Cd covers swift s queen example comparison

1. Heavy make-up and well-
groomed hair, plus
glamorous (high key)
lighting: this aims at both
females (who can identify
with or aspire to be like
her) and younger males
(sex appeal)
The direct gaze (the way she
looks straight at the
camera) makes her appear a
confident figure, helping to
appeal to young females
who look up to glamorous
celebrities (the album title:
Fearless!)
The handwritten style of
the artist name suggests a
personal touch, as if she is
engaging directly with her
fans (the ‘gaze’ helps with
this too)
Quite a lot of bare skin!
The choice not to go with
a more conservative
costume suggests not just
glamour for female fans
who aspire to be like her,
but use of sex appeal for a
young male audience too
The rear panel is almost
reassuringly dull or
sensible; perhaps this
might help encourage
parents and some older
fans (a secondary
audience) to buy?
Looking at
these points,
younger
females (8-
15?) seem to
be the primary
target
audience
Track titles add more
evidence that younger
females are the primary
target audience: ‘Love
Story’ and ‘Fifteen’ for
example!

2. At first, this seems to be aimed to an older market, with the old person on both front and rear representing the target
audience. The framing of the old man alone on the bench could be seen as a sympathetic ‘reading’ of the problems older
people face. The character is denoted (represented) as old by the walking stick, wool hat, heavy coat, grey slacks, wearing a
shirt, wearing gloves and simply by being alone.
However, the heavily stereotyped nature of might suggest that humour is intended, and that actually this is primarily aimed
at a youth market
The details that
suggest that this
is dance music
also make it now
seem less likely
that this is
aimed at an
older market:
the track ‘Head
is a Jungle’ and
the note that
this is an ‘MK
Edit’
Although not everyone
will know this, there is a
similarity with a TV/online
character that appeals to
a broad youth audience
with the cheeky humour
involved (Bad Grandpa)
The shoes might be
another sign that this is
not what it first looks like
– these could have been
heavy, dark-coloured
shoes, but instead are
light-coloured and more
commonly associated
with youth
If it is aimed at a youth
market, the choice of
background could be seen
as risky, being quite dull
and dreary
By focussing solely on a
male character, the male
audience seems to be the
primary target – there
certainly isn’t any ‘sex
appeal’ being used to
widen the appeal to a
female market!

3. Comparing the Two
• There is an interesting contrast in age: the Taylor Swift cover suggests a
similar age range to her, but there are some elements which make this
reassuring for a possible older, secondary audience
• The Storm Queen example at first appears to target an older market,
but there are signs that the stereotype of the old man is intended to
be humorous, maybe linked to a TV character that only a youth
audience are likely to be familiar with
• Identification is a key factor with the Swift cover, not least the
handwritten artist name, but her glamour is also used to attract both
male and female audiences, even if the track titles make clear that the
female audience is the primary target
• The Storm Queen cover takes more risks, and its lack of positive
elements for a female audience might suggest that males are the
primary target