Comparing a Hip Hop magazine advert with another genre

For a bit of further research I have decided to compare two magazine adverts from different genres. The advert on the left is to promote a new album for a mainstream Pop/Indie band called The Zutons. On the right hand side is the same magazine advert I have already evaluated by Wretch 32 (mainsteam Hip Hop artist). The point of this extra research is to find the main differences between the two genres in the way each of their adverts present themselves so my group and I can get a good idea of all the conventions that a Hip Hop magazine advert needs compared to other genres.

Text styles

One of the first differences I noticed between these two adverts was the style of font used. In the Hip Hop advert (Wretch 32) the font is bold, simple, easy to read and solid. In comparison, the Pop/Indie advert by The Zutons has a lot more detail and more of a theme. For example, there is a lot more use of colour (red/yellow/white), many different styles (bold/italic) and an obvious use of many different font styles. This may be explained by the Hip Hop genre having more of a niche audience, and so their style of writing (hard and bold) fits only their conventions. Whereas the Pop/Indie advert is more diverse, and so they have a larger target audience in which they must make appealing to many different people.

Artwork

Another main difference I noticed instantly was the use of artwork. In the advert for the Hip Hop artist, there is a portrait of the artist with a use of 'graffeti' styled effect. Comparing this to the other advert, the Indie/Pop advert does not include any of the band members and is a cartoon which resembles an old movie poster. Because The Zutons are a mainstream band, they may not need to be shown in the media and to the public as often as the other artist (Wretch 32) because they are already known. However, Wretch 32 (although a popular artist within his niche genre) is not as mainstream and popular, and so his advert may include his photograph to promote himself more and make him more appealing to new people of the public who have never seen his or heard his music before. 

Information included

Both of these adverts display completely different information to one another. The Zutons' poster has information about featuring songs, critical quotes and includes the band name. The other magazine advert for Wretch 32 also has the artist name, but has no information about featuring songs or critical quotes. This may be because the Hip Hop genre likes to 'let the music speak for itself' and so feels that critical quotes are not needed. Also, their songs may not be as well known and popular. So instead of including featuring songs like a Pop magazine advert may have, Wretch 32 (representing the Hip Hop genre) has information about featuring artists. This is beneficial for the niche genre (compared to mainstream Pop music) as people who listen to other artists mentioned on the advert may then listen to Wretch 32's music. This is a clever and subtle way to self promote the artist himself, and other artists who are featured on his album. The Hip Hop advert includes much more information than the Pop advert. Including album release date, where to purchase the advert and a link for the artist website. All this added information gives the viewer of the magazine advert easier and quicker details about where to find out more about the artist and how to buy the music.