Main Inspiration

The first poster for the “Ghostbusters” film is very minimalistic creating simplicity and creating transparency which according to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” is a way of targeting the audience by providing something that is lacking in the modern life. In reality things are more complex than what is shown in the posters as the poster is very simple. This gives a feeling that when watching the film people can relax and escape from everyday problems. This gives entertainment which according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” is one of the reasons why people consume media texts.

The main image shows a graphical ghost in a red “no smoking” circle. This straight away tells us that the genre of the film is science fiction and that the film is about ghosts. The red circle implies that there is going to be a fight suggesting action. The bright red colour of the circle targets the audience using vibrant colours creating energy which according to Richard Dyer’s “Utopian Solutions” it is one of the ways of targeting the audiences.

Underneath the image there is a phrase “Coming to save the world this summer”. This informs us on the date when the movie is going to be released but it is very mysterious because we are not told who is going to save the world and why it needs to be saved. Also binary opposition is used between the white colour of the letters and the black background. This suggests transparency making the film seem as easy to watch making it entertaining. This is one of the reasons why people would like to watch it according to Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications”.

Also the black colour of the background connotes mystery as darkness is unknown and secretive.

The first poster for the film “Ghostbusters” was very unusual as it didn’t follow the basic codes and conventions of the poster design. On the poster the name of the film was not mentioned creating mystery that links to the science fiction genre as there are characters that are out of this world and are unknown to us. The lack of the title of the film and the name of the director and the names of the actors created curiosity in the viewers making them want to know more. This also makes them think about the poster rather than forgetting it right after passing by. By thinking about the poster, it stays in their mind.

After some time a new poster for the same film was established. This time it contained all the information about the film. Because of the similar layout and the use of the same image which became very popular the second poster was easily recognisable and straight away linked to the first one. This meant that people were curious to find out what the first poster advertised and so they spend more time reading the second one. This created a successful promotion because people remembered it as it was different from others.