Print product case studies

 This magazine ad is designed to advertise P.Diddy’s album (press play) which came out in October 2006. The genre of this album is hip-hop/R&B. The shot type used is a close-up of the artists’ face. The picture used is the same picture used on the cover of the album; this could be so that it helps the audience recognise the album when they spot it in the stores; especially if they had forgotten the name of the album. The framing of this close up does not give away much of the body language but due to the attire of the artist and his facial expression, it’s clear to see that he wants to project the image of sophistication. The lighting is quite low, dull and doesn’t allow the audience to see much of the artist but it’s bright enough to allow the audience to recognise who he is. The airbrushing effect used is quite obvious even though the lighting is not so bright. The artists’ skin and features look flawless and that’s what shows that the image is airbrushed. This allows the artist to be presented to a level of perfection. The artist is represented as sophisticated and ‘cool’. This impression is given through his attire (shirt and tie), the sunglasses on his face, the bling (diamond earrings he’s wearing) and the dim lighting effects. All these elements contribute to represent the artist as a ‘cool’ man/character.

There are no taglines used in this magazine ad but the presentation of the main cover line is very catchy, eye catching, impossible to miss and could possibly take the place of a tagline as well as being the main cover line.

To help promote the album, the editor included some of the featuring artists on this album. Artists such as Mary J. Blige, Jamie Foxx, and Nas etc. are all brand artists who are really popular in the music industry and are known for good music in the genre of hip-hop/R&B. Showing the names of these features on the album would encourage the target audience to go and purchase the album.

The lay out of this ad shows the picture of the album placed first, followed by the text beneath it to aid its promotion. It’s a simple lay out containing the right amount of information for the audience to gain enough knowledge about the product. The house style of the text is quite consistent as the font of the first cover line and the second cover line (not the main cover line) are the same. The main cover line and the 4^th cover line also share the same font. However the house style can be seen to be inconsistent as the font sizes are different in all texts.

In producing a magazine ad to promote our single (top models), I would use the layout of this ad because it’s simple, easy to understand, there’s not a lot of text to read which makes it easier for the audience. And lastly it contains the right amount of information for the audience. I would also subvert the font of the main cover line onto my magazine ad because its eye catching and very easy to read.

This is a magazine ad to advertise fat Joe’s album (me, myself & I). The genre of this album is hip-hop.  The shot type used is a side angle medium close-up of the artists’ face. The picture used is the same picture used on the cover of the album; again this could be so that the image stays in the audience’s mind so they can recognise the album when they spot it in the stores; mainly if they had forgotten the name of the album. The framing of this shot does not give away much of the body language but due to the attire of the artist, his slanted body angle and his angry facial expression, it’s clear to see that he wants to project the image of a ‘gangster/ hood  life’ which is how hip-hop is perceived. The lighting is not low but not bright either. It bright enough to allow the audience to view the expression on the artists’ face clearly. There’s not much of an airbrushing effect used, this is quite clear because the scars beneath the artists’ eyes can be seen and also his skin has not been smoothened like in the first ad. This could be to help portray the image of a ‘gangster/ hood life’, to display the image in the rough way that hip-hop is shown.  The artist is represented ‘gangster’ this representation is aided through his attire (hoodie and a cap); this gives it a casual look but the fact that he’s wearing both the cap and the hood, almost hiding his face just gives away the impression of a ‘thug’. This helps in the representation of hip-hop.

There are no taglines but to help promote this album, the editor included one of the most important features which is a hit single featuring Lil Wayne who is a popular hip-hop artist. He is also considered as a brand artists. This would help encourage the audience to go out and buy the album.

The layout of this ad consists of a medium close up of the artist placed on the right and Texts placed on the left side of the page. The texts however are arranged according to the outline of the image. This takes up most of the space on the page, it gives the impression of the page contains a lot of information where as it doesn’t. The house style of the text is consistent after the masthead and the name of the album, even though the font sizes vary.

In producing a magazine ad to promote our single (top models), I would use the shot type and angle in terms of including a shot of our rapper (Tyrel) it shows a rough and gangster look, which is what rap is about. And it would allow the audience to automatically acknowledge that he is a rapper. I would also make the date of the album release the main cover line just as the editor did above. This is because I think that is the most important information needed for the audience.