Album Advertisement analysis: My Chemical Romance - 'Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys' by Katie Lee

The advertising campaign for 'Danger Days' revolved solely around the concept for which the album was based. 'The Fabulous Killjoys' are the alter-egos of the band members (and a few new recruits) who are voiced on several tracks on the album and feature in music videos, the album tells the story of the outlaw group 'Fabulous Killjoys' which is made up of these alter-egos fighting against conformist views and 'Better Living Industries' in 2016. It is said that the predicted doomsday of 2012 is the reason for the catastrophic events relayed in the videos, My Chemical Romance have gone as far as to develop a website for 'Better Living Industries' as part of their advertising campaign which sells merchandise and provides 'news' on the situation in 2016. The music videos as well as the running theme is highly reminiscent of a comic book, this is very relevant to the band as lead singer Gerard Way is a trained cartoonist and comic book writer. As well as this, Way directed the videos for both album debut 'Na Na Na' and 'Sing' which I found both 'comic-esque' in the formation of the band within the frame, costume and shot composition (a lot of facial close-ups). The image features My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way in character as alter ego 'Party Poison', which can be identified by his 'Dead Pegasus' jacket which a defining feature of his character and holds relevance to Party Poison's role in 2016 California - where the music videos are set. An identical advert is also used in the promotion featuring each member of the band, I used Gerard Way's example as I found his portrayal of the character and his role as a frontman interesting.

The rough, grey background could represent the basis of the album and the catastrophic situations in 2016 as well as being conventional to the dark alternative/emo rock genre that defines My Chemical Romance, particularly within the media. On a deeper level this could also connote the 'grey areas' in their musical past regarding the 'emo cult' which they sought to leave behind with the album 'Danger Days' which focuses a lot less on matters like death unlike previous album 'The Black Parade' which caused a media stir. The use of low key lighting also represents both of these matters, particularly in terms of fitting in with the album theme. The colours white, blue and red are also prominent in the feature, both are fierce and forceful colours which could be considered patriotic in relation to the USA national flag which may appeal to American fans. Red appears to be a dominant colour featured on Gerard's jacket and most noticeably his hair, the colour red is known to represent passion and could be a connotation of the band's love for their music which would appeal to rock music fans who tend to be more interested in the 'talent' side of the music industry rather than the image and sex-appeal side. Red could also represent blood-shed which relates to the story of the album.

The artist's composition within the frame is central which conveys his importance and status, as both a frontman and a character. Although the framing is a straight mid-shot, the positioning of his dead looking slightly downwards gives the effect of a low angle shot by making him seem more powerful and threatening. This works as a promotional tool because an artist is supposed to be an aspirational figure for fans or in some cases possibly a figure of attraction to some, so by making Way appear strong this is influential on a viewer's perception of the artist and therefore the music which is being sold. His body language is solid, his shoulders are raised, broad and his arms/chest are tensed which conveys masculinity, this could be applicable to being an aspirational figure or portraying Gerard Way as a symbol for attraction, in general Gerard is perceived to be the 'good-looking' member of the band by fans so this would appeal to fans and work as an advertisement for this reason. His facial expression is serious which indicates status as well as seriousness about music and his portrayal of the character 'Party Poison'.
The bold, capital font is conventional to the genre as it anchors the photograph and comes across as firm and mighty, the kind of idea which is often portrayed by rock music advertisements. The rock genre isn't supposed to come across as timid and feminine unlike pop, so this bright white, 'standout' font is really typical to the genre and works really well to promote the album as the whole image is really effective.