Evaluation 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

This is my Magazine Advert and CD Digi-pack. After researching Music Related Adverts in Magazines, such as NME, and CD’s such as Colbie Collait, I decided there were a few things needed to make my advert and CD digi-pack appear real...

Magazine MUST have’s….

1.              Album name: Bright Lights 

2.              Artist name: Lara Anstead

3.              Reviews: NME & The Times

4.              Album Release Rate: 16th April

5.              Appropriate Record Label: A&M

CD MUST have’s…

1. Front Cover
2. Back Cover
3. Lyrics Pages
4. CD Template

Which must contain:

1. Copyright information
2. Record Label
3. Barcode
4. Album name
5. Artist name

Process:

After editing my images, creating a picture perfect model by removing all blemishes and uneven skin tones. I used Adobe Photoshop to darken the model's eyes, lips and eyebrows. I used a white top to denote innocence within the model. The white top was also used because it stands out against the black background and forces the attention onto the model herself. For the front and back page, I chose to have my models in colour, as the model can then stand out to the viewer/buyer. The use of coloured text: “Bright Lights” and “Featuring The Hit Single ‘I Don’t Believe You” furthers the front and back cover’s ability to stand out, therefore boosting sales.

I used Adobe Photoshop to touch up my images because, ultimately… where do you ever see a spotty model in the centre of a Magazine or on the front of a CD...? Exactly you just DON'T! This is because we buy CD's mostly based on the music inside of it, but a contributing factor is the graphics on the Digi-pack and Magazine advert. Susan Boyle wouldn't necessarily be described as 'cool' but I am not disputing the fact that she has talent! Because Boyle isn't exactly cool/ stereotypically attractive it certainly affects her sales. Artists such as Tinie Tempah, Rihanna and Jessie J are idols who direct their music to mostly teenagers. These teenagers aspire to be like them, look like them, act like them and be loved like them. Putting an attractive model on the front of my CD/ Magazine Advert attracts attention and bumps up sales, therefore portrays the Artist in an effective way, which my record label A&M agrees with.

The record label A&M is an obvious necessity because the Production Company produced the Artist and will obviously want the advertisement of their company. The copyright information is important because after researching it is obvious that all CD’s contain this information for security information and if I want my product to enter the real world it must be included.

For my Magazine advert, reviews are a must have because it gives the buyer confidence in the product, and using reputable companies furthers this confidence because they trust these companies. After researching reviewing comments I found "*****" were most popular to achieve a quick and powerful message to the buyer. Using the Coldplay album as an example, I found the comment "Their best yet" by 'NME' which I slightly adjusted to fit my particular Album ("Her best yet") and after already using 'NME' I decided a reputable company that 99.9% of the population know well or have at least heard of... 'The Times'. It is important to use well known companies, otherwise this trust exercise is useless because who trusts in something they haven't even heard of. I estimate that most teenagers know the Music Magazine 'NME' and most adults read 'The Times' therefore by using these two companies I hit a range of audiences. The release date is another must have otherwise how will anyone buy the product if they don't know when it's on sale? "Album out now!" is a popular quote used, but a challenged this convention by creating tension and a growing excitement for the buyers as the release date edges ever closer.

I feel that the ancillary task effectively fits together with the main product for several reasons.

1. The main character is used in on both the Magazine advert and throughout the CD Digi-pack featuring her face on both front and back of the CD case, as well as on page one and two of the lyrics pages, therefore creating a very strong link. This will also boost sales, because if a potential buyer saw my Music Video but couldn’t remember the artists name, the fact that the main character is standing out to the viewer from both the ancillary tasks makes it impossible not to link the two.
2. The beautiful model achieved through Adobe Photoshop is a stereotypical view of singers nowadays.
3. I have made the model appear natural and innocent, relating to the Music Video as she stresses over a lost lover, denoting her true love for him; therefore the naturalness of the photographs link to the Music Video strongly.
4. I chose for the model to have a sad facial expression as oppose to a cheeky grin that some CD’s feature. This saddened facial expression relates to the broken hearted feelings that the main character featured in my Music Video; once again displaying a strong link between the two.