Coldplay Magazine Advert

AnalysisElleah Stanton

The Writing-The font used looks extremely modern, simple and bright. At a first glance, the writing does not make sense, it looks more like an assortment of white lines that it does words. This is due to the large letters in the centre of the page, which spell out the name of the album ‘Mylo Xyloto’. The empty spaces inside the letters makes the colourful background very prominent and the main focus of the advert. The consumers eyes are then attracted to the name of the artist at the top of the page which can be considered to be one of the most important pieces of information to put on an album advert. The artists name is the same size font as the date for which the album is available ‘OCTOBER 24’. The simplistic use of 24 makes it extremely bold and eye catching, ensuring that the date it set into the consumers mind so they know when they can buy the album.-Then in smaller writing, in a different more readable font, it explains the other pieces of information about pre-ordering, where to order from and a special offer.-The writing overall is very informative once the consumer has reached past the stage of awe at all the colours and white lines. It explains to the consumer everything they need to know about the album to ensure they buy it.

The Graphics and The Story-There is only one image used in this advert, and that is the background,

made up of an array of random colours at first glance. But when you look more closely, you see it is a wall with lots of graffiti over it, then in the middles there is a large splash of random colour, as if the painted has got all the cans of paint and sprayed it all together in the middle of the wall. -The words in the graffiti are mostly unrecognisable which could symbolise the constant flow of life through cities and towns. The graffiti gives the advert an urban look to it, like it is set within the inner city that is constantly hustling and bustling with people and life. -The large splash of colour in the middle could therefore symbolise Coldplay themselves, saying that this album and its music will protrude out from all the regular music and aspects of life, creating something that has not necessarily been seen before, as the splash of colour does seem to be the norm on this wall.

The BrandingO The image used as the background is the

same image used for the actual album cover, which creates a brand identity for this era of Coldplay. So technically, there is a picture of the product for sale. The consumer will see the album in the shops of in iTunes and link it back to the advert they saw, thus they now associate these colours and fonts with Coldplay. This works in their favour as they can now release other pieces of advertisement like posters or adverts on TV with the same design and promote the band. They can even introduce the design to their shows, by following the colour scheme with lighting effects.

The LogoO The artists logo is present on the magazine

advert. It has been altered to match the rest of the colour scheme fort he other text on the page. This links to brand identity as it gives consumers a image to link all of the pieces of advertisement together. This Coldplay logo is also good for the band as it can be put on other advertisements that my be about a range of bands, yet still be recognisable.

The Target AudienceO By looking at the use of graffiti, I can make the assumption that

the band are aiming to appeal to the younger audience, that may be involved with street culture. Their use of colour and glamorisation of vandalism may appeal to the younger generations involved with crime, which tend to be inner city youngsters. From this I would say that the artist is trying to target ‘city kids’, which is slightly strange as one would not necessarily associate Coldplay with the younger rebellious generation as their songs tend to be slow and ballad-like. However, they may be appealing to this age group in order to give them something else to think about than crime. The album itself may carry a message promoting happiness, which may deter the youngsters from crime.

O Due to Coldplay’s already large older fan base, it seems they are trying to connect to the younger age range in order to maximise their overall fan base.

What?Coldplay are considered a rock band, and generally, rock music and its advertisement is dark and more lustful. Coldplay have converted the conventions of rock music and gone with an array of bright colours. The advert looks like this is the aim the producers had when making it. The advert is so bold and ‘in your face’ it is basically screaming, ‘Look we are different!’ which again targets an audience of youngsters who thrive of new and inventive things.