Magazine Adverts: Research

Keeping in mind that I needed to create an advertisement for the promotional package, I researched into exisiting advertisements through magazines. I looked at some of the current magazines such as MixMag, Muzik and Vibe. The advert that stood out most to me was from Basment Jaxx, advertising their new album.

Hopefully, by analysing this advert I can acquire an insight into what it is that grabs the viewer's attention and in turn fund inspiration for creating my own advertising piece.

The thing that strikes you the most with this advert is the large image of a Gorilla, I think it is used primarily to capture the attention of the reader. It is a intruiging image that quickly draws your attention and makes you interested into what the page is about.  The image that is used for the advertisement is the same image that will be used for the album cover; using the same image will help the reader familiarise with the image which in turn will help them to pick out the album when in a shop.

The text font also relates to the idea of catching the reader's attention by using a futuristic style that captures the viewer's imagination. It also links in with the background image of the night sky; this is funny when you consider the contrast of the futuristic imagery and the Gorilla. This contrast could be an indiciation of the sound of the album.

The advertisement displays little information on the album, showing the album name, release date and the disc type. I think the band only displays the album vitals because they want to keep the sound and theme of the album a secret, so that it keeps the reader more interested.

Analysing this advertisement has given me a good idea of what I need to include in my own advertisement. I decided from this piece that I will use the same image from my album cover for the advertisement. The text font text will be extravagant and reflect the techno theme of the music. There will be little text that delves only into the essential details such as the album name and the album release date.

Inside Images

 

For the inside of the digi pack we kept the same style as the cover, we felt we should sustain the same theme throughout the pack because constant changing of the theme would be confusing and would threaten the quality of the pack.

Album Cover

Research played a huge role in designing the cover, from looking at other products a key feature is neon colours. We decided to use three colours and blend them using different shades; this gave us a futuristic neon look. This futuristic look links in well with the techno music of the album. We used the same thinking when creating the font for the album name; it sounds very bright and funky so we apllied bright colours around the font outline to give it an ecstatic look.

We used fireworks to design the cover using the line tool followed by the freeform to get the shape seen above. The silhouttes were also outlined using the freeform tool and coloured in black using the fill tool. Using the Fade feature we made the silhouettes less lifelike - this added a sense of the surreal, something young people who go to clubs are looking for.

Fightstar Album Covers Analysis

Fightstar’s album covers are a huge contrast to that of Busted, this album cover uses dark, miserable colours; differently to the more vibrant colours chosen by Busted. The difference in colour relates to the different image that both bands aim to create and also their target audience. The more miserable colours of Fightstar suggest that they are aiming for a more mature audience; these colours would not appeal to a younger audience therefore targeting an older age group. The text “be human” is placed alongside an image of a naked woman with a cow’s head; this image does not bring up any immediate interpretation which suggests that the band has a certain depth. The creative images of fightstar contrasts to the images of the band that Busted use, this shows the creative and emotional difference between the bands as Fightstar aim to use a more mature and creative image whereas Busted use less mature and less creative covers. Like Busted, Fightstar promote themselves by using their band name on the album cover however, they do not use a signature font like Busted’s stamp-like font; this could be because they want to be original and not become repetitive. This could relate to their music as each album could have a different sound thus making a new album more exciting for the audience.

This album cover maintains the creative artwork used in other Fightstar albums; this image is set in apocalyptic scenery with a futuristic robot-like person. It can be seen wearing an orange tie, this creates a comical feel which contrasts to the dreary scenery that surrounds it; this suggests that although the band make serious and mature music, they still want to create a sense of easy-goingness. The colours used in this image tend to be variations of grey and brown, which gives a more mature look. This use of subject, style and colour makes it seem as though that the target audience is quite mature, perhaps mid-teens and older. The subject matter tends to be one of fantasy. This provokes a more childish theme which contrasts with the mature feel of the colours.

Busted Album Covers Analysis

This album cover shows the band in a police line up, this creates an image of rebellion and immaturity. The message that the image creates suggests that the target audience is for a younger audience, around the ages of 10 and 14. I say this because at the audience’s age they are likely to be to be searching for an image and therefore they can relate to the older attitude that the band create. The band use this common ground to gain attention from their target audience and gain more popularity therefore making the band more successful. The band uses a stamp like font for the name of the band; the stamp is associated to prison and therefore emphasizes the whole rebellious look that the band created. The red font also relates to the whole rebellious idea as well as making the font iconic so it stands out and allows the audience to know it’s a Busted album.

This album cover revolves around 3 simple colours, red, black and white. The band are in white and black which contrasts with the red background. The huge contrast gives the cover an eye catching presence which makes it more appealing to the target audience. The band maintain the rebellious image as they stand in a arrogant and dominant pose, this again is done to appeal to their young target audience. Like other albums the band uses the stamp like font for the band name, this ensures the audience know exactly it’s a Busted album.

New Shoes Analysis

The video heavily relates to the lyrics, almost as a story; the opening scene in the bedroom shows Nutini going into the wardrobe, this relates to the lyric in the song “so I quickly opened the wardrobe”. The general lyrics of the song are upbeat as Nutini’s “new shoes” liften his mood; the music in the song reflect the upbeat feel of the lyrics by producing a fun and quirky sound. The mise en scene of the video also relates to the music and the lyrics as it consists of bright lights and colourful settings. Editing is also used to promote the upbeat mood by using lends flair to create a sunlight effect by keeping the contrast and brightness high enough to create a glowing effect on the screen.


The beginning of the video shows the camera placed in a position which shows a frontal view of Nutini, this establishes who the artist is so the audience can familiarize with him. As the video progresses the camera is placed in various places such as the fridge and the wardrobe, this is done to maintain the frontal view of Nutini as well as creating good opportunities for scene transition. As the fridge/wardrobe closes, the screen turns black which creates the perfect opportunity to cut to the next scene. The scene where Nutini is walking down the street uses a tracking shot so we can see him front on and maintain the familiarization of the artist. This shot is used in several videos such as Bittersweet Sympathy by The Verve and Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack.

Hurt Analysis

In 2002 Johnny Cash covered the song “Hurt” by the Nine Inch Nails. The original version from the Nine Inch Nails was industrial rock whereas Cash gave the song a more emotional take on the song. Cash produces a heartfelt video with hindsight to his life, examining the mistakes he made. The lyrics chosen by Cash are emotionally deep and really explain his depressive state of mind:




What have I become

My sweetest friend

Everyone I know goes away

In the end

And you could have it all

My empire of dirt

I will let you down

I will make you hurt



Knowing his personal life helps us to understand the pain behind these lyrics, Cash has encountered several devastating events in his life that has helped contribute to his emotional pain. Cash was very close to his older brother, Jack, who in 1944 was pulled into a whirling table saw in the mill where he worked, and cut almost in two. He suffered for over a week before he died. Cash was only 12 at the times so you can imagine the emotional torture he experienced. But the experience that most relates to these lyrics is the divorce from his first wife, Vivian Liberto. Cash spent years of drugs, alcohol and affairs with other women during his marriage, the continuous problems led to a divorce in 1966. The divorce links heavily with the lyrics of the song – “I will let you down”, this suggests that Cash is admitting to making mistakes in his life and that the song is almost an apology.



The Nine Inch Nails cover expresses more anger than the emotional pain of Cash’ cover. A prime example of this expression of anger is how the band uses the quote “I wear this crown of shit”, whereas Cash quotes “I wear this crown of thorns”. These lyrics contrast the two different feelings that are created by both artists. Cash further expresses his pain through his video. Close-up shots of Cash reveal his fragile state, he looks old and exhausted, suggesting he’s very ill. The video promotes a more personal feel by using personal images, throughout the video we see clips of a younger Cash and his old home, which today is a museum in honour of the late singer. These personal images connect us more to Cash as like him, we reflect on his life. The images shown of a younger Cash shows him as being happy, this contrasts to the modern Cash who is shown as tired and depressive; this suggests that despite the happiness shown on the outside he was in fact hurting inside.



Cash’ “Hurt” video was different to any of the other videos he had ever made, this was the first time he had ever based a video solely around himself, his other videos would be based on events and not himself. Cash’ video was also new to the country music audience, country music is known for a more upbeat sound and the videos would be based in the countryside with the artist playing an acoustic guitar. Cash doesn’t set his video in the countryside as the video is personal and he wanted to set in a personal setting (his home). However, Cash keeps a certain iconography of country music by playing an acoustic guitar throughout the video.



The editing of the video helps to create a mellow atmosphere which helps to emphasize Cash’ pain. Gentle shot transitions are used throughout to create a slow pace and establish a calmer mood, this allows you to take in Cash’ words and helps you to understand his story. This editing technique is also used in Dido’s video “Don’t believe in love”, although the editing is not exactly the same as Cash’ video, they still both create the same atmosphere, and the result is effective. Another technique used to create a calmer mood is by using long takes, this technique is used in Cash’ video to calm the mood but also so the audience can take a longer look at Cash and really examine the pain in his aging face.



Most artists call upon intertextuality when writing music, Cash is no different in this instance, it is obvious that the Nine Inch Nails cover of Hurt is Cash’ source of inspiration. We do not know the exact reason for Cash wanting to cover Hurt but we can guess that he chose it because the lyrics relate to the story he wants to tell and therefore he felt it was necessary to use these lyrics but change the tune to relate to a more depressive mood. Cash could of also chosen these lyrics because of the biblical references, an example of this is the lyric “crown of thorns”. The biblical aspect of the song could relate to Cash repenting his sins, he has come to the time in his life where he is about to die and wants to leave with on a clean slate. Also, by using this song it can attract the attention of a wider audience, the original version was industrial rock so the song was listened predominantly by rock fans. Because the audience recognise the song, it flatters them and they become more engaged with the song; exactly what Cash wanted from the song.