Advertising Research - Posters

As part of our project we have to design and create a poster. For inspiration, I will research several film posters of the rom-com genre. I will look for the key features of the poster and the common features they share. Here is what I will look for in each;

• Images and photos
• Colour themes
• Text and fonts
• Position on poster/composition
• It's relation to the film

I picked three random films, one of which has similar films to our own production, 50 First Dates, Along Came Polly and Bewitched.

Image and photos

Similarly, each poster has the couple the film is based on in a variety of situations. On 50 First Dates, Lucy looks shocked, while Henry is seeking her attention. The fact he looks at her and she is looking away presents the idea Henry is more interested in her which fits to the film. In Along Came Polly the roles are opposite, with Polly drapping her arm over Reuben as he looks away. Although the film is more about Reuben trying to win over Polly, she is a outspoken and flamboyant character and the pose matches her. In Bewitched, Isabel is presented as the powerful character and Jack is at her whim. Each of the posters feature a prop important to the film. Oddly enough, both 50 First Dates and Along Came Polly's is an animal character, a penguin and a ferret. 50 First Dates also has a ukulele, and in Bewitched a broom, mirroring the themes of the film as Isabel is a witch. The settings of the posters for 50 First Dates and Along Came Polly are in the filming locations used in the films, a beach and New York. 

Colour themes

50 First Dates has a beach theme for the poster so the colours are quite saturated and warm. The characters are also significantly tanned. The text has a theme of black then red text, such the actors names and film title, but with white for the third word. The poster credits are also red and the date of release in all white and bold to stand out. The tagline is in black to be in keeping with the theme. Along Came Polly has a similar theme of red and black with the text. Interestingly, the only text in red is the title, a one line review and the release date to make them stand out. The setting is very green and lush. The colours are again quite saturated and contrasts to the white banner at the bottom. Bewitched uses a very vivid blue for the sky to make the characters stand out and the text is white, apart from the release date, which is red. Similarly, all the posters have happy, vibrant colours, as rom coms are often considered nice, feminine and pretty films.

Text and fonts

All of the films use a smart and defined font. Bewitched has a slightly jumbled alinement of all the letters on its title, but it attempting to match the text used on the TV show the film is based on. The rest of the text is more straight. Each poster on shows the two main actors names and has small text with the production information. I will look more into this text and what it features in most films so we can create our own for our poster. 50 First Dates and Along Came Polly feature a tagline, but only Along Came Polly feature a quote from a review.

Positioning of the poster / Composition

All the posters have a similar composition, with the title a third down the page, with the poster credits underneath and the release date at the very bottom. 50 First Dates and Along Came Polly both have the characters in the centre and a tagline in the centre, whereas Bewitched is spread over more of the poster and doesn't feature a tagline. 50 First Dates and Bewitched have the actors names at the top of the poster, whereas Along Came Polly is below the characters. It also takes pride in a quote which rates the film at the top of the poster, even underlining it.

Relation to the film

The most important feature of any poster is its relation to the film. If a poster gives the wrong statement about the film, it will attract the wrong audience. A poster has to define the film so the audience has some idea what to expect. It should have some link to the plot and the story, the plot being what is explicitly present in the film such as the actions of characters, and extra non-diegetic material that only the audience see (not the characters) like title. And story being not only being what is explicitly presented on screen, but implied events, what the audience knows but isn't shown visually. So I analysed what was presented in each poster. All of the posters clearly present a romantic film, but Along Came Polly doesn't really have any elements of comedy. Perhaps they felt the audience could presume a comical plot due to the actors involved who are typically comedy actors. 

• 50 First Dates:
  Plot - Title of the film, tagline, release date.
  Both plot and story - Goofy characters presented in facial expressions.
  Story - Women have the power in relationships (male dotes attention to female, she looks away).
  Relation to film - All relevant as the male character is completely at the whim of the female and weither she likes him or not throughout the film. The female is also presented as vulnerable which is apparent in the film as she struggles with a mental illness.
• Along Came Polly:
  Plot - Title of the film, tagline, release date.
  Both plot and story - Two clashing personalities.
  Story - Sense of community even with opposite personalities, unity.
  Relation to film - Again, all relevant to the film. The characters are united as a couple throughout the majority of the film, even with very clear differences and conflicting morals, ideals and personalities. 
• Bewitched:
  Plot - Title of the film, release date.
  Both plot and story - The female is a witch and performs magic on the male.
  Story - Women have a magic power over men.
  Relation to film - Once again, all entirely relevant. The female character is a witch in love with a mortal and perform magic on him and the world around her. He also has an attraction to her which seems to be "love at first sight" which has an element of magic.