Miss Miller - Planning magazine advert

Magazine adverts are essential towards promoting an artist and are often effective in creating an certain image for them. An artist on a magazine advert is often done to come across in the most appealing manner, often making them come across as admirable individuals but also down to earth while doing so, making them more accessible to a wider audience. Through doing this, it increases the likelihood of the artist gaining a new following.

I will be creating my own advert for my groups artist, providing with a mock magazine advert. This is important as through doing this planning it will help towards creating an effective magazine advert which both promotes the artist and is appealing towards the target audience. This is important as without drawing up a mock version before going to create the actual thing, it will enable me to be more prepared as I will have a better insight into what I am going to create, and to what effect this will have towards my artists portrayal and there appeal towards the target audience. 

Within my magazine advert, the colours will have an important significance for both the portrayal of the artist and genre. I have chosen to use only black and white for the advert, having no other colours present as it has rather dark visuals. I plan to use this for when I go to create my magazine advert as it is a frequently used convention from within the indie genre, and has a number of purposes towards it. In relation to the genre and the target audience, the use of black and white represents the genre due to it commonly being used, as the genre often conveys dark and gritty themes to represent hard hitting messages, often showing reality oppose to a desirable bright and hopeful vibe. This is appealing towards the target audience as it will clearly make it evident that the artist within the advert belongs to the genre due to the use of a the convention, and also as it is familiar visuals to what they would be used to seeing, making it come across as being similar to that of real life counterparts. Alongside this, it portrays the artist as being emotionless and dark, showing the artist as having a hopeless portrayal. The target audience may find this appealing as they may feel sympathy for the artist due to them being shown as being in a tough situation. They may also emphasis with there situation due it showing the artist in a gritty and down to earth light, through the lack of bright visuals, which may assist towards the reader being able to form a relationship with the artist.

Alongside this portrayal, there are connotations which can be gathered through the use of the black and white colouring. One connotation which the reader might pick up on is that the artist is plain and has no depth in emotions, possibly due to bad experiences previously in his life. This is re-enforced through the facial expression of the artist which is very plain and dull. Because of this, it could imply to the reader that to fully experience the artist, and to get a more personal insight into him through his emotions, they would have to purchase his new album as the advert is only showing a minor snippet of the artist as a person. This is appealing for the viewer as they might feel as if the artist is hiding his true personality through the lyrics of his songs, and they might found his music more interesting because of this and they want to get a better insight into him, as he is shown as being a beaten down individual which the reader may sympathize with. This promotes and benefits the artist as it could potentially result in a higher number of sales and exposure.

There are a number of genre conventions which are present throughout my magazine advert plan. One which hasn't been mentioned is the image of the artist himself. This is as our artist will be placed in the middle of the screen, showing a direct mode of address, while doing so showing a glum facial expression. This is convention to the indie genre as it makes the artist the main focus of the visuals, where they often show some form of emotion through their facial expressions, not often very happy. This is beneficial for the artist for a number of reasons. Firstly, as just an artist benefit it gets their face out there more as they are made the focus of the visuals, from being placed directly in the middle showing a direct mode of address. As they will be shown addressing the reader directly, this may be appealing for the reader as they may feel as if the artist is addressing them and just them, providing the reader with a sense of having a more personal connection with the artist. This is helpful as it may assist towards the reader forming a relationship with the reader as they are shown in a down to earth and relatable light through the personal portrayal, which could make the reader more inclined to buy the magazine advert.

One connotation that the reader could gather from this is that the artist is a very down to earth and direct person when it comes to his emotions. This is as his glum facial expression is made the prime focus of top half of the center visuals, which the reader may gather as the artist being close his fan base as he is willing to show himself in this way while he is going through a tough time. This is beneficial towards the artists portrayal as it connotes toward him being close to his fans and showing a different side of himself towards them. Therefore the reader may find the artist more appealing for this as he has a strong connection between his fan base showing, making anyone that purchases his album more valued.

There are a number of different images which I intend upon using within my magazine advert. Some that haven't been previously mentioned can be seen beside the image of the artist, where reviews of the artist can be seen. One example of this is a 5 star rating given from the sun. This helps promote the artist as it shows that he is popular amongst reviewers, showing him in a positive light as it shows him as being a successful and popular artist who produces high quality content. This might entice new fans as they might want to buy the album more because of the good feedback. Through this it adds towards the artists image of being an extraordinary star and showing him in a high regard, although the artist is also shown as being ordinary through the use of the artists face and facial expression, both of which providing with appealing factors for the target audience. More specifically for the images of the reviews, this is appealing for the target audience as it shows the artist as being an extraordinary star who they might look up towards, which may make them want to purchase their new album because of the artist providing with better current music to other artists, due to the high reviews given by highly regarded names. 

The design and layout of the magazine also have quite a lot of significance towards them. I have put the artists name directly in the middle of the frame, the artists face being seen just above it. This placement is essential as it draws significance towards the artist amongst the other images and text which can be seen. This is appealing for the target audience as the artist is being shown as the main focus of the magazine advert, showing him as being important and having significance. This shows the artist in a positive light as it shows how he is a relatable person, as he is shown with a direct mode of address in the middle of the frame, showing a emotionless and beaten down facial expression. This might enable for a relationship to be built between the viewer and the artist, making the target audience find him to be a down to earth person. This is appealing for them as they may feel as if they can connect to the artist on a deeper level due to the direct mode of address of the artist in the middle if the frame, which is showing a beaten down facial expression which they may sympathise with. This also helps towards promoting the artist as its the artists debut album he will need some form of exposure to become more well known, and as it is large and clear to see it allows for the artist to have his face easily recognisable. Therefore if more albums sell, his face will be more known by a larger number of people, making him a bigger name and known face within the music industry.

The typography from within my mock magazine advert is done to appeal towards the target audience and to also promote the artist. An example of this can be taken from underlining "debut album", where in the same instance it says that it is a album to remember. This is appealing towards the target audience as fans of the indie genre may want to purchase the album due to it being a new release which is highly regarded, connoting that they will be able to listen to the starting work of an artist which has a bright future ahead, who will continue to creator high quality content. This will assist towards promoting the artist as through highlighting this part of the text which is placed directly in the middle of the frame, it alerts people who are unfamiliar with the artist that it is his debut album, and that he is going to provide with new music. This may allow the artist to gain a bigger following and become a bigger name as a whole if a large number of people purchase his new album. 

The language use throughout my intended magazine advert helps towards promoting the artist and appealing towards our target audience. One example where the use of language is importance towards both the artists and target audiences appeal is "A debute album to remember". This is appealing towards the target audience as it makes the album sound appealing through saying it is something to remember, implying that it is very good. Therefore potential new fans of the artist might want to purchase the album as the use of language makes it seem as if it is worth buying and listening to, more so through saying it is something they will "remember". This element also helps to promote the artist as it implies that the album which he produced is good, and that he has a bright future in the music industry as his first album is something to remember. This will help his reputation within the music industry, and amongst people that might not yet be fans of the artist, which might enable for the artist to gather a bigger following. 

I feel as if I am more aware as to what pictures I will need to take for when I go to create my actual magazine cover.  This is as I now have an idea towards what sorts of images I should include within my actual magazine cover, and to what effect this will be done, towards appealing towards my target audience and promoting my artist. One example which I can take from my mock design which I wish to incorporate into my actual magazine cover is to have my artists face as the main focus of the advert, as it has benefits towards both the target audience and promoting my artist. This will generally help towards making the artist come across in a relatable light, as well as promoting his face and allowing for more exposure to be gained, all of which essential elements towards an indie artists magazine adverts.