Music Campaign: 'Boyz II Men'

A music campaign is an album, a website and a music video that come together and are released to promote an artist or band. I’ll be looking at the group ‘Boyz II Men’ and their latest music video (Losing Sleep), album cover ( for the album 'Collide') and their website which promotes them. 

Boyz II Men are an R&B vocal group, the group tries to combine R&B with classic Motown soul; they are renowned for their ballads and A capella harmonies. 

When Boyz II Men were at their peak in the 1990’s, their target audience was generally young adults and teenagers; appealing more to women because of their songs emotional and romantic nature, additionally women would be more interested in their music because they are usually attracted to the male singers. Boyz II Men are a black male group, they use this as a unique selling point, compared to other boy groups at the time who were white, such as Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. 

 

The website, the album cover and the music video all showcase the band together; the trio are all shown together in a line, this links all the products and also emphasises the bands unity. 

                                         (Website Picture)

                                           (Album Cover)

                                           (Music Video)

There are also similarities across all three products, the band member Nathan Morris wears sunglasses on the album cover, the website photo and in the music video, this cements the singers look and identity within the group. 

Additionally, all three members at some point stand as the lead (in front of the other members), this shows that all members are equal. 

Dyer’s star theory states that for an artist to be successful they need to be original, young, creative and talented. It also  states  that; “the star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer" and  “the star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer”.  Boyz II Men follow the principles of Dyer’s star theory. For example, they behave and look like ordinary and relatable figures but their fame, accolades and status, make them extraordinary.

 When the group formed they were young, extremely talented and original in their music and style; this fit with the Dyer’s star theory criteria.

 Keith Negus suggested that stars are either organic or synthetic. Artists who are organic, write their own music and are more natural in their image. On the other hand, synthetic artists are constructed and unrealistic figures who are controlled and crafted by the industry. From Negus’s definition because their music videos and photos look staged and fabricated rather than natural artist, 'Boyz II Men' are a synthetic group. The group has also been under contract with big music companies such as Motown and Universal Music; In addition, big recording companies will generally construct synthetic artists as they are more easily marketable and profitable than organic ones.  

There are differences across the three products (website, music video and album cover). Firstly, the website is mainly in black & white and the three singers are presented as being happy, welcoming and approachable. 

However, in their music videos there are bursts of green, red and a heavy use of a blue filter and lighting; their facial expressions are also more sombre and emotional. 

(We see more sad facial expressions and various colours used; such as the blue, green, yellow and red)

The difference in colours from their website and music video may also be because the band want to show different sides to their characters, thus enticing their fans by adding depth to their characters. Additionally, their contrast in facial expressions, having approachable expressions on their website photo allow fans to relate and feel closer to them whilst their distant and emotional expressions in their music video give a more mysterious and ambiguous nature to their character. 

(Website)

                                                                 (Music Video)

This follows the Dyer’s star theory that a star should be, “simultaneously present and absent for the consumer “. 

On the album cover, their faces are looking outwards, and their skin appears to be tattooed and melting away. 

This is a much more dramatic style for them as they are usually known for being simple and less over the top. The reason the album cover may be dramatic and intense in imagery, is because their label may be reshaping their image in order to still please their older fans but also appeal to a younger generation of listeners; therefore their album cover is intended to be visually striking and have a shock value.

In conclusion, I think the campaign was successful in showcasing the groups comeback and also showing their evolution and different facades across the three products. However, it was not one of their best reviewed albums; Andy Kellman of AllMusic said, "This is easily the group's most scattered album, as it offers various shades of ballads, some throwbacks, oddly escapist adult alternative fare, and even anthemic rockers.” The album received a 2 and a half star rating on Allmusic and reached 37 on the Billboard charts. From looking at the statistics and reception I would say it was not financially successful; but it was artistically successful in evolving the groups image and transforming them from ‘Boyz’ to ‘Men’.