JT - Advert Analysis.

The genre of the band and the album is not evident from looking at this advertisement for the album ‘Journal for Plague Lovers’ by Manic Street Preachers. This is as there are no conventions of a rock band on here such as showing the band themselves. The way in which the genre could be known is by what magazine the advertisement is in, in this case the magazine Q. This shows that this band is probably going to be a rock band or something very similar.
The main part of this advertisement consists of the album cover in which it is advertising. The image used on the album cover is an original painting by Jenny Saville. This is a painting of a young boy staring slightly to the side with blood covering his face. This painting would have been used for a number of reasons. Firstly the painting is very striking and connotes child abuse which is a very sensitive topic within society and when used in a magazine it instantly catches the reader’s attention. Also the album is comprised of all songs written by Richey Edwards who was their lyricist but disappeared in 1995. This image could also have a link to his death and represent his death. But the interpretation of this advertisement largely depends on the person viewing it as someone who wasn’t a big fan of the band would not make the link between the picture and Richey Edwards whereas a fan of the band may do. Everything else on the advertisement is very plain and small in comparison to the image. This would have been done on purpose as the image would be seen as the most important part as that is the bit which first grabs the attention of the reader. The name of the album is ‘Journal for Plague Lovers’ which could have certain connotations. ‘Plague Lovers’ could mean people who are so in love it could be called a disease and it is like a diary of these people. All the text is either in black or white which are very neutral colours so they don’t stand out too much on the page. The band name and the album name stands out more as it is in white at the top of the page and is over the boy’s hair which is black so they are contrasting. The other information given on the advertisement is the release date of the album, who has done the music, produced and the lyrics for the album, in what way the album could be brought and also the bands website. The bands website is vital as people can go on here to find out more information about the band and the website would also contain information about other albums and tours.
The band ‘Manic Street Preachers’ may be represented as quite a deep and political band from looking at this advertisement. This is as the subject of child abuse is shown which is a large talking point within society and this band may be shown as tackling this issue. This makes the band seem more credible as they are singing about political and social issues which also makes them different from other bands. This also helps the band sell their product. Using Dyer's crtical framework on 'Stars' it is evident that band want to use a range of different materials to construst their star image, this being through a magazine advertisement. By doing this and using the image they have it makes the band feel both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. It shows that they want to tackle common social issues but as a band makes them maybe look more credible as apposed to some other artists.
This advertisement would be consumed very differently depending on who the consumer was. This is as child abuse is shown in this advertisement which is a topic in which everyone has different views and opinions. It also depends on how much the viewer knows the band and who they are or if they are a fan or not.