1. The band name is used as a title on the
magazine advert page and is placed in the
primary optical area at the top of the page which is a conventionallayout
of most album adverts in music magazines. The band name is used to
allow the target audience readers to identify with the band and their
album. The name of the band; “The Vaccines” is printed in a bold, serif
font; this eye-catching font style is used to attract the reader’s attention
and is one of the first items seen on the page through the “route of the
eye”. The color scheme used on the band name is a neutral skin color;
this is also the same color used on the title of the album cover itself. The
use of color here aims to involve both a male and female target audience
and so gives the album universal appeal.
The subheading is also an example of
conventional music magazine album
advertisements as it gives the title of
the album. The font style used in the print advert is bold and stands out on the black background; this
choice of layout makes it easy for the reader to follow the advert and know what album they are reading
about.
Following the idea of the “rule of thirds” the woman’s face is the main focus of the advert – this focus is
the same on the actual album cover also. This familiarity enables the target audience of teenage readers
to recognize the picture if they want to buy the album. Unconventionally, the image on the album cover
has nothing to do with the name of the album; although sometimes this has more effect on the target
audience. It depicts a seemingly teenage girl dressed in casual clothing (a vest) hugging a male dressed
in a plain t shirt through a mid shot. This choice of clothing is
relatable to the teenage target audience as it seems relaxed and
normal. The woman is presumably hugging her boyfriend which is typical of lustful teenage behavior and
therefore relates to the target audience. In the terminal optical area of the page there is a lure used on
the advert in order to persuade the teenage reader to buy the album as it includes song’s by the band
that they are already familiar with – this is typically conventional of album adverts in music magazines as
most people tend to purchase an album based on whether or not they liked the singles.
Furthermore, the reader can see how the album has been
rated by other music establishments (magazine and
newspaper); this is highly typical and conventional of most album adverts as it allows the reader to
compare the reviews between different institutions. This is important as ‘The Telegraph’ newspaper
generally has a different target audience demographic (middle aged adults) compared to readers of ‘The
Sun’ (teenagers). This enables the reader to establish how favored an album is by different target
audiences and allows them to make a balanced judgment as both newspapers rate the album 4 stars.
Also, the use of “The Album Of The Year” is used as a conventional lure in order to persuade the reader
to purchase the album based on its critical acclaim.

2. Directly below the reviews there are two web links for fans of the band to enter and find out extra
information about the album and keep up to date with the band itself; this is highly conventional of
album advertisements in music magazines. The language used in the album advert is mostly colloquial
which relates to the teenage target audience reader; allowing the advert to fit in linguistically with the
rest of the magazine.