My Magzine Ad Analysis in relation to Dance pop - Madonna and Rihanna - By Abi Shaw

As a group we are going to design and produce a magazine advertisement for the release of our digi pack, in order to do this I need to research the conventions of current magazine adverts within the chosen genre – dance pop, this will then help me to design and produce a magazine advert to successfully reach my target audience which will include the name of the artist and the album, the date of the album release, an image of the artist either a photo and or an artwork design, featuring songs, the record company and possibly follow a set colour or theme. The magazine advert could be very basic, but also might include a website for the artist and some form of release for example CD download, critical quotes, and ratings might also be a possibility. Whilst recognizing the different conventions used to create a high quality, successful magazine ad, I looked at a few magazines within the dance pop genre allowing me to get an idea of the sort of theme and styles used including the colours, the font and mis en scene.

I have chosen this magazine advert as it is in the dance pop genre. It will enable me to get ideas and inspiration when designing my own magazine ad. This advert is advertising Madonna’s new album ‘Hard Candy’ which was released in 2008. Madonna is portrayed as a very powerful, aggressive, woman as suggested in the title ‘HARD CANDY’. This is also stressed by the leather outfit and the boxer/wrestler belt around the stomach. She also dominates the entire advert with her legs open signifying that she has control over her sexual image. The pink background gives a feminine girly feel in complete contrast to the main black power image on Madonna. The power image is emphasized by the words at the top and bottom left of the advert. ‘On and on the beat goes’ suggests that the music is unstoppable, and this is reinforced by ‘no one’s gonna stop her now’. The words are also displayed in bold, capital letters, and the title of the album is between her legs which immediately attract the attention of the audience which could include males and females. Madonna’s name notice is not included on the magazine advert only a capital ‘M’ which suggests her status in the industry and the fact that she is so well known that her full name is not necessary.

In contrast to this power image her makeup is very subdued, and her skin is very pale, which provides a background for her heavily made up eyes, and open red mouth. Her hair is very simple and natural despite the bleaching and the dark roots, which could be related to the ‘CANDY’ in the title, and suggests innocence and the pretty and simple side of her.

Another element to consider when designing our magazine ad is the jewelry. Here Madonna is shown wearing a cross, and a large ring. These seem to offer contradictory messages. As the cross represents belief and religious commitment, while the large ring which is difficult to see,  relates to the overall image of power and aggression.

The conventions shown in this particular magazine advert, specifically the bold titles, and the use of costume and makeup to represent the artists character and personality could be something that we use in our own magazine advert as it is a creative way of attracting the audience’s attention. The idea of having a contrasting sexual but innocent image is very effective as it could possibly increase the target market who would buy the album. The other factor from this magazine advert is the use of bold contrasting colours again attracting the attention of the target market. The date shown of when the album is released is something that would also be of importance and to be considered for our own magazine, as it lets the target market know exactly when the album is released. As Madonna is the main feature on the magazine advert. When producing and designing our own magazine, the artist being displayed in the center of the magazine ad is something to be considered. One thing that stood out to me the most was the position of the main information being the title of the new album and when it’s released, in this advert it is positioned between Madonnas legs which immediately catches your eyes. This is a common, technique in advertising and this is something to take into account when producing our magazine advert. Another element that I think plays an important part in attracting the audience is the fact that in this magazine advert Madonna is looking straight into the camera, which it appears that she is staring straight into you’re eyes which immediately  makes you look at it. This would be a good technique to use in making our magazine advert stand out and grasp the viewer’s interest.

Another magazine advert that caught my eye within the dance pop genre was a magazine ad by the famous artist Rihanna for her new album that came out on the 21^st of November. The close up of the magazine advert is cleverly presented showing only part of Rihanna’s face, her eyes and lips dominate the image with the strong colours making a big impact. Her facial expression is disturbing with menacing eyes staring straight at you. Her hair also covers part of her left eye, which suggests that she’s not telling you everything. She is shown with her tongue in the corner of her mouth trapped between her lips. This is sexual, suggestive image, almost asking you to come to her and ‘TALK THE TALK’, which is the album name. The magazine advert also asks the rhetorical question ‘CAN YOU’ TALK THAT TALK’ which is an effective way of attracting your attention. The Album name is shown in very large bold type of white with a red outline, which occupies almost half of the advert. You can slightly see the military camouflaged outfit she is wearing which suggests her power and fearlessness, which you can see in her eyes. These powerful messages are a way of really connecting the audience with Rihanna and convincing you to buy the album.

 Other techniques that I found from this magazine advert is the fact that it is an extreme close up of the artist that fills the space completely, leaving nothing surrounding it to divert your attention. Everything is focused entirely on her face and mouth – showing expression and really brings the audience in to her thoughts. The bold makeup not only follows the dance pop genre, but it attracts a wider target audience as its used to create a sexual image, which would attract male attention as well as females, as red represents passion and emotion. Another item that we could take into account in our advert is the size and prominence of the title of the album. This hits you immediately and ensures that you do not overlook the title of the album. The way the title is in included in a rhetorical question also catches your attention.