Genre
How is the genre of the track/artist evident?
The genre of the track is not inherently evident in this print media. The only possible indicators of the genre could be the font used for ‘The Killers’ at the top of the page and the blue wash over the whole image. Perhaps the ram with the cloth over the top of it could indicate some sort of indie genre because it is ‘standing out from the norm’ and as such representing the artist/genre by postmodernistic means.
Media Language
What visual techniques are used?
The image used to fill the advert has a blue wash over it, changing the tone of the image and therefore giving it a completely different feel. The band’s logo is in very prominent and contrasting red font, to make the words stand out on the advert. It is made the most prominent in the image in order to control the reading path of the consumer of the advert; they initially read “The Killers”, then see the ram and then acknowledge that it has a cloth over it. It is deliberately structured in this manner to control what the consumer of the advert thinks about when they see it. They see the band name first so that anything they see they consequently relate it back to that artist, and thus contributing to the star image.
How is meaning generated through these techniques?
The image is so surreal that it has no particular meaning inherently obvious attached to it. However, the fact that it is surreal perhaps represents the band in a postmodernistic manner, because they stand out compared to other artists and as such conform with Dyer’s paradoxes to some extent, making them ‘extraordinary’. Also note that an image of the band itself is not included in the advert, making them ‘absent’ according to these paradoxes.
What linguistic devices have been used?
The only linguistic devices which have been used in this advert are simply the band name, single name and extra information along the bottom of the page. This minimizes any influence on the meaning of the image and leaves it down to the audience to interpret the advert in their own way.
Is there any intertextuality or references to popular culture?
The only intertextuality is the references in the smaller wording at the bottom of the page, referring to the release date of the track and where it is available for purchase.
Representation
How is the artist represented?
The artist is represented in somewhat a postmodern and ‘different’ manner, because instead of using an image of themselves they have used one of a ram with a cloth over the top of it. People generally don’t understand why this ram has the cloth over it’s head and therefore this encourages them to engage in the track and/or music video to accompany it to find out more.
Institution and Audience
How might this print text be consumed?
This advert was found in a music magazine. This means it is placed in context with other adverts and there is lots of competition with other, similar bands who feature in the magazine, since the magazine is likely to only feature music tied in with one or a few specific genres.
The fact that it is in a magazine, which people have gone out and bought, means that these people are likely to be considered ‘active’ consumers. This means they are likely to want to engage in synergistic media associated with the track, and thus if they see an advert which is very enigmatic such as this, they are more likely to actively engage.
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