1. Evaluation
Question 2:
How effective is the combination of
your main product and ancillary
texts? (Digipak and Magazine
advert)
2. What is the Purpose of Ancillary texts?
• Ancillary texts help to promote the product further, and reach the
target audience and secondary audiences
• The ancillary texts should compliment the product, there usually will
be a theme which is then promoted alongside the album/single. The
theme will suggest the style/genre of the music and what the song or
album might focus on. Different themes attract different
audiences, for example Justin Timberlake’s new album ‘The 20/20
Experience’ will attract his usual fan base as well as: urban music
fans and people who enjoy easy listening music due to his new
sophisticated look (see example to the right)
3. What is the Purpose of Ancillary texts?
Magazine Adverts
• Magazine adverts are a useful as they can reach out to the target
audience and further audiences. Magazine adverts are normally eye
catching and bold, in order to catch the reader’s attention.
• Colours and images used in a magazine advert will hint towards the
genre/style of music. For example a magazine advert, targeted at
pop listeners, will use bright colours such as blue, pink, red and
yellow. In contrast a magazine advert targeted at urban music
lovers, will have a mixture of bright colours, gold and even black and
white colours.
• Reviews are also an important part of the advert. Readers will
always read reviews if they are interested in a product, a good
review will influence the reader to go and listen or download the
single. Where the review came from is also another important factor
as the reviewer will have their own established audience, for
example ‘The Guardian’ will have an established middle-class
readers aged from 30 and upwards.
4. What is the Purpose of Ancillary texts?
Digipaks
• Digipaks should reflect the genre of the music, as well as the theme
of the song/album
• Digipaks are a great way to further promote the artist and the album
sales
• Digipaks are used not only to sell the album, but to create a
connection with the artist and the audience as digipaks normally
have a ‘personal touch’ to them as they can include photos, the
song lyrics and personal thanks from the artist themselves. That’s
what makes digipaks seem so exclusive and unique, therefore more
desirable to the buyer.
5. Analysis of Magazine Advert
The Artist: The image of the artist is very strong as
they are photographed behind a plain, black back-drop.
The artist is looking down in reflection, that plus the
guitar prop, suggests the genre is acoustic/ easy
listening. The artist is positioned slightly off-centre in
the image which is unusual as normally the artist is the
centre of attention. However it draws our attention to
the artist’s hands on the guitar. The artist’s costume is
very plain which adds to the laid-back, easy listening
feel
Colours: The black background effectively makes the
artist stand out and draws attention to the
big, bold, white song title. Other colours in the advert
have blue and pink hues are soft, suggesting the music
is easy listening and sombre.
The Font: The fonts used in the magazine advert are
clear, bold and curved which adds softness to the dark
elements of the background. The straighter and sharp
font at the bottom of the poster contrasts the rest of the
poster as it is more serious, suggesting perhaps a tone
of urgency as if ‘you have to download this song now.’
Logos: recognised company logos that everyone will
know
6. How does the Magazine Advert
compliment the Music Video?
• The magazine advert effectively represents the music genre and what the
song’s focus could be about.
• The magazine advert appeals to the target audience as it looks meditative and
sombre; which is the type of music that our young, acoustic-loving, target
audience like to listen to. There is also a familiarity about it as it looks similar to
other established artists, of the same genre, e.g. Ed Sheeran and Katie Melua
• The advert looks as if the artist could be based in popular and alternative music
genres as it is slightly ambiguous, making it open to other audiences as well.
• A reason why the advert may attract a secondary, and possibly older, audience
could be because of the reviewers, as they are both based in popular and
higher culture.
• From the advert the reader can determine that the style of music is easy
listening as there is a ‘laid back’ feel to it. This could also attract a wider
audience as easy listening music has had a growing amount of interest over
recent years due to the popularity of bands such as ‘Mumford and Sons’. This
style of music is listened to and bought by a range of different individuals
Criticisms:
• A criticism of the poster is that there are only two reviews; which may not be
enough to determine an opinion about the product.
8. Analysis of Digipak
• Images of artist: Images of the artist show the artist bowing her
head down in a reflective pose, looking away from the camera. This
hints at the acoustic genre as the artist can looks shy/ moody.
• Colours: The colours used on the digipak are generally dark, with
the exception of the bright blue guitar and the light blue panel and
text used. The dark colours reflect on the sombre song of the song
and music video; as well as the slight contrast between dark and
lighter colours represents conflict – feelings which the protagonist
experiences in the video as they are searching for an answer.
• Lyric Panel: A panel with lyrics written on is a very common
characteristic to include on a digipak. On the top-left there is a panel
illustrating a blue guitar standing against a wall white, and there are
lyrics written on the wall to the left of the guitar. The lyrics are
extracted from the chorus, which uncover the main message of the
song.
9. How does the Digipak compliment the
Music Video?
• The digipak keeps within the same theme as the music video and
the magazine advert, this consistency helps to emphasise the
song’s theme and helps to market the product to the target audience
as there is no confusion on the consumer's part, to what the genre
is.
• The dark tone of the digipak reflects the contents, and one of the
themes, within the music video; thus further complimenting the
music video.
10. So, how effective is the combination of
the Music Promo video, and the
magazine advert and digipak?
• The magazine advert and digipak are suitable to the genre of the
music and they successfully reflect the music video and the sombre
feel of the song and video.
• Both ancillary texts effectively promote the video and the artist as
they appeal to the intended target audience, in addition, it appeals to
a wider audience, making the product accessible for everyone.
