Advertising Campaign 1

Artist: Kanye West

Single: All Of The Lights

Kanye West – All Of The Lights

Prior to the release of his single “All Of The

Lights”, West released a limited run of posters,

depicting him in his hometown Chicago with

typical Chicago weather. This can be seen as an

attempt to set up a strong fanbase in his

hometown as well as reminding the audience

that West has not forgotten his roots. This

makes the star seem less like a celebrity and

more like a real person, which would cause the

audience to want to buy the single more as they

understand it’s just his way of making a living.

As a further promotion for his single, West also released an impressive music video,

directed by Hip Hop music video legend director Hype Williams. A visual accompaniment

to the song is useful as it invaded TVs world wide, and not a day could pass that the video

didn’t make an appearance on the music channels. Constantly seeing such a memorable

video would get the song stuck in the audience’s head and thus make them want to buy it

even more.

DJ Semtex (of BBC Radio 1Xtra) is seen as a leading authority on what’s hot in the hip hop world, and covered

both the production of the “All of the lights” video, gave an album review and also introduced us to an exclusive

remix West made with fellow rappers Lil Wayne, Drake and Big Sean – the latter is also signed to West’s label. By

incorporating these artists, West can incorporate their fans into his already substantial following. Coverage on

Semtex’s blog throws the release into the public eye, especially in the UK as West would have to cover all countries

for the release to be a success. Undoubtedly, several other blogs such as WorldStarHipHop put West in the spotlight

during the single’s production and release.

Advertising Campaign 2

Artist: Drake

Single: Marvin’s Room

R’n’B star Drake, fresh from the success of his debut album Thank Me Later, is soon to be releasing the first

single from his follow up album Take Care – Marvin’s Room. The song is a slow, heartfelt, emotive piece

depicting the artist’s heartbreak with an unnamed woman, and the video is suitable. No flashy, conventional

R’n’B video parties but rather Drake has chosen to go for a darker, more real party environment which will

help the audience relate to both his lyrics and the concept behind both the song and the video, increasing sales

when the single is released. He does not sport typical genre-stereotyped jewellery but is dressed in simple

clothing, further increasing the audience’s ability to relate to him and want to help him progress professionally

by buying the single.

This is a screenshot from a YouTube interview with Drake uploaded on the 23rd of June,

2011. As we can see, the interviewer is not a professional, there is no flashy setting or

background, and the YouTube channel name is imbedded in the bottom left of the screen.

This is an important feature, as it brings the artist down to a more human level, in-fitting

with the single’s theme. During the interview he talks about how the songs he makes are

for people who “drive around on the streets, thinking about life” and this sense of being the

same as one of his fans is a recurring theme that Drake uses deftly to increase album and

single sales.

With permission from Drake, female artist JoJo made a cover of Marvin’s Room which shows a similar

heartbreak but from a woman’s perspective. This makes both versions more accessible to both sexes

and perhaps even boosts Jojo’s popularity. Furthermore, R’n’B superstar Chris Brown also covered the

song, which aids Drake as fans from both Jojo and Brown will be introduced to the artist if they didn’t

know him already – similar to Kanye West’s remix of All Of The Lights. Relating the high quality of

music made by Chris Brown to Drake is also going to aid in sales as fans will see Drake is on the same

level talent-wise if not even higher.