advert analyses Rihanna

This is an advert for Rihanna's fourth album, 'Rated R'. The main image of Rihanna herself is in black and white, as is all of the album cover. Rihanna is in a posed close-up shot, which draws attention to her and her name rather than the name of the album. She is wearing dark heavy make-up and with her pose, makes her look fierce and almost scary. The fact that her hand is over her right eye is intriguing and mysterious. She is looking straight at the camera so establishing a relationship with the audience and attracting their attention. Her expression is pained and full of negative emotion which again is intriguing to the audience. 

Rihanna's name and the writing 'The New Album' are in white writing in a simple font with a black outline this follows the black and white theme. This gothic and rocky look is a completely different representation of Rihanna than previous ones. The writing for the two main songs 'Russian Roulette' and 'Hard' are in a red font which is different to the other font. These songs would be well known to Rihanna's fans, which is why they are included so boldly. The song titles are also written straight across the cover whereas the other writing is slanted which brings an edgy quality to the artist. The 'R' at the top left corner has the appearance of being scratched into the background, which suggests aggression. 

The lighting is very dark which reflects the atmosphere of the picture. The attempt at sophistication suggests that Rihanna wants to be looked upon as a serious artist, that would appeal to a wider audience than just young girls.