1. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Ancillary task one - newspaper billboard
My first ancillary task was to create a newspaper billboard to advertise the newspaper that I
have created for my main product. I researched and analysed three different newspaper
billboards prior to creating my own in order to make sure that mine fulfilled the conventions
of a real billboard advertisement. After analysing the different billboards I gathered that
there is very little text used on them and the font is large and clear, making it quick and
simple to read. There are rarely images used on billboards, in particular newspaper
billboards as they tend to be more formal and focus on the text. The main focus of a billboard
advertisement is the newspaper masthead as this allows the billboard to be branded and
makes it clear to the audience what is being advertised. Also, the text and logo's on the
billboard are aligned perfectly, making the overall appearance look very professional. As you
can see, I have encoded these conventions onto my billboard. In a similar way to the metro
advertisement I have analysed, my newspaper billboard features a slogan which is "Voted
the biggest and best newspaper in Manchester 2013" which is intended to encourage people
to buy the newspaper. I have also made the masthead the central feature to my newspaper
and have developed a distinct house style of white, red and black which I have continued to
use for the other newspaper products, creating synergy throughout to make them all
professional.
Ancillary task two - radio advertisement
My second ancillary task was to create and edit a radio advertisement to advertise the
newspaper I have created for my main product. I searched online using websites and videos
and also read books in order to research the typical codes and conventions of a radio advert
before beginning this task. I created a report discussing these conventions and then begun to
analyse three different radio adverts to ensure I created a professional and realistic advert
for my coursework. The majority of these advertisements contained a music bed which made
the advert more interesting to listen to and attention catching. They were all around 20-30
seconds long also so when creating my own radio advert I made sure I encoded these
conventions. They all contained a catchy tag-line or slogan, using quite informal language to
engage with the listeners. I took all this into consideration when creating my ownadvert.
Firstly, I wrote the script for my radio advert, using rhetorical questions to involve the
listeners. My radio advert is very straight-forward to make it clear what is being advertised in
a similar way to the adverts I analysed. The voice over is in a mancunian accent which also
shows that my newspaper is local to Manchester. The music in the background is
"Celebration - Kool & The Gang" which is a catchy tune intended on grabbing the listeners
attention. It is also intended on making my radio advert stand out which is another key
convention. I have used the tag-line "Voted the biggest and best newspaper in Manchester
2013" which I have also used on my first ancillary product and on the cover of the
newspaper. This develops synergy throughout my newspaper products even further, making
them very professional.

2. Main product - newspaper
With my three products: a billboard advertisement, radio advertisement and the newspaper
cover and second page I have aimed to keep them very similar to create synergy throughout.
My final product and first ancillary task both follow a consistent house style of the colours
red white and black, using the masthead on both of the products to brand the newspaper.
The masthead also follows the same colour scheme, with the newspaper tag-line "Voted the
biggest and best newspaper in Manchester" which occurs in all of my products, creating
synergy between the three in order to make them more professional. I have created
iconography throughout my products by referencing Manchester, making it clear that it
where my newspaper is based. This iconography is developed further through the use of my
Manchester United story as Old Trafford is very iconic of Manchester. I believe my
newspaper is successful as it is similar to The Salford Advertiser which is an existing local
newspaper. It uses same colour scheme and a similar masthead, using a similar layout to The
Manchester Evening News and Tameside Advertiser. It is set out using one main story on the
front cover, with the stories written in columns. It also advertises another main story which
is quite often placed on the second page of the newspaper. I have followed newspaper
conventions through this layout as the newspapers I have analysed all do this. As you can
see, the Manchester Evening News has a story on the front using a large headline to make it
stand out which I have done similarly for mine. The advertisement on my cover for jobs is
also common within newspapers which I discovered through my analysis. I believe that my
newspaper does reflect existing newspaper products and I believe that synergy has been
created throughout both my ancillaries and main task.