There are a number of ways to sell a movie. A captivating trailer can go viral and the involvement of a recognizable star doesn’t hurt. Another great way to grab audiences’ attention is with an eye-catching poster. While the poster itself is the most important thing, a catchy tagline can go a long way, too.
From Alien’s “In space, no one can hear you scream,” poster taglines have been part of the cinematic experience since the birth of the medium. While some may be more memorable than others, these taglines all strive to convey what the movie is about in a few carefully selected words.
"Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back In The Water..." - Jaws 2 (1978)
The poster tagline for Jaws 2 is the most notable thing about the movie. The sequel itself is a shallow retread of Steven Spielberg’s classic original, as yet another giant great white shark arrives to terrorize Amity Island and, yet again, Chief Brody sets out to stop it.
But the poster tagline has a haunting hook: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...” The first Jaws movie had scared a lot of viewers away from swimming in the ocean; Jaws 2 established on its poster that it intended to do the same.
"One Man’s Struggle To Take It Easy." - Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of the most iconic comedies ever made. Anyone who’s seen the movie might expect the poster tagline to be “Life moves pretty fast,” as that's the line most quoted from the film, but it’s actually “One man’s struggle to take it easy.”
This tagline sets up the central conflict of Ferris’ life. He just wants to kick back and have a good time, but as a teenager, his life is controlled by his parents and he’s legally required to attend high school, so that’s not as easy as it sounds. Audiences loved watching Ferris work hard for his leisure, which involved watching attending a baseball game at Wrigley Field and enjoying a Monet painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the tagline successfully hinted at the teenage protagonist's adventures.
"Man Is The Warmest Place To Hide." - The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter’s horror masterpiece The Thing takes place at a chilly Arctic outpost where a bunch of scientific researchers are trapped with a shapeshifting alien that’s able to take any form – including seamlessly impersonating any one of them.
The creepy poster tagline, “Man is the warmest place to hide,” introduces all the key elements: there’s a monster on the loose in a cold setting and it seeks refuge in people. It also promises the relentless terror the film will offer.
"The First Casualty Of War Is Innocence." - Platoon (1986)
On the DVD commentary, Oliver Stone explained that he made Platoon to counter the jingoistic view of the Vietnam War seen in the John Wayne movie The Green Berets. Unlike Wayne, Stone actually served in Vietnam, and The Green Berets’ whitewashed depiction of the war didn’t gel with Stone’s harrowing recollections of it.
Stone’s movie is a much grittier, more realistic portrayal of the horrors of war and the psychological effect it has on soldiers. Platoon’s posters summed up its themes perfectly with the tagline, “The first casualty of war is innocence.”
"Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid." - The Fly (1986)
The posters for David Cronenberg’s body horror gem The Fly warned audiences about the terrifying nature of Jeff Goldblum’s transformation into a fly with the tagline, “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”
Audiences appreciated the warning to “be very afraid” when Geena Davis gave birth to a maggot in the film’s climactic sequence. This tagline has become so iconic that it’s transcended its attachment to The Fly and simply become a common catchphrase to warn people that danger or disappointment could be ahead.
"You’ll Believe A Man Can Fly." - Superman (1978)
Long before Sam Raimi’s Superman way back in 1978. The poster tagline, “You’ll believe a man can fly,” teased the movie’s groundbreaking special effects.
Today’s audiences are less impressed by Superman’s effects, having been inundated with state-of-the-art CGI, but contemporary moviegoers were blown away by Donner’s movie. Superman’s first flight with Lois, the perfect intersection of romance and spectacle, created an unforgettable movie moment that worked because audiences truly did believe Superman could fly.
"On Every Street In Every City In This Country, There Is A Nobody Who Dreams Of Being A Somebody." - Taxi Driver (1976)
Robert De Niro anchors Martin Scorsese’s gritty neo-noir Travis Bickle is a lonely New York cabbie who feels such disgust and contempt for the criminals around him that he arms himself to take the law into his own hands.
The poster tagline – “On every street in every city in this country, there is a nobody who dreams of being a somebody” – speaks to the universality of Travis’ isolation (even if his violent outlets aren’t universally relatable).
"We Are Not Alone." - Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)
“We are not alone,” the tagline for Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, establishes a different kind of Hollywood alien movie. Close Encounters isn’t a big action blockbuster about bloodthirsty E.T.s trying to wipe out humanity; it’s a more cerebral exploration of the concept, with peaceful aliens trying to communicate with humans.
Spielberg frames the movie as a Watergate-era conspiracy thriller about the government’s men in black covering up UFO sightings, but it more broadly inspires viewers to look up at the stars and wonder who or what could be out there. Humanity may not be alone, but that doesn't mean they should be frightened by the prospect of aliens making .
"If You Only See One Movie This Year... You Need To Get Out More Often." - The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell Of Fear (1991)
Unsurprisingly for a movie jam-packed with sight gags and wordplay, the poster tagline for The Naked Gun 2½ is a joke: “If you only see one movie this year... you need to get out more often.”
This is a meta nod to the old-fashioned movie trailers that would preface their sales pitch by saying, “If you only see one movie this year...” Who only sees one movie a year? Not only is this tagline a great joke; it tells audiences that they’re in for a movie that doesn’t take itself seriously at all.
"In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream." - Alien (1979)
While Ridley Scott elevated the premise to high cinematic art with perfect pacing and otherworldly production design, 1979’s Alien is essentially a haunted house movie set in space. The iconic poster tagline introduces the tense, claustrophobic element that putting the haunted house in space adds to the familiar formula: “In space, no one can hear you scream.”
In movie theaters, of course, screams are audible, and plenty could be heard during Alien’s biggest scares, like the iconic chestburster scene and the xenomorph appearing behind Dallas in the tunnel. Those screams would continue in the film's successful sequel Aliens, which had its own memorable poster tagline: "This time, it's war."
