P1

A) PURPOSE

What is the purpose of each advertising campaign?

Both advertising campaigns for 'Revolution Radio' by Green Day and 'California' by blink-182 were used to promote and sell their newest albums at the time. They both released a series of merchandise around the time when their albums were released which displayed their album cover, the title of the album or something else to do with the new album.

How well each campaign performs its purpose:

I think blink-182 advertises their album on the album cover better than Green Day have because it displays their name and the title of the album whereas Green Day haven't put their name or the album title on the cover. But I think Green Day advertises their album much better on their merchandise because on the t-shirt it displays the album cover very clearly in the middle of the shirt and their name and the album title are very clear and easy to read because they have displayed it in a large font that is at the top of the shirt which stands out. However, blink-182 have displayed their album cover fairly well on the t-shirt but their name and the album title is under the imagery and is in a small font and it makes it harder to read because most of the attention is on the imagery. Also I think Green Day have promoted their album much better on their tour poster better than blink-182 have because their name and album cover are large and very visible and it says what album they are touring for very clearly as well. They have also displayed their tour dates and locations well and have displayed when their tickets go on sale clearly. Although blink-182 have displayed their name and album cover very well, they have displayed their tour dates and locations in a very small font at the bottom of the poster which is quite hard to read and they haven't got as much information on their poster as Green Day have on their poster.


B) FORMAT

What are the types of products and how are they are interacted with?

Their merchandise consist of a series of different t-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. These were available to purchase on their website or on their tour wherever they were performing at. Their albums were also available to purchase on their website as well as other sites like Amazon and were available on music streaming apps like Spotify and Soundcloud. Their tour posters were usually posted and shared around all social media and were also displayed on their websites.

How the designs differ across the different platforms:

The merchandise for Green Day's album displays their name, the album title and the album cover and on the actual album cover it only has the imagery and not their name or title. This is because they wanted to make it clearer that the people who wear their merchandise are fans and are supporting Green Day. On the tour poster it displays their album cover and their name and album title which are written out in the same typeface as they are on the t-shirt. The layout is different on the poster than it is on the t-shirt and it has more information and text on the poster because it is a tour poster. All the information on the tour poster are in the same typeface so that it is clear that the poster if for their latest album.

The imagery on blink-182's album can be seen on their merchandise and tour poster as well as their name but only the album title is on their merchandise and not the tour poster. On their merchandise it displays the imagery of their latest album at the time with their name and album title in a small text beneath the imagery. On the tour poster it has a different colour scheme, it has a white background rather than a black background like the t-shirt and the album cover. Also, on the tour poster the bands name is much larger than it is on the album cover and t-shirt. I think this is because it is to clearly let people know what band they are because people tend to take quick glances at posters.


C) CONTENT

List of all the different elements that make up the design:

Green Day:
Black background
Album cover
Band name
Album title
White/red/pink spray paint typeface

blink-182:
Black/white background
Album cover
Band name
Album title
Standard modern typeface
Different colour arrangements in the imagery and typefaces

List of the different elements in order of importance:

Green Day:

Album:
Album cover

T-Shirt:
Band name
Album title
Album cover

Tour poster:
Band name
Album cover
Album title
Ticket sale information
Tour dates and locations
Album release date
Websites

blink-182

Album:
Album cover
Band name
Album title

T-Shirt:
Album cover
Band name
Album title

Tour poster:
Band name
Album cover
Special guests
Tour dates
Websites

Compare the differences in content:

For album covers, Green Day only has the imagery for the album and doesn't include the album title or their name whereas blink-182 include their name and album title as well as the imagery for the album. On the t-shirts, Green Day include their name and the album title in a large text which is above the album cover. On the other hand, blink-182 just have the same layout of their album cover on their t-shirt but with a slightly different colour scheme to the actual album cover. On their tour posters, Green Day have kept their black background they have used for their album cover and t-shirt whereas blink-182 have chosen a white background for their tour poster. Green Day have made their name very big on their tour poster as well as blink-182 on their tour poster but the album cover for both tour posters take up a different amount space on the posters. Green Day include their album title with the word 'tour' at the end of it, clearly showing that they are touring for that album and that is the name for the tour but blink-182 haven't included their album name anywhere on their tour poster. blink-182 have included their special guests that were touring with them on their poster but Green Day haven't because they may have not had any bands touring with them. Green Day's tour dates are a fair bit bigger compared to blink-182's tour dates on their poster and also Green Day include the date when their tickets go on sale whereas blink-182 do not.


D) STYLE

Describe the design language of each campaign:

Green Day:

Green Day's design language is very consistent with including the same typefaces, colour scheme and imagery. Although they only include the single image on their album cover, they keep this same image on their t-shirt and tour poster as well as the same black background. They use the same typeface on their t-shirt and throughout their tour poster and they have used different colours for their text on the t-shirt and tour poster. They would generally have their name at the top of their designs as you can see in the tour poster and the t-shirt their name is in a large white text at the top.

blink-182's design language is pretty consistent as well. They include the same typeface and generally the same colour scheme and imagery in their products. On their t-shirt you can see that it is almost identical to the album cover apart from that they have slightly changed the colour scheme of the imagery and text. They use the same imagery from their album cover in their t-shirt and tour poster only with slight changes to the colours and they also used the same typeface from their album cover on their tour poster as well.


Which campaign has the strongest design language?

Both campaigns have really strong design languages and they are very close but I feel that Green Day has the strongest design language overall. I think this because they have used the same imagery from their album cover throughout their other products and they haven't changed or edited the imagery at all. Also they use the same black background for their different products as well unlike blink-182 where they changed the background to white on their tour poster. Also Green Day have used the same colour scheme in their products whereas blink-182 have made slight changes to the imagery colour scheme in their different products.


E) LAYOUT

Describe the layout for each material:

Green Day:

Album:
There is only one thing on the album cover and that is a picture of a burning radio. It is in the centre of the album with a black background behind it. It is placed in the centre because it is the main focus of the album cover and so that all the attention goes to the imagery and the black background makes it stand out.

T-Shirt:
The image of the radio is near enough in the centre of the shirt and above it is the band's name and the album title in a big red and white spray paint typeface. The text and imagery are close together so that you can focus on both at once easily and to show that they are associated with each other.

Tour poster:
Taking up the majority of the top of the poster is the band's name in the same big white spray paint typeface, this is to show clearly what band this poster is for and so that it is clearly readable from far distances or if you were to walk/drive past. Right beneath the band's name, in the second biggest typeface on the poster, it says 'Revolution Radio Tour' to clearly show that Green Day are touring their new album. The text is in a dark pink colour so that it stands out from the band's name above it. Towards the left side of the poster you can see the album cover. It is on the left hand side of the poster so that it wouldn't interfere with the information on the other side of the poster so that you can easily focus on one side at a time. The right side of the poster is where the tour dates and locations are and the cities are in a white typeface and the dates and locations are in the same dark pink typeface that is used on some of the other text on this poster. The dates and locations are off to one side so that they are more visible to read. At the bottom you can see the different websites where you can book tickets at. They are the smallest things on the poster because they are the least important bit of information on the poster which is why they are also at the bottom.

blink-182:

Album:
Across the middle of the album cover you can see the imagery of a man and woman driving a car. The imagery is very colourful and is against a black background so that it would really stand out on the album cover which is why it is in the middle and so it is the main focus when you look at it. You can see the band's name and the album title beneath the imagery in a fairly small typeface. This is because they wanted the imagery to be the main characteristic of the album cover.

T-Shirt:
The t-shirt is just an exact copy of the album cover except with a slight change to the colours. They changed the colours maybe to change things up with the design or so that the different colours are for the different products that the imagery appears on.

Tour poster:
On the tour poster you can see the band's name very big at the top of the poster in the same typeface they used for their album cover. It is in a very large typeface and at the top of the poster because they wanted it to be the first thing your read when looking at the poster and so that you can see the band's name from far away. Below the band's name is the imagery from the album which is very large and stretches across the middle of the poster. They put the imagery in the middle because they want most of the attention on the imagery and so that people know which album they are touring for. Under the imagery are the names of the two special special guests that the band are touring with. The names are boxed and are the only boxed text on the poster. This is because they are two separate bands and were opening for blink-182 so they made the text different from the rest to make it clear. Towards the bottom of the poster you can see the tour dates and locations in a very small typeface. The dates are in red and the locations are in black because it makes it easier to read when looking at the dates and locations. They are at the bottom and in a small typeface because it is the least important bit of information on the poster and so that it doesn't take up as much space as the rest of the things on the poster.

Describe the flow of the materials:

For both campaigns the flow of their products are done very well. Their album covers are very simple and lead the eye well when looking at the covers and for both covers it shows clear hierarchy for the imagery because it's the only thing on the Green Day album and it is the biggest and most central thing on the blink-182 album. On the t-shirts Green Day have done well with the flow of the layout with their name in the biggest typeface at the top and the album title and imagery right below. blink-182 have done the same thing on their album as the have on their t-shirt but the flow is still pretty good. They have both done a good job with hierarchy and leading the eye with making it clear what bits are more important than the others.

The best and worst layout from both campaigns:

Albums:
I think blink-182 have the best layout for this because their imagery really jumps out and they include their name and the album title and it is overall a simple but great layout. Green Day's layout was still good but not as good because their name and album title isn't on the cover and if people were to look at just the album cover they probably wouldn't think that it is by Green Day and wouldn't know what the album is called whereas blink-182 include both those things and you know it's by them and what the album is called.

T-Shirts:
I think Green Day has done a better layout for this because they have their name and album title in very big writing and the album cover underneath which you can all see very clearly and it looks really good as well. On the other hand, blink-182 have just copied their album cover on their t-shirt which still works in a way but not as well because they imagery is really big compared to their name and album title which makes the writing difficult to read and all the attention goes to the imagery.

Tour posters:
This is close but I think Green Day has a better layout than blink-182 does for this. I think this because Green Day have more information and they have sectioned the imagery from the writing really nicely with the album cover on the left and the tour dates and locations on the right. Although blink-182 have also got a nice layout for this I think they could have put a bit more information on the poster because it would have still fit in well with the layout of the poster with how it is.


F) TARGET AUDIENCE

Target audience profiles:

Green Day:

Age - 17
Gender - Male
Interests - Going to concerts, Going out with friends, Playing the guitar
Spending Power - £190 Monthly
Lifestyle - Lives in a town, always going out late

blink-182:

Age - 15
Gender - Male
Interests - Skateboarding, Playing video games, Watching T.V.
Spending Power - £100 Monthly
Lifestyle - Lives in a suburban area, goes out with friends usually


How design elements attract them:

Green Day's imagery is quite destructive looking and people of the target audience's age may like playing around with fire and breaking stuff which could attract them to the design elements. Also the typeface is in a graffiti spray paint typeface and people in the target audience may enjoy going out and spray painting things. blink-182's imagery and text contains a lot of bright colours which may attract people of their target audience's age.


G) REGULATORY BODY

Describe what the ASA do:

The ASA, or Advertising Standards Authority, is an independent body which ensures that the self-regulatory system works in the public interest. The ASA investigate and rule in on complaints and conduct research and enforce their idea on how advertisement should be presented.

What the ASA find objectionable in adverts:

One of the main that the ASA find objectionable in adverts are gender stereotypes. In some adverts it may show a woman cooking or doing housework or suggesting a man is incapable of looking after a child which may offend people due to these stereotypes so the ASA would take the advert down due to the obvious gender stereotypes.

Would the ASA take issue with my advertising materials?

I don't think the ASA would have any issue with any of the advertising materials that I have looked at because none of the things on these materials suggest or provoke anything negative and don't target anything that would offend anyone of any gender, race, age or religious beliefs.