Analysis of R&B album adverts
As part of my research into promotion of R&B music, I have looked at different album adverts of the genre, investigating the ways in which images, fonts etc. have been applied in order to promote the artist and their music.
Rihanna - Loud (2010)
This album advert has embedded the cover of the album with the image used for the lead single 'Only Girl (In The World)', the latter of which features the artist crouched in a field, covering her body with what looks like a red sheet, thus informing the audience that this track will be included on the album and will feature the themes of vulnerability, protection and insecurity. White capitals have been used to emphasise the album's title (Loud), the artist (Rihanna) and the release date (November 16th), so that it can stand out from the red background and consumers can know when they'll be able to buy it and who is releasing it. The dominant colour used here is red - Rihanna has red hair, she wears red lipstick on the album cover and a faint shade of red is used at the top and bottom of the ad - these can be seen to connote love/romance, emotional intensity and power, for example, signifying that this album is from the R&B genre and the themes of the album, and informing consumers who listen to R&B music that this is what the album will provide.
Rihanna - Rated R (2009)
In contrast with Loud, a darker scheme has been utilised for the advertisement of Rated R, using black, white and grey for Rihanna's picture, her name and the album title and a dark red for the singles that will be released, the latter of which is a feature absent on the Loud advert. Here, Rihanna is wearing a leather top and is covering her right eye with one of her hands, on which she wears several rings; the former carries connotations of intelligence, moral wisdom and mystery, while the latter is associated with wealth & materialism and often seen on R&B artists. She can also be seen to be wearing a stud in her ear and dark eye makeup - this choice of costume can be seen to be punk-like and connoting formality, elegance and mystery, the latter of which is hinted at through Rihanna's contemplative pose. These are all indicative of the R&B genre, which typically uses a specific colour scheme often involving dark colours, most notably black and grey or monochrome, as well as the typeface being in capitals, the latter of which is used to indicate the importance of the artist, album title and featured singles (Russian Roulette and Hard) which connote ideas of chances/probability and possibility emotional stability, respectively.
Shontelle - Shontelligence (original release 2008; re-release 2009)
This album cover uses a monochrome colour scheme with white and orange lettering, with the former being used for the album title, availability and the singles featured on the album and the latter being applied to the artist's name (Shontelle) and the 'Click to buy now' link'. From looking at the artist's image/style and the colours used, the ad can be seen to connote elegance, simplicity and a melancholy mood, particularly with the colour white being primarily used for the text. Using orange for the artist's name provides a stark contrast to the black and white colour scheme, since it connotes joy, warmth, optimism and hope, thus informing consumers that this is what Shontelle is like as an artist and how she will make it show in a seemingly melancholy album. Overall, we can tell that the album being advertised is from the R&B genre through the aforementioned colour scheme and the imagery, both of which are relatively simplistic; this communicates the downbeat, soulful tone of the album that will appeal to consumers who like listening to this kind of music.
This album advert has embedded the cover of the album with the image used for the lead single 'Only Girl (In The World)', the latter of which features the artist crouched in a field, covering her body with what looks like a red sheet, thus informing the audience that this track will be included on the album and will feature the themes of vulnerability, protection and insecurity. White capitals have been used to emphasise the album's title (Loud), the artist (Rihanna) and the release date (November 16th), so that it can stand out from the red background and consumers can know when they'll be able to buy it and who is releasing it. The dominant colour used here is red - Rihanna has red hair, she wears red lipstick on the album cover and a faint shade of red is used at the top and bottom of the ad - these can be seen to connote love/romance, emotional intensity and power, for example, signifying that this album is from the R&B genre and the themes of the album, and informing consumers who listen to R&B music that this is what the album will provide.
Rihanna - Rated R (2009)
In contrast with Loud, a darker scheme has been utilised for the advertisement of Rated R, using black, white and grey for Rihanna's picture, her name and the album title and a dark red for the singles that will be released, the latter of which is a feature absent on the Loud advert. Here, Rihanna is wearing a leather top and is covering her right eye with one of her hands, on which she wears several rings; the former carries connotations of intelligence, moral wisdom and mystery, while the latter is associated with wealth & materialism and often seen on R&B artists. She can also be seen to be wearing a stud in her ear and dark eye makeup - this choice of costume can be seen to be punk-like and connoting formality, elegance and mystery, the latter of which is hinted at through Rihanna's contemplative pose. These are all indicative of the R&B genre, which typically uses a specific colour scheme often involving dark colours, most notably black and grey or monochrome, as well as the typeface being in capitals, the latter of which is used to indicate the importance of the artist, album title and featured singles (Russian Roulette and Hard) which connote ideas of chances/probability and possibility emotional stability, respectively.
Shontelle - Shontelligence (original release 2008; re-release 2009)
This album cover uses a monochrome colour scheme with white and orange lettering, with the former being used for the album title, availability and the singles featured on the album and the latter being applied to the artist's name (Shontelle) and the 'Click to buy now' link'. From looking at the artist's image/style and the colours used, the ad can be seen to connote elegance, simplicity and a melancholy mood, particularly with the colour white being primarily used for the text. Using orange for the artist's name provides a stark contrast to the black and white colour scheme, since it connotes joy, warmth, optimism and hope, thus informing consumers that this is what Shontelle is like as an artist and how she will make it show in a seemingly melancholy album. Overall, we can tell that the album being advertised is from the R&B genre through the aforementioned colour scheme and the imagery, both of which are relatively simplistic; this communicates the downbeat, soulful tone of the album that will appeal to consumers who like listening to this kind of music.
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