A.S - Advert Analysis

The advert I will be analysing is for the single ‘21st Century Life’ by Sam Sparro, from his album ‘Sam Sparro’. The first thing to notice is that the advert is a relatively small one, found in NME magazine. It is on the right hand side of the page, with central bottom positioning. This is not the most expensive location for an advert, but it must have required a large budget as the right hand page is the one an audience looks at first generally. Sam Sparro belongs to the pop genre, and he uses electro/techno influences throughout his work, and this is evident through the artwork on the advert. A similar piece of artwork is also used on the album, and consists of this image but from a different angle and slightly different editing techniques. Almost half of the advert is taken up of a stylised image of Sam Sparro, made up of block colours such as oranges, greens and purples. These all connote an upbeat pop like sound. The background is a vivid red which also adds to this.

The main visual technique used is the use of the artists name and the artwork. The words ‘Sam Sparro’ are located at the top left of the advert in large cyan letters and in slightly smaller letters below this is the name of the single. Our eye is then drawn to the art image which then connotes the sense of pop-electro music. There is also a little cut out image of a sparrow in the o of ‘sparrow’ which could be perhaps his trademark as it is also present on the album. The use of colour also immediately attracts our attention rather than just not seeing it and turning to the next page. The main meaning generated is again, that this music is more pop orientated, and as it is in a music magazine aimed at young people, that perhaps he is more aimed at this age range of about 16 – 23. In the image art, there are 2 security cameras incorporated into the design, perhaps meaning that he feels as if he is being watched. The information about the actual single is then written in the bottom left corner in white writing, which stands out as it is a contrast to the vivid red. This enables the reader to easily distinguish when they are able to buy or download the single. The name ‘Sam Sparro’ uses alliteration, a common linguistic device that creates a catchy and this helps a reader remember his name. A reference to popular culture are the hat and sunglasses that Sam Sparro is wearing in the image, these are popular accessories worn by young people today, showing he is modern and fashionable.

A significant representation of Sam Sparro is shown through the use of the security cameras. These represent him as being watched as if he has done something wrong, or because he is new he must be watched. It may also represent him as being different and feeling paranoid. This being different is also represented through the choice to use block colours, rather than photographs, as solo artists will often have images of themselves on their adverts or singles/albums.