Movie Tagline
Movie taglines is the slogan of a film, if someone hears the tagline they immediately associate it to your film.
Tagline Definition
The movie tagline is the catchy slogan that is printed on posters. Written like advertising copy it is used by film marketers to sell the film.
Tagline vs Logline
- The tagline is a short catchy 'sound bite', think Ghostbusters 'Who you gonna call?', the audience knows the title of the film just by the tagline.
- The logline is a description up to 50 words that you see on IMDB or screening listings that gives you an idea of the story.
How to write a catchy Tagline
First write a paragraph or use your logline, now make it even shorter to express an emotion in visual language.
- Keep it very brief, think of the brand Nike 'Just Do It'
- Your tagline needs to create a feeling that the audience reacts to
- Test several versions with your friends and family, the best one is where you see a strong reaction
Movie Tagline Examples
Best Movie Tagline Examples
Film taglines sells your film to the audience in a few memorable words.
- Pulp Fiction: You Won't Know The Facts Until You've Seen The Fiction
- Inception: The Dream Is Real
- Fight Club: Mischief. Mayhem. Soap.
- The Lord of the Rings: One Ring To Rule Them All
- Forrest Gump: The World Will Never Be The Same Once You've Seen It Through The Eyes Of Forrest Gump.
- The Shawshank Redemption: Fear Can Hold You Prisoner. Hope Can Set You Free.
- The Godfather: An Offer You Can't Refuse
- The Dark Knight: Welcome To A World Without Rules
- 12 Angry Men: Life Is In Their Hands. Death Is On Their Minds
- The Lord of the Rings: One Ring To Rule Them All
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: For Three Men The Civil War Wasn't Hell. It Was Practice!
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fight For The Future Begins
- Goodfellas: Three Decades Of Life In The Mafia
- Star Wars: The Star Wars Saga Continues
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: If He's Crazy, What Does That Make You?
- Parasite: Act like you own the place
- Interstellar: Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.
- City of God: Fight And You'll Never Survive. Run And You'll Never Escape.
- Spirited Away: The tunnel led Chihiro to a mysterious town.
- Saving Private Ryan: In the Last Great Invasion of the Last Great War, The Greatest Danger for Eight Men was Saving .. One. The mission is a man.
- The Green Mile: Miracles do happen. Miracles happen in the most unexpected places. Paul Edgecomb didn't believe in miracles.
- Life Is Beautiful: Miracles do happen
- Se7en: Gluttony. Greed. Sloth. Envy. Wrath. Pride. Lust. Seven Deadly Sins. Seven Ways To Die.
- The Silence of the Lambs: From The Terrifying Best Seller
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope: A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...
- Hara-Kiri: The World Has Never Understood Why the Japanese Prefer Death to Dishono
- Seven Samurai: The Mighty Warriors Who Became the Seven National Heroes Of A Small Town
- It's a Wonderful Life: Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! How Could It Be Anything Else?
- Hamilton: Experience the Original Broadway Production
- Whiplash: The road to greatness can take you to the edge
- The Intouchables: One man brought a family together .. and changed their lives forever.
- The Prestige: A Friendship That Became a Rivalry. A Rivalry That Turned Deadly.
- The Departed: Lies. Betrayal. Sacrifice. How far will you take it?
- The Pianist: Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II. Tagline: Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece.
- Gladiator: What We Do In Life Echoes In Eternity. A Hero Will Rise.
- American History X: United by hate, divided by truth. See reality in your eyes when hate makes you blind.
- The Usual Suspects: In a world where nothing is what it seems you've got to look beyond... The truth is always in the last place you look.
- Léon: The Professional: If you want the job done right, hire a professional. A perfect assassin. An innocent girl.
- The Lion King: The greatest adventure of all is finding our place in the circle of life.
- Terminator 2: It's nothing personal. This time he's back...for good
- Cinema Paradiso: A celebration of youth, friendship, and the everlasting magic of the movies.
- Back to the Future: He's the only kid ever to get into trouble before he was born
- Once Upon a Time in the West: There were three men in her life. One knew her past. One wanted her land.
- Psycho: An Alfred Hitchcock Masterpiece
- Rear Window: It only takes one witness to spoil the perfect crime
- Tenet: Time runs out
Tagline
For filmmakers, a tagline is a succinct, evocative phrase designed to capture the essence, mood, or theme of a movie. While the logline is a mini-summary of the plot, the tagline aims to intrigue, provoke thought, or elicit emotion, often becoming an iconic representation of the film.
Example: Alien: In space, no one can hear you scream.
Tagline Tips
The ideal tagline should be:
- Brief: Often no more than 6-8 words, making it memorable.
- Evocative: It should elicit emotion or thought.
- Original: It should stand out and not feel clichéd.
- True to the Film: While it should intrigue, it shouldn’t mislead.
Where Filmmakers Use Taglines
- Film Posters: A striking visual combined with a memorable tagline can make a film poster iconic.
- Trailers and Teasers: The tagline can set the tone before the visual narrative unfolds.
- Film Festivals: Filmmakers often use taglines in their promotional materials when showcasing their work at festivals to catch the attention of distributors and audiences alike.
- Social Media Promotion: In today’s digital age, a catchy tagline can trend on social media, creating a buzz even before the film’s release.
5 Examples of Iconic Film Taglines
- “There’s no place like home.” - The Wizard of Oz
- “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” - Star Wars
- “Keep the change, ya filthy animal.” - Home Alone
- “You’ll believe a man can fly.” - Superman
- “Life is in their hands. Death is on their minds.” - 12 Angry Men
The catchy slogan that is printed on posters is the movie's tagline, written like advertising copy to sell the movie. Write your tagline to evoke a reaction from your audience which makes it memorable.
Film Slogan