Analysis of magazine advert (Coldplay-Mylo Xyloto)

Analysis Coldplay-Mylo Xyloto

This advert is very effective in promoting the release of the Coldplay album as well as giving a sense (idea) of what the album will be like/its content:

Ø The very brightly coloured background of the advert will immediately grab the audiences (potential target audience/buyers) attention, having no image of the band meaning that the background and the adverts content is working alone to promote the album

Ø Having no image of the band (or indication that its their album-other than their name) means that an established feel comes about the advert, Coldplay having a very large fan base meaning they are likely to already know the album name and not having a predominant image not mattering a large amount

Ø The use of bright colours and absurdness means the album gets promoted as very artistic and gives a sense that the band want to have fun and explore more abstract/expressive music/themes within the album- breaking from their previous concept album 'Viva la Vida'.

Ø The main visual aspect of the poster being the very large, bold font (almost having a stylised, futuristic feel) means the band and album name becomes the central focus of the advert, as well as the release date
à’Coldplay’ and the release date being the same font size means that the album name becomes the predominant font/focal point of the advert. Including these main three parts of information on the advert means the viewer instantly knows the name of the album and release date-becoming very effective in this sense (with no main image or large text/text boxes to distract from this)

Ø The use of a graffiti style background gives off a sense of ‘freedom’ and creativity, something that the content of the album explores very much (lyrically and through the music videos). This means the audience gets a sense of the album content as well as the ‘themes’ running through it

Ø  Including ‘The album’ in a fairly large text on top of ‘pre-order the album or iTunes and get the new single ‘Paradise immediately’ gives an almost sense of urgency for the viewer/fans to purchase both the single as well as the album when it becomes available. This means that not only does the advert let the viewer know when the album is released but also of the single that can be purchased ‘now’ and where.

Analysis of the original and deluxe edition of ‘Mylo Xyloto’ and looking at how they synergise with the advert for the album:

Ø The albums differ in that the deluxe edition (right) has a more ‘formal’ feel to it, the graffiti/artistic background becoming almost ‘controlled’ with the abbreviated album name ‘MX’. This sense of formality comes with the album being deluxe-having a more ‘uniformed’ feel (more upper-class, wealthy fans being likely to prefer/be attracted this presentation of the front cover). Whereas the original would appeal to the younger range of the bands target audience-being a lot more stylistic and expressive appealing more to the younger audience that idolise the band for this aspect of their music/as a band.

Ø Having an abbreviated version of the album name (‘MX’) on the deluxe edition reflects how the bands ‘keen’ fans will know the album title and therefore understand this abbreviation and be able to spot it/identify it through the brightly coloured background (lettering)-suggesting they may have found out about the album from part of the promotional campaign/the advert I have analysed previously.

Ø Both albums have the graffiti/artistic background featured-meaning that Coldplay as a band’s image is reflected from both, this shows how their very wide range of target audience/fans like them for this aspect of their music, being very ‘individual’ within the music industry.
Ø These albums are similar/synergise with the advert through both the same bright/grafittied background and the use of bold/stylised font for the name of the album (and abbreviation ‘MX’). This means that the promotional advertisement for the album is very effective in that it will allow fans/potential buyers to be able to clearly find/’spot’ the album when purchasing it (either online or in-store). 

When looking back at Coldplay’s previous albums you can see that not even all of the include the band’s name, instead featuring a very old styled war photo with ‘Viva La Vida’ almost graffitited on top of it, giving off a sense of the very abstract, artistic aspect of the band (linking to Mylo Xyloto very well-through the use of graffitti and abstract feel). These past albums being from 2000-2008 shows how the bands image has stayed very similar-having very artistic, almost strange album covers throughout their career-reflecting the bands brand image (the lead singer in particular being very ‘strange’ and almost abstract himself as an individual).

The style of 'Mylo Xyloto' is slight different from these past albums released by the band. ‘Parachutes’, ‘X&Y’and ‘A rush of blood to the head’ all feature a predominant image that takes up the album with a solid base colour as the background, whereas both the album cover as well as the advert have a more solid/abstract background as their previous album-‘Viva La Vida’ does-with the theme of graffiti/expressiveness being ‘carried through’ the artwork/promoting the brands image (style of music) in a very similar way.

When analysing the album DigiPak for how it synergises with the advert I decided to include the analysis/comparison with the inside pull-out of the album (applying to the overall effect of the album):

Ø One of the key aspects of the digipak that stands out is the pop up included in the pull-out, this brings the graffiti/artwork to ‘life’, the art almost popping out to the viewer/purchaser of the album (reflecting the playfulness/expressiveness of the album). This links well to the advert as it has a very abstract/’Coldplay’ feel to it (being known as slightly ‘strange’ but also very ‘expressive’ throughout their music).

Ø The pull out being the same/similar background to the advert means that they both synergise in a very effective way, both expressing the content of the album very well-being very expressive/abstract through both the overall ‘sound’ of the album as well as a ‘feel’ for the band members themselves. Synergising together in this way means that the promotional campaign ‘comes together’ very well with the actual product (the album)-this synergy both meaning that the album itself is easily ‘sourced’ for fans/potential purchasers

Ø The original and deluxe album having the same digipak/content (and pull out etc. within the digipak) means that both are aimed to the wide range of Coldplay fans. Their fan base ranging from late teens to early forties means that both the advert and the album/digipak need to appeal to this wide range of individuals. Both do this very effectively as they reflect the artistic/’individual’ side of the band that the younger fans idolise the band for (most enjoy) but also the maturity of the music (its content) that the older fans enjoy-shown through the deluxe album cover and the regularity of the layout of the digipak (being consistent throughout). 

Ø  The digipak itself is very similar to the advert in that the font type is carried on throughout (being used for the front cover, track list etc.) and the very memorable design becomes the predominant ‘image’ of both (not including an artist image in both-reflecting their strong established brand/image)

Ø The font being very minimal within both texts/artworks means that there is a particular focus on the graffiti/artwork within both-reflecting how the band use their music as a key attraction/promotion to the album and not themselves (showing how the band use their talent as a way to attract/gain fans-not themselves). This is one of the key attractions to the band for the fans (predominantly the older fans) the band being about the ‘music’ not the people singing it (their brand image etc.).
àBy using/reflecting this part of the band through the advert/digipak means they work together to use one of their key ‘attractions’ of the band/their fans to promote the album successfully.

Audience research on 'Mylo Xyloto'

I really liked the advert for ‘Mylo Xyloto’ as well as the digipak, wanting to look further into what an audience of my age (late teens) think as I would like to create a similar advert (in particular) for my music video once produced.

When showing the people the image above (the advert, digipak) I asked what they most liked and found most effective, wanting to do some research into what people of my age range thought of the album and advertisement from a teen prospective.

What do you like most about the advertisement and DigiPak and what they would say is the most effective aspect of both?

>      The range of people I asked said that one of their favourite aspects of the overall designs were the use of bright colours/the creative artwork (describing them as ‘exciting’), one person saying that they ‘pop’ and becomes very appealing/draws attention to both the advert and the album (whether looking through a magazine or online/looking in store)

>      A lot of people said that the album is very ‘different’ (not seen anything like it before) as it didn’t feature any predominant image of the artist on the front cover or the advert-which they then said was one of the most effective aspects of both designs (‘stands out’/’strong image’)

>      A large amount of people that I showed the advert/digipak too knew it was Coldplay, saying that ‘when seeing it once, it is very memorable and stands out from other albums very well’

>      A large amount of people I asked said they preferred the deluxe album cover and liked how the graffiti letters almost contrast with the off-white background, someone saying that the abbreviated letters ‘pop out’. The same individual also said that the shortened lettering becomes more memorable (adding to the effectiveness of the deluxe album cover).

>      The majority of people said they would definitely purchase the album as it would grab their attention and believe that the album and advert make the content feel as if it will be ‘exciting’ and ‘expressive/artistic’

When researching online, it is clear that the album 'Mylo Xyloto' was very popular and attracted a very large range of fans. This screen grab being taken from ‘Pitchfork’ a very popular and established teen based (and early twenties) online review/news page reflects how the album is very successfully with the teen audience. The article including 'If you cannot get enough of Coldplay's 2011 album Mylo Xyloto, you're in luck. On November 20, they'll put out a Mylo Xyloto live album and tour film simply titled Live 2012, recorded during Coldplay's extensive tour in support of the record' gives a sense of the mass target audience that the band attracts within my age range.

I have decided to look into this as I believe that this secondary research as well as primary means that I have been able to be sure that the promotional campaign and ‘feel’ of the album is popular with my age range-wanting to target my music video towards individuals my age to late twenties.