I began the advert analysis, deciding to compare an advert for two vastly contrasting films, 'Control' and 'Wall-E'. Despite the fact that I am not creating an advert, it will help my contextual understanding of the magazines. The analysis is below:
The advert I will be analysing was featured in Q. and is about a film called ‘Control’, which is based on the life and times of Ian Curtis, front man of Joy Division. The advert is shown below:
The fact that the film is based around indie music forerunner Ian Curtis is a salient enough reason to feature in a relatively indie-based music magazine. The decision to include the advert in ‘Q.’ is more likely to attract audiences to the film than if it was in, for instance, ‘Kerrang’ as the film appeals to the target audience of the magazine.
The advert itself uses several conventions to convey meaning. There is one main image, thus signifying that this male is the focal point of the film. The inclusion of a cigarette in the advert could also represent his anarchy and, eventually, his downfall.
The picture is in black and white, which holds connotations that the film is focusing on a life in the past whilst reinforcing the biopic style of the film by making it seem like a natural photo (further re-iterated through the lack of direct address from ‘Ian Curtis’). Furthermore, the previously mentioned black and white colour scheme is starkly juxtaposed by the bright purple text. This means that the text in purple denotes elements of the poster that they want to emphasise. This is exemplified by the fact that the title of the film is in purple and extremely large as to make the name of the film clear.
There are also quotes from reviews of the film down the left. They are all positive as to give the impression that the film has enjoyed critical acclaim and to inform the potential viewer of the positives the film boasts. Moreover, the quotes are in purple, as to force the reader to focus on the positive reviews (due to the juxtaposition of colours) thus enticing them.
The main actor’s and the director’s names are in grey thus putting the aforementioned aspects of the poster to the forefront of the poster. This connotes that the people working on the film are not as important as the film itself. Furthermore, the decision also helps to ensure that the film retains a sense of reality as the film is a documentary, the actors should be emphasised as it’s meant to be real life.
The other advert I will be analysing is an advert featured in ‘Smash Hits’ about the film ‘Wall-E’:
The films are vastly differing films that cater to extremely different target audiences. This is reflected in the difference of the magazine’s target audiences. Whereas ‘Q.’ appeals to an older, more mature audience, ‘Smash Hits’ appeals to a younger audience consisting of mainly pre-teens. As such, they are more likely to want to see Wall-E, hence the inclusion of the advert in the magazine.
The advert uses similar conventions to ‘Control’ but uses them to convey a completely different meaning. For instance, there is one significant image – of the robot Wall-E looking into space. As with ‘Control’, the poster shows one being thus suggesting that they are the main character. The picture is clearly a still from the film, there is not much text as they want the powerful image to speak for itself. The text suggests the plotline of the film. Conversely, ‘Control’ doesn’t reveal the plotline. This is due to the fact that, whilst ‘Wall-E’s target audience needs to be told the premise of the film as they would quickly forget the film’s image without relating it to a plot, the target audience for ‘Control’ would investigate further into the Joy Division-related film.
Whereas ‘Control’s colour scheme is dark and sombre (hence reflecting the mood of the film), ‘Wall-E’s is vibrant and bright. This, yet again, reflects the difference in the audience they are attempting to appeal to – a younger audience would generally be attracted to brighter colours whereas an older audience would appreciated a black and white colour scheme more due to the eminence of black and white in ‘their day’.
The line “From the creators of Finding Nemo” further signifies their target audience – those who would be fans of Finding Nemo, a fellow Disney animation. The youngsters would see this and want to see it if they were fans of ‘Finding Nemo’, thus enticing them to see the film more.
The advert uses similar conventions to ‘Control’ but uses them to convey a completely different meaning. For instance, there is one significant image – of the robot Wall-E looking into space. As with ‘Control’, the poster shows one being thus suggesting that they are the main character. The picture is clearly a still from the film, there is not much text as they want the powerful image to speak for itself. The text suggests the plotline of the film. Conversely, ‘Control’ doesn’t reveal the plotline. This is due to the fact that, whilst ‘Wall-E’s target audience needs to be told the premise of the film as they would quickly forget the film’s image without relating it to a plot, the target audience for ‘Control’ would investigate further into the Joy Division-related film.
Whereas ‘Control’s colour scheme is dark and sombre (hence reflecting the mood of the film), ‘Wall-E’s is vibrant and bright. This, yet again, reflects the difference in the audience they are attempting to appeal to – a younger audience would generally be attracted to brighter colours whereas an older audience would appreciated a black and white colour scheme more due to the eminence of black and white in ‘their day’.
The line “From the creators of Finding Nemo” further signifies their target audience – those who would be fans of Finding Nemo, a fellow Disney animation. The youngsters would see this and want to see it if they were fans of ‘Finding Nemo’, thus enticing them to see the film more.
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