Magazine Research -

I have chosen the magazine Metal Hammer because it targets people who are interested in the rock/metal genre, this relates to the band I have chosen to make an advert for, as they are a rock/metal band. This particular target audience is a very varied one as there are such a wide range of rock/metal bands to choose from, some dating back to the 70s/80s, others as recent as 2009, therefore there is no particular age/sex or walk of life. Though on the flip side, the kind of people that read this magazine tend to be stereotyped as labels such as goths (black clothes, black makeup, lots of metal chains etc), or as metallers (a lot of denim, chains, big hair etc), these tend to be associated with angry teenagers and are often male.

The way this magazine targets these audiences is by advertising as many different bands/artists as it can and promoting the various things they do, i.e. when they are doing gigs, when their latest album is coming out, that sort of thing, and they do this in all sorts of ways.




As one example, I have chosen an advert for Rob Zombie, a very well known rock/metal artist. As you can see, the advert is very focused on his face/facial expression; it represents an evil/horror/threatening image, which is relevant to his name. It is a very angry image, which is often related to a lot of artists like himself, and why they are associated with angry teenagers (angst), but this is not necessarily the main target audience as Rob Zombie has been around for a long time. This is a full-page advert, which means it is designed to be an eye-catching, “in-your-face” kind of advert, as if to bully the audience into buying the next album. Unfortunately, these kind of adverts cause the general public/people who are not interested in this kind of music to have a bad perception of these bands/artists as they are only taken at face value, since a lot of black/red bold text is used, which indicate threats/anger. Therefore these kind of adverts are more aimed at people with an open mind/already have an interest in these genres.



The next adverts I have chosen are two half page adverts, both showing very different styles. The first one is a Rammstein advert, who are advertising their new song "Pussy". A theme of humour and irony is used as the picture shows a picture of a pink dog {poodle). This kind of advert is very to the point, and very plain as it has a plain background and bold text. There is no air of anger or threats, unlike the Rob Zombie advert, even though Rammstein are a German heavy metal band. The fact this does not insinuate the general stereotype of this particular genre is ironic in itself, which adds to the humour factor of this advert. This is the kind of advert that appeals to a younger, male target audience, linking to the teenager stereotype I referred to earlier.

The advert below this is that of Motley Crue. They have taken a more classic approach to the metal scene and have used themselves with scantily clad women/cigarettes to advertise their new album. The reason Motley Crue have done this is because it appeals to the majority of the male fans of this type of music, and rock music, especially back when Motley Crue were at their prime, was generally associated with drugs/women/cigarettes/alcohol etc. This shows they have kept to their "old school" roots, which appeals to a wide variety of ages and not just a younger generation, like the advert above it. The bands logo is seen to be very small, as well as the information about the album. The fact is it about a re-release of an album shows it is not a hugely significant event for the band, but it is something that still needs to be advertised.