Music advert analysis – Rihanna

This is the album advert for Rihanna’s ‘Rated R’ represents the punk, pop and RnB genre that her music falls under.

Character- Rihanna has been photographed using direct address with the camera, this has been done to draw audiences into the advert and make them interested in what it is concerning. The name of the album is ‘Rated R’. This suggests that the album is not aimed at a young audience. This is a mid-shot of Rihanna and she is taking up the vast majority of the space on the advert. Rihanna is very heavily made up, wearing very dark lipstick and a lot of eye makeup which is stereotypical of female pop artists. She is wearing this amount of make up to make her look more attractive in order to draw audiences in. Although the image is in black and white, it is clear that she is wearing dark clothing. In this image Rihanna has got her hair shaved at the side and in a quiff at the top, this makes her seem dangerous and provocative. It is also a very alternative look and highlights the ‘bad girl’ representation that she has. She is covering half of her face with her hand on this photograph as she is trying to show off her jewellery. She has many rings on her fingers which adds also adds to the representation she is trying to maintain. You can also see a tattoo on the side of Rihanna’s finger, this again adds to the punk genre of the album. She has moved away from her usual style and has taken on the punk genre.

Narrative events- the bottom of the advert includes the names of two of the songs which feature on her album. The song ‘Russian Roulette’ gives connotations of danger as Roulette is one of the most dangerous games in the world, this is reflected in the image of Rihanna on the album advert as she looks very dangerous and serious. The other song of ‘Hard’ is also reflected in the image as she is playing the hard-bad girl role, shown by her facial expression and the way in which she is presented. The ‘Rated R’ title suggests that the album is going to be aimed at an older audience; the photograph of Rihanna also suggests this as she looks very provocative. This could also give hints as to what other songs on the album are going to be about.

Iconography – the dark lipstick and eye makeup that she has on her face is iconic to the punk RnB genre that she is trying to portray. The ‘R’ in the corner of the advert is iconic as it is a play on words. It is significant to the advert as the album is named ‘Rated R’ so the letter is highlighting this. It is also obviously the beginning letter of Rihanna’s name which again highlights the artist. The jewellery

that she is wearing is iconic to the genre of the album as it represents punk and RnB. She is wearing various rings that will clearly draw attention as she is covering part of her face with this hand.

Setting- it is not clear where the image on this photograph was set as the artist is covering most of the space on the advert. There is a white wall behind Rihanna with the letter ‘R’ wrote on. This suggests to me that the setting of the image may be in some kind of prison as you generally see things being written on walls inside the cells. This setting would represent the image that she is going for well as it is a place that people go to when people have done something wrong, this could again highlight the ‘bad girl’ image that she is trying to maintain.

Technical and audio codes – the image on the album advert has been edited as it is does not involve any colour. The black and white colours give off quite a dangerous and depressing feel, this again highlights the punk genre that she is not usually known for but may be trying to portray. The image of Rihanna is taking up most of the space on the advert as she clearly wants audiences’ attention to be on her. The title of the album is not completely clear as it is not very large, although the word ‘Rihanna’ stands out a lot here, along with the names of the songs which are featured on it. The names of the songs have been written in bold red capitalized words, the colour red gives connotations of energy, power, danger and love.