Billboard Advert (Ancillary Task)

This is the final version of the billboard advertisement that I created alongside my newspaper pages:

To get to this stage I went through several different ideas, but the main idea that stayed the same throughout was the idea of the background being black and white and the newspaper being left in colour to highlight that it was brand new and will be a "breath of fresh air" compared to other local newspapers.

These where the two images that I liked the most after taking several different shots after experimenting with different angles and lighting. The set up was made to look like an everyday kitchen worktop in the morning because I felt it fit more with my target audience.

Again the idea of the newspaper breathing life into its surroundings played out because this is such a common scene for many people/families that it becomes commonplace, the paper is meant to stand out.


I eventually chose the second photo of the two because the angle of the first felt odd, mainly because I felt the newspaper should be turned towards the audience. Doing this placed the masthead in the centre, which is advantageous as we as people are more drawn to look there.

 This was the photo straight after I used Photoshop to select the background and place the black and white filter over it. I also took the opportunity to make the title slightly more vibrant to make it more likely to hook people to look at it. This also highlights how useful the implementation of the red colour is for newspapers.

 

I then edited the size so it would look more obviously like a billboard.

 

 

This was the first idea I had for the text on the advert. The idea of "Need some colour" was to reference the newspaper being the object that metaphorically brings the colour back into the readers life. In hindsight the title itself was too vague and the placement of it felt right at the time but ultimately it was changed because it may have been a little bit awkward to read.

 

 

The next thought was to add more to the title, which I have now stuck with. "Start your day with some colour" made it more obvious to the audience that the Lakes Gazette is what you will need to start your day. Anymore words would have made it less appealing to read, as billboards are usually glanced in passing as we are driving or walking, so there needs to be enough that people get the message yet don't feel it is a chore to read. I also experimented with the idea of bleeding the colour into the text, so as it goes further across it gets brighter. This was primarily because it echoed how the sunrises in the morning, which ties in with the setting and "starting the day".

 

This was the second incarnation of the previous image. I tried to copy the text and place over the top of the original so that moving it left or right would give it a 3D effect. However it looked more clunky than I anticipated so I removed it. Originally I had been aiming at making the text red like the masthead, but I thought this might detract attention away from the paper. Instead I used the same font as the masthead to show the relation between the message and the paper.



This was the penultimate incarnation of the final product. I capitalised the start of each word to make it looked a little more balanced and brightened the colour of the text to make it more clear against the whites in the background. The only difference between this and the final product is I used the Poster Edges effect on the background of the final product because I felt it looked more interesting and added some texture to the image.

Alternatively, I played with the idea of this retro comic book/pop culture style effect. However since the comic book idea may have been more geared towards younger readers, it may risk alienating older readers, but I felt it was an interesting experiment.