Analysis of Magazine Cover

Panic At The Disco magazine advert

Santo Gold magazine advert

These two magazine adverts hold the same conventions but different styles to present information on the latest music release.

Both adverts initially present their artist and album through the use of the large masthead followed by a smaller subtitle. The text consists of promoting the artists music and informs the reader when the product is available with the use of stating the date. Both adverts also provide a website for audiences to search therefore taking into account web 2.0 and the new media trend. The adverts also have the record label logos as a small insert; this is always the last thing an audience will see because of the small size of the image.

The Santo Gold advert denotes informal,  presentation through the use of brown colours layered on top of the backdrop that give an 'arts and craft' effect. By this being done it could suggest how the artist has created her music with a very personal approach, cutting things out and sticking things together to make something she can keep for herself. This layering effect I think has be utilized for design effect to attract an audience, instead of simply creating an advert with images pasted simultaneously together, the effect of images upon images can act as a way of 'reaching out' to a potential consumer of the information. The use of the green and brown colours provoke a sense of woodland and maybe even enchanting. The image directly anchors the single 'Lights Out' as the eyes are obscured so it appears that the person cannot see; by doing this it helps the audience further understand what is being shown as there are more links to the music product. The use of the image also shows the artist and presents` what kind of person she may be like, this is in contrast to the second magazine advert which simply shows the band name.

The Panic At The Disco magazine advert presents a baroque circus theme through the use of iconic typography framed within the flamboyant gold and black border which is heavily linked with the artistic style of the late 16th century. By doing this, the advert instantly connotes a sense of uniqueness and possibly implausibility as the presentation of the band would suggest that the music on offer is totally unlike any other available today. The page layout anchors this baroque circus theme through the use of filling up all the white space with the images and text. There has been the use of fading colours and graining on the magazine advert to give an aged effect; the presentation this provides may appeal to an audience who are not pleased with the latest in presentation trends. Because of this the target audience could be a smaller group of people who are more interested in the band's generated reputation, in oppose to a target audience who look for something current in the mainstream music charts.