Top Ten Taglines

My vintage Rocky poster got me thinking about the power of a single line to convey a story’s core meaning in a marketable way.

When I was a kid I didn’t think much about taglines. I just went to see any movie that had Wookies, robots, nunchucks, or throwing stars in it.

Now that we’ve been developing properties for several years here at Timbuktoons, we’re very familiar with taglines (and loglines) but from a whole new perspective.

(Taglines are the short, witty phrases that you typically see on movie posters and marketing. A logline is basically the “elevator pitch” of your show, usually a few short sentences, that help sell the idea to networks and distributors.)

I have a vintage Rocky poster in my gym that my wife gave me. And by gym, I mean “part of my garage.” It’s not a “man-cave.” More like a “man-corner.” But it’s mine…and I have a Rocky poster. You know you’re married with children when you own a house but really only own a small area in your garage…which isn’t really part of the house.

Anyway, this Rocky poster in my gym/garage corner got me thinking about the power of a single line to convey a story’s core meaning in a marketable way.

Then I thought, what are my top 10 taglines? Not so much for the movie itself, but for the effectiveness of the tagline. Here they are for your enjoyment and my nostalgia. (BTW, if you asked me next week, my top ten might be all different.)

Todd’s Top Ten Tag Lines
10. Liar Liar: “Trust Me.”
9. Napoleon Dynamite: “He’s out to prove he’s got nothing to prove.”
8. Apollo 13: “Houston, we have a problem.”
7. Star Wars: “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”
6. Dumb and Dumber: “For Harry and Lloyd everyday is a no brainer.”
5. A Bug’s Life: “An epic of miniature proportions.”
4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail: “And now! At Last! Another film completely different from some of the other films which aren’t quite the same as this one is.”
3. Monsters Inc.: “We scare because we care.”
2. Braveheart: “Every man dies, not every man really lives.”
1. Rocky: “His whole life was a million-to-one shot.”

Sean’s Top Ten Tag Lines (today)
10. Highlander: “There can be only one.”
9. Raiders of the Lost Ark: “The Return of the Great Adventure.”
8. Cool Runnings: “One Dream. Four Jamaicans. Twenty Below Zero.”
7. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “One man’s struggle to take it easy.”
6. Back to the Future: “He was never in time for his classes…then one day he wasn’t in his time at all.”
5. The Truman Show: “On the air. Unaware.”
4. Jurassic Park: “An adventure 65 million years in the making.”
3. Groundhog Day: “He’s having the worst day of his life… over, and over…”
2. Finding Nemo: “There are 3.7 trillion fish in the ocean, they’re looking for one.”
1. WALL-E: “After 700 years of doing what he was built for – he’ll discover what he’s meant for.”

What’s your favorite movie tagline and why?