Jack's advert analysis

Plan B
The advert takes up the whole of the back page of the magazine; this makes the product seem more important than a little advert at the bottom of the page. Plan B’s fame in the music industry, has allowed his album’s advert to be very simplistic, as it does not name any of the songs or have any over the top art work. The lack of information on the advert suggests that this artist is already cemented as a popular artist so therefore the advert only needs to say is how many stars it is. The Layout is also simplistic. By having Plan B on his own in the middle this gives the impression that he is standing alone and he is different. The advert is also very retro and lends itself to the past so this also represents that he is different as he isn’t following the modern trend, he is making his own style. To attract the consumer’s attention the only important information is in Bold and the opposite colour of the background for example his name, the album’s name and how many stars it receives. Through this short and brief information it grabs the reader’s attention as there is not a lot of pointless information only what is needed and because it is the opposite colour to the background it is clear and eye catching. The font and the size of the font on the language also show a message about the advert. It is in a very simple bold font and is also large, this is because it attracts attention and also as soon as a consumer sees the name ‘Plan B’ it draws them in. By having a dark background and a picture of Plan B in the light, this gives a metaphorical message of he is the light in music and reinforces the theme of him being different. By having the stars at the bottom this does not only rate how good the album is but because the stars are awarded by high end music magazines this also reinforces the quality of the product and NME is seen as a magazine not for the mainstream so for it to be advertising a product which a mainstream magazine has awarded it well, this shows the quality of the product. Unlike some magazine adverts there are no song names listed or any other added information like a quote from a review. This also adds to the simplicity of the article and also gives off the impression that he is already a quality artist without having to say so, so there are no quotes needed because his music does the talking not the language for the advertisement, Which does contrast to his first album where information was needed to introduce himself as a new and up and coming artist.

New Young Pony Club
The advertisement for the New Young Pony Club really contrasts to the Plan B advertisement. The location of the advertisement is significant because unlike Plan B it is in the middle of the magazine which means it is easier to miss and therefore probably cheaper to put in this part of the magazine. This is because Plan B will sell magazines and although he is on the back cover this is still noticeable where if the New Young Pony Club were on the back because they are new and do not have as big a following, this would not sell copies. It also follows the stereotype of NME magazine as NME is known for discovering new talent through things such as the NME radar tour, but the newer bands tend to be advertised in the middle and the more mainstream artists in the front and the back. So although NME is not a mainstream magazine the bands which lend themselves towards mainstream are advertised at the front and the newer (debut album) bands are included in the middle. When looking at the design of the advert it is a very simplistic design but includes more information than Plan B's, this is also because Plan B is already established and the New Yong Pony Club need as much advertising as possible so they make the most of the advert and include everything from the website, to the songs included on the album. The songs listed links to the advertisement as because they are an up and coming band they may be known for their songs and not their name where Plan B's advertisement does not need to include songs as he is already established as a popular, quality artist. Through the style of NME (being known for its underground music) the colours of the advert are very simple and give the advert a raw underground feel to it through the simplicity. The contrast of black and white, although simple, make the advert stand out because they are complete opposite colours, this makes the information clear and attracts the consumer's attention. The picture of the band in the background also reveals their up and coming status as they are not recognisable so their picture is faded and the information is in bold, this is because this is the information which will get the band noticed not a picture of them as they are not recognisable yet. The use of capital letters is also interesting as the importance of the information is classed through capital and lower case letters, The use of song names being lower case and ‘OUT NOW’ being in capitals makes this stand out so therefore the consumers attention realises that this album is out now and the capital letters also adds a sense of urgency to it. The location of the advert is also important as compared to the other adverts at the bottom of the page it is the biggest one so although this advert is in the middle of the magazine, on the actual page the advert seems important because it is bigger than the other two.

The Gorillaz
The Gorillaz magazine advertisement is a very surreal advert. The picture is of a make believe world which is clearly meant to represent a contrast to normal life. This may be because it makes the advert stand out as it is different to any other cover so attracts attention, but it may also reinforce the bands make believe style as the band are never shown in the video, it is always four make believe characters so this unusual world compliments the unusual characters shown in the video's of the band. So by not having the band on the front cover this follows the convention of the band being slightly mysterious and different. This album follows Plan B's style of not much information on the advertisement; this allows the information that is included to stand out. This also reinforces that the Gorillaz are an established band so therefore their name can sell copies not a list of songs that are included. As the advert is a picture of the album The Gorillaz have followed the convention of not having the band on the front cover. The stars on the advertisement shows the bands quality as most of the reviews have given the album a full five stars, the quality of the album is also shown through what magazines have awarded this as it is not from a specific niche magazine it is from a mainstream company such as Q magazine and this also supports how established the band are as a mainstream magazine wants to review it and how well they have rewarded it. This is why there is no need to list the songs included on the album as it shows the Gorillaz are not known for a few tracks, there whole album is quality, Which contrasts to the New Young Pony Club's advertisement. There is a clear contrast of surrealism and a simplistic style as the picture is very surreal but the frame and bottom of the advert is a clear black and white. This not only makes the advert stands out as it combines both concepts (surrealism and simple) but also creates a clear contrast on the advert. The black background also makes the writing stand out as the contrast of black and white makes the writing clear and easy to read because there isn't a lot of information. The font on the advertisement also shows this contrast as the font on the picture is also very dream -like and surreal where the writing on the black background is bold and simple. The writing which stood out the most was the 'Out Now' this was because it was simple and Bold which made it stand out, this gives the advert excitement and urgency as the advert is saying this amazing album (through the star ratings) is out now so it needs to be purchased quickly.