Research - Task 6 (part 2)
For my second advertisement analysis I have chosen Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce album which was released in November 2008 as her third studio album by Music World Entertainment and Columbia Records. The first disc, I Am..., contains slow pop and R&B songs, while the second, Sasha Fierce (named after Beyoncé's on-stage alter ego), focuses on more up-tempo beats. In the advertisement on the left, we can see that Beyoncé has portrayed herself as two different versions: the left image as natural and simplistic and the right image as dramatic and feisty. This implies that she has two drastically different sides to her personality, her normal and natural side as Beyoncé and her dramatic and wild side as Sasha Fierce.
These two personalities are highlighted through her costume and makeup in the advertisement images. On the left, Beyoncé is featured with minimal, natural looking makeup which emphasises her natural beauty and glowing skin. Her hair is slicked back, and she is also seen wearing a bracelet on her wrist with a Christian cross charm on it which emphasises the innocent, pure look she is portraying for the I am... side of the album. Beyoncé's clothing is not visible which suggests she is wearing very minimal clothing or is naked. This will attract attention to the front cover of the album and encourage her audience to buy the album, as theorist, Laura Mulvey, states that men in the film and music industry are usually behind the camera, so when female artists are in front of the cameras they are objectified and encouraged to portray more sexual themes. As Beyoncé is not seen to be wearing any clothing, this attracts attention referred to as the 'male gaze'. This would also relate to Freud's theory of voyeurism, where individuals get pleasure from seeing sexual images or watching sexual interactions. However, her lack of clothing could also be used to reinforce her natural and stripped back aesthetic. 
On the right, Sasha Fierce is photographed as the binary opposite. She is featured wearing a full face of heavy makeup, with an intense smoky eye which suggests that she has a seductive edge. Her hair is swept off of her face to bring the full attention to her looks, and is full of volume to portray her alter-ego as highly glamourous. Sasha Fierce is also shown to be wearing an elaborate piece of jewellery on her h
In both photos, Beyoncé holds a fairly neutral facial expression, and maintains direct eye contact with the camera (also known as direct address). This creates the impression that she is staring directly at the audience, which will encourage them to buy the album as she is targeting them personally and making a connection with them through the photograph.
The font used in this advert helps to reinforce the glamourous and edgy aesthetic that Beyoncé is aiming for throughout the advertisement, as she uses a colour scheme of bronze and gold which could be to suggest sophistication and wealth as they hold connotations of jewellery and money, and the serif font suggests an air of traditionalism and class. The artist's name is also in large bold font, and is positioned in the centre of the advertisement to catch the audience's eye and draw them into the advert. The positioning and size of her name suggests that she is the main focus of the album, and that she is a selling point herself as she is very famous and people will often buy her products purely based on the fact they are made by her. The advert also includes the names of some of her previously released hit singles that feature on the album, which will attract her current fans and any individuals who may have heard these songs but may not have purchased them yet. 
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