Advert

Advert analysis. 

I thought this would be a relevant advert to analysis because it comes from the same genre as the group I am studying. As with many products in the hip-hop world i.e the digipaks i looked at earlier on in the project i discovered that most are relatively simple. The adverts genre can be quickly established due to the clothing and accessories worn by the artist, this not only means that the album will be recognised faster by the target audience but also means that they can associate themselves with the artist due to their shared taste in fashion. This advert is no different as it doesn't feature any unnecessary artwork or information, the colours and layout are also fairly simplistic. This means that the viewers attention is not drawn away from the key information such as the release date and the tracks that the album includes. The Posture and mannerisms of the artist on the front cover is also typical of the genre, as he doesn't appear to portray any weakness or vulnerability. Instead the advert is used to show the artists physical strength and has connotations of power, this seems to be an important factor in the world of Hip-hop because it a very masculine industry. The clothing combined with the sunglasses and tattoo are reminiscent of criminality, this may be a factor the artist is purposefully trying to convey in an attempt to improve his reputation amongst his peers. Presenting the artist in this way is more likely to appeal to a wider audience because it provides the male members of the audience with a figure to aspire and the females members a figure to admire.

The advert to the left also goes to great lengths to portray the artist as wealthy, whether this is an accurate description or not the audience are led to believe that the artist is affluent. Again there is a simple layout and no clutter the key information about the album is portray clearly and the audience can quickly absorb the necessary information. The small image of a crown next to the album title is another item that symbolises wealth and power. The colours used in the advert are subtle and do not draw any attention from any of the key aspects in the advert meaning that the audience can quickly view all the information they require.The expensive sport car in the shot is an example of how the artist can manipulate the perceptions of the audience, upon seeing the car one would assumed that the artist is wealthy. Sunglasses seem to be a common trend in Hip-hop in photos this might be because of how they suggest mystery, the audience cannot see into the eyes of the artist which is another way of making them appear less vulnerable and tough. The female on the cover is used as an object of desire and incites both jealousy and admiration in the audience,it is common for females  in the Hip-hop world to be the victims of prejudice as they are often displayed as a 'trophy' and used by the artist as another way to show there status in an attempt to gain respect from both their audience and peers.


My advert. 

Evaluation of my advert.

I decided to create a questionnaire so i could get some feedback about my both my advert and digipak. The the response from those who answered the questionnaire was generally positive although there were some criticisms. All of those questioned thought that my digipak could be easily associated with the Hip-hop genre, they also agreed that it would appeal to my target audience. The improvements that were suggested were relatively small and tended revolve around colour and font size. I personally am very pleased with the outcome of my Advert for many reasons, i think it is very easily recognisable as a Hip-hop advert this is primarily due to costumes and mannerisms featured in the photo. Earlier on in the project i learnt that Hip-hop artists like to present themselves in certain ways in any photo, this includes how they are dressed and the persona they portray to the camera. I think i have duplicated this very well with my advert as the actors featured in it show no emotion or vulnerability they only present there 'tough' persona through facial expressions and body language. I also think the costumes worn by the actors are very appropriate for my genre. Large pieces of jewelry, baggy hoodies and flat caps are fashion favourites in the Hip-hop world and all feature in my advert. I discovered earlier in the project that Hip-hop music has a very broad fan base this made it hard to incorporate elements that would please all my target audience. Despite this i think my advert would appeal to my target audience as a whole but not necessarily individual subgroups with in that audience.
 I am please with the general layout and appearence of my advert, although there are some elements i would like to improve. For example i used Photoshop when editing my photos and applied the 'Posterize' tool which creates the effect you can see in the advert above, i also desaturated the original photograph turning it black and white and as a result improving the contrast. At this point in the editing process i think i had partially lost sight of my initial intentions because although i like how the photo looks i think there were other factors i could have altered instead to make the image more appropriate for my genre. I think the fonts used for advert are also appropriate for my genre this is because of there graffiti style which is often closely linked to Hip-hop world, i am also pleased with how the colours of the font contrast well with the rest of the advert. Although the two existing Hip-hop adverts i have analysed feature smaller more subtle fonts i still feel that the fonts featured in my advert would be quickly associated with the genre. When comparing my own advert to existing ones i think that  the fonts and colours could be less bold as they do distract some attention away from the image however despite the fact that my advert is not as simplistic as others i still think it looks professional and most importantly the genre it represents can be established almost instantly.

Flat plans for advert.

Flat plans for advert.

                                                                                                                                                                            I wanted to keep the certain aspects of my advert such as the style, font and colour the same as my digipak, i did this in a effort to keep a flow of continuity and to make my products more recognisable to the general public. I wanted to keep my advert as simple as possible not only to make it easier for me to produce but also to ensure that all the information is clearly presented and easy to read. I have also discovered from looking at the work of other hip-hop artists that very few album covers, adverts etc. have particularly complicated designs.

Another important factor i have picked up from studying the genre is that it is extremely rare for a Hip-hop artist to adopt a vulnerable pose for a photo which will feature on there album cover etc. 

Instead in nearly all cases the artist will adopt a pose which emphasises their physique and toughness, in many cases low angle shots are use to create the impression of power. It is also very important for Hip-hop artist to portray their affluence on there album cover that is why i have tried to dress the performers in clothing that suggests wealth.

 I have featured some of my initial ideas for my advert in the form of sketches in this blog, much of my inspiration has come from other hip hop products that i have looked at previously in this project. I thought it was very important to include all of the performers  from my video in my advert, i also thought it was very important to have them dressed in a similar if not identical way to how they would be dressed in the video so that anyone viewing the advert would get a better sense of what genre the music video is and what it consists of. I wanted to appeal to my target audience by including fonts and clothing typical of the hip-hop genre not only would make it easier for the audience to associate the advert with the genre, it also is likely to have more appeal to those who are interested in Hip-hop.