slightly transparent brown background which overlays the album artwork for 'Hold me down'. This creates a very strong contrast and makes the text stand out. The layout is very basic, and appears to be inspired by a poster style, using bold bursts of colour in the centre to capture the attention of the potential audience and surrounding it with very basic information. Although there appears to be quite a lot of text present, the majority just lists tour dates which is a common convention of larger adverts found in magazines. The fact the band are going on tour give them a higher priority and mean the magazine are more willing to scale up the advert. The name of the band ‘You Me at Six’ is the largest text on the page, ensuring that it is the focal point. The bottom of the page also has a release date which is expected on every advert. The same font is used for all of the text allowing it to appear a lot more structured against the background image. There seems to be very little relationship between the text and images other than the fact the album cover is used. However, this does act as a signifier creating an immediate link to the band. Without knowing who the band was, the audience would most likely be able to determine very basic information about them. For example the bright colours arranged into a busy explosion effect suggest that the music style would be quite up-tempo, possibly leaning towards the Pop genre. The lack of black also suggests the genre will be more ‘positive’ than the hard rock and metal that black is commonly associated with. The size of the advert shows that the band featured is becoming more prevalent in mainstream media. This would suggest that this isn’t the band’s first album and they are already quite established in the industry, especially because of the tour dates. From this advert we could also assume that the target audience is likely to be from around 15-25 and predominantly male. This is because of the very bright and bold colours and abstract imagery.
This advert is very different from the one above which could be because this is advertising an earlier album. The advert takes on a much more simplistic layout, only using 2 colours against a white background. This creates a very bold illusion which is understated while still having the same effect. The two colours used are black and orange which not only contrast against the white background but also clash against each other to maximise the bold effect. According to colour theory a dark orange colour can signify deceit or distrust which links to the title of their new single 'Kiss and Tell'. An image of the band is placed to the right which also follows the colour scheme of black and orange. A ‘splatter’ effect is used to fade the image into the background. This relates to the cover of the album which can be seen to the left, in which there is a large splash of colour over a black colour palette. The album is called ‘Take off your colours’ and I am therefore surprised that so few colours were used in this advert.The name of the band is at the top of the advert and again, is the largest text on the page. This causes it to be very prominent and therefore makes the advert very clear. There is very little text on this advert but gives very critical information such as the name of the album and the release date; it also mentions a single which will be available in attempts to draw more people in. Unlike in the other advert, we can see a very clear link between the images used and the text; an image of the band is placed directly next to their name at the very top and both the album and single mentioned both have artwork to accompany their names. I think the lack of colour and imagery detracts from the bands personality and therefore portrays them in a very generic way. This could potentially be problematic when trying to appeal to a new potential audience. The image of the band is used as very basic iconography, linking them directly to the advert. The images of the album artwork would also be expected to do the same job but they couldn’t be initially associated with the band because they haven’t been released yet. This advert seems to be breaking the conventions of adverts from a similar genre as we would typically expect to see a lot more colour. This advert suggests that it is most likely the band’s first album, mainly due to its simplicity. I think this restricts its potential target audience as it would be very easy to overlook.
This advert is another, which uses a poster-style layout, appearing very busy to attract attention. The layout is more complex than the other adverts as a lot of the images overlap that are placed on an angle. However, the name of the band is still placed at the very top of the advert. The busy effect created by the overlapping images is balanced out by the use of mostly one colour; brown. A wooden texture is used in the background, creating a simplistic rural feel, which is relevant to the origins of the band. It also appears to be quite worn which relates to the band almost splitting up before releasing the album. The butterfly image also links the advert to the album it is advertising ‘Brand New Eyes’. The name of the album is also written within one of the 3 brown boxes. All of the text is black which contrasts against the brown while still remaining understated. However the band’s name is highlighted with a white background, which creates a very strong contrast and makes the title stand out without it needing to be bold. The ‘title’ text is also in a different font and not punctuated which may link to the bands casual attitude to their music after the recovery from their split. The choice of language in the advert is very conventional, speaking directly to the audience; ‘Your favourite band is back’. Another feature, which isn’t commonly seen in adverts of music from this genre, is the ability to send a text to receive a ringtone. This method is more commonly seen in mainstream music.
The text and images work well together to demonstrate the theme of the album as well as replicate the simplicity of the album cover design. Minimal iconography is used which represents the band, this suggests they want to start fresh and not be stereotyped by their past work. At the bottom right of the advert there is a logo for the album that Paramore are signed to; ‘FuledByRamen’. This could suggest that Paramore are quite a well-established band because the label wants to be associated with them.
From this advert we can determine that the audience is mostly specialist but the band are trying to break into mainstream media (text for a ringtone feature).
