The Codes and Conventions of a Regional Magazine - Advertisement Pages

Every magazine features advertisement pages, it is the one of the largest sources of their revenue. I have looked at several of the ad pages used in regional magazines to see the way they are formatted:

Yorkshire Life - Advert for Hugh Rice Jewelers

• Striking image used across the double page ad, it has a minimalist feel and comes across as very sophisticated and luxurious - clearly this is for a high end brand
• One model in direct address with the audience - establishes a relationship with the audience
• Mise-en-scene emphasizes the luxury feel of the brand (eg. wedding dress, flowers, vintage car) and has connotations of wealth and class (Barthes - connotations)
• The text used is fairly small but the brand logo is bigger than the rest, it is written in a white serif font enclosed in a box, the serif font draws the audience's attention and has connotations of sophistication and class
• The only other text on the ad is four locations of stores nearby, these are written in a similar serif font with the names of the stores written in bold for easy identification. These informative details telling the audience of store locations appeals to audiences as they come to recognize the brand and are able to associate with it.

Kent Life - Advert for Lenleys furniture

• Long shot used - this gives a sense of placement and allows the audience to create a relationship with the product as they can view it in a scenario
• Sans serif font used in a bigger font - immediately draws the attention of an audience and has connotations of appealing to younger, more modern audiences
• Contact details included - perhaps in an effort to appeal to younger audiences as the company are online which allows them to view a wider range of products online and becomes part of the needs of surveillance (uses & grats)
• Plain white background colour allows the products to stand out and become the centre focus of the page
• Short written paragraph about the product - gives audiences details (uses & grats)

Cheshire Magazine - Advert for Patek Philippe Watches

• Black and white colour scheme - typically more masculine than bright colours, the strong impact it has will grab the attention of a male audience. It also gives a feel of sophistication and class that would appeal to the audience.
• White plain background makes the black text stand out to audiences.
• The split between text and image is uneven, there is more text and this could signal an attempt to appeal to younger audiences as stereotypically they aren't interested in reading masses of text, this also keeps central focus on the image as it is meant to be the focal point of the ad.
• The association between the image and product is clear as the model is wearing one of the watches - the audience then become immersed in the ideology of the story behind it
• Mid shot image clearly displays the emotion on the models face. The mise-en-scene keeps the models clothing simple and in keeping with the feel of the ad to keep attention on the key parts of the ad like the product
• Close up image of the product enables the audience to engage with it and the product becomes recognisable 
• Uses & grats - interaction between father and son showing the product they "purchased" - demonstrating their wealth 
• Contact details are listed on the right hand side of the page - this appeals to younger audiences as the brand are accessible online, which allows the audience to view a wider range of products - needs of surveillance
• Bold serif font used - attracts attention and suggests class and sophistication

Kensington & Chelsea - Advert for Hugo Boss

• White plain background makes the little text stand out to audiences 
• Very minimalist style - air of sophistication 
• Split between image and text very uneven - perhaps to appeal to a younger audience as typically they aren't interested in masses of text
• Logo placed in the bottom right corner - this establishes the brand with the audience as it is big and attracts attention
• Location of store detailed at the bottom of the page in a small font - informative information establishes the brand with the audience and they are able to associate with it
• Image is very striking and representative of the upper class brand
• Model is in direct address with the audience - establishes a relationship between them.
• Association between the image and product is clear as the model is wearing the brand

Surrey Life - Advert for Clive Christian 

• Page split across three sections showing different products - caters to audiences surveillance needs. 
• Very limited text - split between image and text incredibly uneven, perhaps in an attempt to appeal to a younger audience who typically don't have as much interest in reading masses of text. 
• Long shot images - as the ad is for a luxury interior designer the shots of the rooms allow the audience to feel part of the image - uses & grats
• Luxury images has connotations of wealth and class - relates to the target audience (Barthes - connotations)
• Dark colour scheme - would appeal to a more masculine audience (mise-en-scene supports this as there are typically "male" objects shown eg. suits)
• Contact details at the bottom of the page - appealing to younger audiences as the brand can be found and contacted online, the audience are able to access a wider range of products online which conforms to their surveillance needs.

The Codes and Conventions of a Regional Magazine Advertisement Page:

• Mid to long shots of products or models wearing the products
• Minimal text used - perhaps to either appeal to a younger audience or to centre the focus on the product
• Sizable difference between the space dedicated to images and to text - images take up a lot more space to perhaps emphasise the product
• Logos - included to encourage brand recognition
• Plain backgrounds - keeps focus on the product images
• Contact details included - allows audiences to view more products and obtain them