RC - Analysis of an advertisement

Analysing an advertisement promoting the band 'War Paint' and their debut album 'The Fool'. The image to the right is actually their album cover and not the advertisement which appeared in Q magazine. I could not find a picture of this particular advertisement on the internet but I did take a picture of it my self so in due time I will put it up here.

This band is an experimental art rock band, which is evident from the aesthetics of this advertisement.The reading path of this advert seems to lead you from the title of the band, taking you down to the band photograph and eventually leaving you at the title of their debut album, as well as other linguistic signs such as the reviews on the band's album. I believe that the nature of leading path is one that is commonly used for many music advertisements, especially for ones of this genre. I feel that the rule of thirds does conform to the conventional way to some extent because your eyes are drawn to the photograph of the band, which seems to dominate the advertisement, therefore giving the band the recognition that they seek. However, with most advertisements the rule of thirds normally leads you to the band's name or the band's album/song title so that you are able to link the text to the image after looking at the image itself . Therefore, in this light the rule of thirds does not conform to the conventional way.

Band image is constructed through the use of iconic and linguistic signs.

'Warpaint' is the name of the band and this linguistic sign h

as many connotations; the combination of the words 'war' and 'paint' have an unusual but an effective impact on the band image. If you look at each word separately it seems that they each have their own meanings and at first glance they do not appear to have any meanings that interlink with each other. The word 'war' suggests conflict and danger, where you immediately think of the many wars that have taken place throughout history this then contrasts with the word 'paint,' which conjures up images of colour, creativity and mess. Although these words appear to contrast each other so greatly when put together they create a whole different meaning entirely; when I think of the word 'warpaint' I am provided with the image of a soldier putting on face paint so to disguise himself from the opposition for protection and to secure his safety. With this in mind, looking at the combination of the

se words in the context in which it is presented you get the sense that the females in the band are trying to portray themselves similarly to the way the soldiers would have been portrayed; as warriors. This certainly goes against the residual ideology of females being weak and inferior to males, as this portrayal of the band presents them as being equal to males. This is supported by NVC of the band because all members look serious as they are all wearing a straight face; their body language can be perceived as intimidating, a word that many men would want to be described as because they link it to being powerful and in a controlling position. Other linguistic signs that are featured on this advertisement include the album's title, reviews from critics, the website address for the band and the website address for the record label; each of these signs have a different effect. The name of the album is called 'The Fool,' which has a number of implications. The coupling of these two words has a singular effect, as the impact of the word 'The' helps the word 'Fool' to be singled out, suggesting that t

he band is referring to something or someone in particular. Being that this is an all female band it is highly likely that 'the fool' is a male, or is influenced by a male-related matter. However, this is only a preferred reading. The reviews on the band's music are all positive ones, which to me is no surprise as in most cases they purposely choose the more complimentary ones to promote the band more successfully. It is obvious why the website addresses have also been included in the advertisement design, as they are ways of accessing the band and their music.

There are many iconic signs that have also been used in the advertisement, where visual techniques have been used to convey the band's genre of music, one of the more prominent ones being the use of colour and mise-en-scene. You are instantly drawn in to the rich, deep, and emotive colour palette, where it seems that there are elements of an oriental theme through the design of the wallpaper as well as a 'retro' image being present through the clothing of the band members. This gives the photograph an authentic, multi-cultural appeal. The mise-en-scene, in particular the clothing, is very glamorous, which gives the impression of wealth and star status, however, I do not think this is relevant for the band in question. It is in my opinion that they portraying themselves in this manner as a way of expressing themselves being that they are an artistic band, and therefore they are doing it to make a statement, which I think is fashion related. The glamourous appeal to this advertisement is almost taken away by the inclusion of the wooden box, which has graffiti-styled writing on it; adding an urban-youth style to it and bringing a more modern look to the advert. The font of the word 'warpaint' adds to the masculine impression of this text because it is straight, thin and sharp, not like the font of the other text, which has more curved edges and is bolder, suggesting more of a feminine touch; this has a contradicting effect. At the bottom of the advert there is an image of the band's album, where the design supports the artistic side to the band as the image looks like a painting. The colour palette used is also very similar to the palette of the advert, which helps to strengthen the link between the advert and the album.

There seems to be many intertextual references within this photograph because if you look each band member individually they all appear to be dressed as if they are all from different periods of time. The girl on the far right comes across as being from the late 1960s, the era of the hippies, because she is wearing a colourful scarf around her head, which is maned with long hair, and she is also sitting in a meditating position. The girl just in front of her is styled as if she has come from the 1940s, the time of the war, because her dress is very similar to the ones that were worn back then. This style links nicely to the name of the band. The girl sitting on the wooden box resembles a Charleston girl from the 'roaring' twenties, where she looks very much like a 'flapper'. A 'flapper' is a rebellious young woman with a short cut hair (bob-cut), showy clothing and heavy make-up. This is supported by the girl's hat and her dress, where the skirt is similar to a layered fringe-like flapper skirt. Her clothing is a lot more revealing than the others, which bodes well with that period of time, as more and more women were becoming increasingly promiscuous, which could link to the fact that women in America gained the right to vote in 1920 and were therefore provided with more freedom and independence. The portrayal of the girl on the far left of the photograph contrasts with the girl to the right of her, as she is completely covered up with her clothing; representing a woman from the very early 20th century, as this was a time when females wore long dresses due to still following a Victorian fashion. The bowler hat that she is wearing represents masculinity, as many men back in the day wore these hats as a fashion accessory; an accessory which was introduced by British colonials in the 1900s. This interpretation opposes the very feminine theme of this advertisement, and also goes against the residual ideology that females are not equal to males, and therefore should wear feminine clothing. It also opposes Goffman's, Jhally's and Kilbourne's theory on function ranking, which focuses on the ways women are represented in the media as subordinate and subservient; playing male-pleasing roles. If you look at this girl's NVC you can identify how the way she poses on the chair is almost stern-like; she is sitting straight-forward with her hands clasped together on her lap, almost as if she has been told to sit like that; this particular element supports the Goffman, Jhally and Kilbourne theory. Her body language contrasts with all the other girls who look far more relaxed and have more of an open expression. It seems that they are playing specific roles in order to fit the era of the clothing that they are wearing. The direct eye contact from all the girls suggest that they want to be identifiable, which is supported by the presence of them in this advertisement. This implies that they are wanting to construct a 'star image' for the band, however, this depends on how different audiences read it; I feel that this would be the negotiated reading.

The intertextual references draw upon social myths that are very post-modern as there are elements of pastiche and nostalgia and you also ask yourself the question; is this just an advertisement or is this art? This all adds to the meta-narrative of this band. Other social myths that are present in this advertisement include femininity and authenticity of creativity.

The indexical signs that are evident in this advertisement endow this product with social significance so that the consumers are swayed to look similar to the girls in the band, in terms of fashion and natural beauty. It is commonly known that fashions from the past always make their way back around, and I therefore think that this advertisement will cause peoples dress sense to be influenced further by the fashion of past times. It also makes people reflect on past events and experience a sense of nostalgia, although I feel that many of these events are not ones that people would yearn for as they would not want them to happen again.

The sum of all these signs signifies a band that is glamourous; indie yet urban; unusual with a creative and an artistic flare; feminine; and lastly, serious about their music.