Magazine advert analysis.

The magazine advert I have chosen to analyse is the album ‘Don’t Panic’ by the band All Time Low. This is the album that the song ‘Somewhere in Neverland’ is a part of, which has also been analysed earlier. I decided to analyse this advert because it fits with the genre I am researching and will eventually create my own music video in this genre. Most of this A4 magazine page is taken up by the cover art of the album, which immediately means that people who have seen this advert will recognize their album if they were to pass it in a music shop. For fans of the band the style is instantly recognisable, especially the font of the banner that hasn’t changed since their second album release. The main colour choices have changed slightly to fit with the message of the cover art; all comic colour’s are used to fit the grainy, comic style. The images of zombies, UFO’s and fire contradicts with the name ‘Don’t Panic’ yet it fits with the theme of the end of the world that was often in discussion at the time of the release. As it says on the strip at the bottom, the album was released on the 8th of October, and it was the 21st of December of the same year when many people though that the world was going to end. Even for those who weren’t actively thinking about the end of the world or even believed it, the constant mention of it will have been embedded into their sub-conscious, leading people to notice the album more. All in all, it fits with their genre of music: Rock/ Punk – especially the feeling of chaos that has been portrayed. This is particularly because of the fact that the title ‘Don’t Panic’ is in the form of a speech bubble coming from the federal officer with the riot shield, who is being completely ignored. The information at the bottom of the advert is very brief, leaving most of the viewer’s attention to the picture above, however it does tell people what the record label of the band is – along with the twitter account for people to follow and keep updated with. On the right hand side there is the logo of HMV with nothing more that the web address for the shop below, giving a probably sponsored example of where people can buy the new album.The entire advertisement is a clever way of attracting the audience without limiting the buyers to a certain age or gender, by using the cover art to portray the style of the music people can decide for themselves if they would like the music or not.