Task 13 - Analysis of promotional adverts
pink floyd - 'the piper at the gates of dawn'
This is a promotional flyer for Pink Floyd's debut album, 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'. The album was released in 1967, so it is likely that is when this advert is from. The main eye focus of this flyer is the album cover itself, which takes up most of it. This suggests that EMI (the record company) believed that the actual image of the record would sell it rather than, say, an image of the band. The large font at the top of the advert that reads 'available now' makes it seem urgent, encouraging the public to buy it, as well as the text below the image that reads 'THEIR FIRST LP!', with the exclamation mark appearing to again make it seem urgent and in your face. Below that text reads the album title in smaller text, and below this again the LP catalogue numbers for the stereo and mono releases. The monochrome black and white does not do justice to the psychedelic colours of the album, which might have a negative effect on sales due to mild misrepresentation. That aside, I quite enjoy this advert, as it is straight forward in promoting the album. However, I believe that some critical reviews would aid it even more and would persuade more people to buy the album.
the beatles - 'sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band'
jefferson aiplaine - 'surrealistic pillow'
The layout for this promotional advert is both similar and different to the Pink Floyd one. It appears to have been taken from a magazine or newspaper, evidenced by the text 'Page 6' in the top left hand corner. It does not feature the album artwork, but does feature an image of the band, who were at the peak of their creative career. This decision would not have been risky, as Parlaphone knew that, given how famous the Beatles were, their faces alone would sell records. Again, the catalogue number is present at the bottom for both the mono and stereo. The text reading 'Remember Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is The Beatles' suggests their may have been a lack of public awareness this was a Beatles record and that this may have been a slightly later advert, trying to convey the message that the album is by The Beatles.
This promotional poster for Jefferson Airplane differs from Pink Floyd's and The Beatles' promotional material, as it shows both the band and the album cover (although the image of the band is the same as on the cover). The band's name is prominently shown in large text, with an image of the sleeve, as well as text that reads 'with their hit 'Somebody to Love', using the inclusion of a hit single as a selling point. Like the other two, it provides the catalogue number. In my personal opinion, I think the layout of this poster is it's downfall; the actual advert only takes upon a third of the poster, so the eyes are not immediately drawn to it, instead to the header text reading 'Psychedelic Soundburst', although this still hints at the album's psychedelic genre.
the savage resurrection - 'the savage resurrection'
This promotional poster for The Savage Resurrection's debut self-titled album is very simple. It features the text 'Now available on Mercury Records', below which is the catalogue number, and the band's name, separated by an image of the band manipulated so it looks like a streak. The text fitting together is reminiscent of Hapshash posters of the time, and the mode of address is very straight-forward, getting the message across. The font of the advert is the same as that used on the actual album artwork. I quite admire how plain the advert is, because the streak across separating the text still catches your eye, making it effective. However, I feel it should have include an image of the album itself to show what it is exactly promoting.
