Digipack and advert analysis

'Even If It Kills Me' is the third album released by the pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack and was released in september 2007. Standout tracks include 'Point of Extinction', 'Hello Helicopter' and 'This Is For Real'.


The digipack consists of mainly lighter and darker shades of blue, a masculine colour, and pink, a feminine colour, which represents the two different genders shown, this is consistent throughout the whole digipack. This connotes that this album is aimed at both genders. The text is white which connotes purity and innocence which may relate to the topics of the tracks

The characters featured on the digipack are whispering in each other’s ears, which connotes secrecy. In addition to this the women are standing next to the men which may connote relationships. Both of these points may connote what some of the tracks are about.

The tree in the background may connote nature and peace, and the window may connote that the tree is outside, and that the characters are inside or unable to have peace, which connotes that there may be conflict of relationships presents in the song tracks.


Some of the characters are shown behind the text which connotes that they are not that important or are hidden, while other characters are shown in front of the artist text making them appear more important than the artists. In addition many of the characters are looking towards the reader as if there staring into space which may connote dissatisfaction.

This album cover for Primal Scream is very simplistic and seems to represent working class youth culture because it shows two women/girls from the waste down in a garden with what looks like a council estate wall behind. The mise-en-scene hints that the album was produced and made in the 1960s because the woman in the foreground looks like she is wearing 60s cloths, however Primal Scream are a Scottish Alternative band who formed in 1982 which means they are just using this style to connote the band/album (product) represent youth culture because the 60s was seen as a time of change when youth culture developed into a "A time of rebellion" (Hall). 

I think this album will appeal to working class men and women 15-24 years of age because they will see themselves represented in the imagery and typography. I also think that Laura Mulvey's feminist theory that "women are used as erotic objects of desire" (Mulvey, 1975) to sell products can be applied because the woman in the foreground is thin and wearing revealing cloths. 

In short, I like the simplicity of this design, it follows conventions through using imagery, colour, layout  and typography to sell the product, but like many other Indie albums, does so in an artistic way. 

This is probably one of the most famous album covers of all times, it is for Nirvana's album Nevermind and features a naked baby underwater in a swimming pool looking at American bank note. The connotations for this are vast and varied but I think the main connotation is that the baby represents male youth culture and the bank note represents capitalism and how it is all about consumerism because the baby is focused on the dollar. I think this represents the anger of youth culture and shows the band is Indie and not mainstream like commercial pop stars (like Madonna) who are just products not artists. The typography and blue colours also represent the youth audience because blue and black links to depression. 

I think this album is probably one of the best album covers off all times because it cleverly reveals the bands genre through making a political statements that disaffected youths will be drawn to. 

Based on this research, I think my album cover need to use original imagery, typography that represents the target audience/genre, dark colours and mise-en-scene that represent the target audience. Due to the fact I am making the who digi pack I will also need to include the relevant track information. 

This magazine advert for Only By The Night is interesting in how it represents youth in culture. For example the advert features a digital type of font, this can be associated with youth as youth nowadays desire all the new technology such as ipods, macs etc. The choice of what songs they choose to feature on the advert can also be applied to youth, for example 'Sex On Fire' contains the word sex and the connotations that surround it, and as Stanley Hall 1904 stated that "all youth go through a time of storm and stress and that during this period they exhibit higher sensation seeking, sex being one of those activities.

The imagery is very surreal it features members of the band and what appears to be an owl (a predatory, nocturnal animal) which gives the connotation of nightlife and the band themselves being hunters which can relate to youth in the way that youth stay up later to go out drinking etc.

This magazine advert for Lungs is interesting in how it addresses youth, once again applying Stanley Halls 1904 theory surrounding storm and stress, the dark colours will attract youth because they are going through a time of stress and as such bright colours such as yellow or pink will not be attractive to them. Also by applying Laura Mulvey's theory about how women are portrayed as objects of sexual desire to the male audience it becomes apparent that this magazine advert may be specifically aimed at a   male youth.