Research - Analysis Of Album Poster / Advert

Kayne West - Graduation

The advertisement for Kanye West's Graduation album is very simple but effective, it features the same iconic Teddy Bear character that is featured on the album cover as well as the previous two albums, this symbolic character immediately grabs the audiences attention as it is associated with the artist Kanye West. The sunglasses, also known as Shutter Shades are also shown to be worn by the bear, they are part of Kanye's costume in the hugely successful music video for the lead single 'Stronger' and so are directly associated with him. Additionally the text on the poster is in a digital style font, which reflects the electronic sound of the music. 

Jay Z - Kingdom Come

The poster for Jay-Z's album Kingdom Come uses the typical conventions of a rap poster, featured an eye level portrait of the artist (the image is also the album cover) in a NY New Era fitted cap, a piece of clothing usually associated with rappers. The portrait is effective as the artist is instantly recognisable and the product itself is also on display as the portrait is the album cover. 

Unlike the Kanye West advertisement, this poster features a slogan at the top, the slogan 'The President Of Hip Hop Returns' is powerful in two ways, firstly as it was considered a "comeback album" for the established rapper and therefore creates hype around this return. Also, the statement labels Jay-Z as the 'President' of hip hop, suggesting that he is in control of the scene, this statement could be considered quite controversial and therefore attracts attention. 

Lastly, underneath the artist name, album name and release date is the message, features the new single 'Show Me What You Got', this is a successful method of marketing as it advertises both the single itself, and the album, as people who have heard the single will be more likely to purchase the album.