Research - Magazine Advert Analysis 1

This is a magazine advert that would have been intended to fill a page of a music magazine. Magazine advertising is a huge business worth billions and marketers use magazines as a way of promoting artists work or upcoming tour. Evident on many music adverts is a prominent feature image of the star in question, in this instance it is Wretch 32. The advert is somewhat less informative than other types of media it simply informs the viewer of the artist, the work and the release date. It does however sell the album by letting the reader know of the talent that has helped produce the album. The image of Wretch 32 is a casual yet romantic one of him he could easily be seen as a role model because of his enviable style and suaveness.

If you don't know who the artist is, it is quite easy to see from a cultured youths point of view that he is a producer of urban music and this is given away by his choice of clothing, his race and the block of flats situated behind his shoulder denoting that he is from 'the streets'. He may not be from 'the streets' at all it could be a marketing ploy to engage viewers who are from working class backgrounds who would be interested in this artist. Blumner and Katz's 1974 uses and gratifications theory would suggest that viewers of this main gain personal identity with the image and if so will be more inclined to purchase the album. Although the image cleverly and subtly implores techniques that imply that the image is loyal, i would still say that the audience views this from a negotiated position in accordance to Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model because the viewer sees what the artist/producer/music management team want you to see.