The reading path for this advertisement seems to be one that starts from the top so that you are drawn into the name of the band, 'The Enemy'; this then takes you down to the main image of the band; taking you further down to the bottom right where you look at the smaller image of the cover of the band's single; after this you move left onto the text that states that the band has a new single out; eventually you reach the smaller text, which give us a couple of reviews of the band's music. However, this is only how I read the advert; when asking a few others to do the same they came up with a different path. One person was drawn into the main image first (specifically the zebra crossing) and was then led up to the text, 'The Enemy'; She then followed a path down to the text reading, 'New single out now'; making her way next to the image of the single's cover; finishing at the critics' reviews.
Looking at both these reading paths they are quite unconventional as they do not seem to follow one straight path; both paths seem to have a criss-cross pattern.
The rule of thirds of this advertisement seems to take your eyes to the main image of the band because this image is placed quite centrally and is of a bigger size compared to the other elements included in the advert. The impact of the band image is a dominating one; accentuating that the rule of thirds conforms to the 'norm'. However, the other image included also has quite a powerful presence even though it appears on the bottom right; this is because you would expect this image to be smaller. Despite this, I think that the unconventionality of this layout is an effective one and could add to more audience readings.
Many iconic and lingustic signs are present in this advertisement, which all help to construct band image. Looking at the linguistic signs, the first one that I am drawn to is the band's name, 'The Enemy'; these two words provide many connotations. In previous analysis' that I have done it seems that the word 'The' has come up a few times, and to me it always has the same effect; it provides an element of definitiveness. The use of the word 'the' also puts more emphasis on the word 'enemy', as it singles it out giving it more of a dominating presence because the word has been given the role of authority. The coupling of these two words remind me of sayings such as 'the devil'. The word 'enemy' has a prolonged impression due to it being a three syllable word (differing from the word 'the', which only has one syllable) with all the letters having a soft sound to them, particularly with the use and repetition of the letter 'e'. This impression contrasts greatly with what the word actually denotes; this word implies a hatred for someone of something and when you think of an enemy you think of an adversary or an opponent. Emotions and actions that surround this word include hatred, anger, rebellion, and revenge.
Another lingusitc sign is the name of the music track, which is 'Technodanceaphobic'. This is obviously a word that has been made up by the band, and it appears that it is a combination of three original words; 'techno', 'dance' and 'phobic'. Each word has a meaning of its own; 'techno' is described as a style of fast heavy electronic dance music usually without lyrics; 'dance' is described as 'to move one's feet or body, or both rhythmically in a pattern of steps, esp. to the the accompaniment of music'; and finally 'phobic' is a word that describes when someone suffers from a phobia.
(to be completed...)
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