Advertising designers are presented with a particular challenge when the focus of the advertisement is an artistic product. Unlike those which are meant to sell food, household products, or even luxury items, ads that promote an artistic work like music must find a way to not only stick in the heads of viewers but also to be artistically pleasing and representative of the artistic vision of the creator of the featured piece. People who drink soda or buy shoes are not necessarily going to be swayed by the subtle visual intricacies of a Pepsi or Nike ad as long as there is a cultural or need-based appeal. If the consumer feels that Pepsi, for example, will quench thirst, then the ad was effective. However, in order for a music ad to be effective, it must find a way to appeal to the inner art critic and somehow present a visual representation of the appeal of the...

One advertisement that rather effectively promotes music is that for the band The Cruxshadows, for the album Wishfire, which appeared in Orkus music magazine in September, 2002. This is an effective advertisement because of the use of color, identification of the band members with the music, and overall visual appeal.
The Wishfire ad has a very unique color scheme. The background is starkly white, like an overexposed photograph. Likewise, all whites in the image are intensely pale, creating a balance between the background and the models. The whiteness creates a surreal environment, like one would expect to see in an alien abduction or Hollywood encounter with God. However, the image is far…