David - Film Marketing Analysis (Fast and Furious 8 poster)

Poster - The first noticeable feature on the film poster for Fast and Furious 8 is the title of the film. The words are in capital letters, which connotes aggression as well as grabbing the audience’s attention. It uses a sans serif font which usually represents something relaxed however this contrasts massively because the genre indication is an action film therefore the use of sans serif contrasts with what the film is actually about. Other pieces of language on the poster include the tagline ‘family no more’ which is also in bold and capital letters which makes it stand out and allows the audience to know what the film is actually about.  This will intrigue the audience because the majority of the other films are based on family etc. The short sentenced tagline leaves the audience on edge and the use of anchorage means there is only so much you can interpret from it. The main image used on the poster is of a submarine and cars on ice, this relates to audience expectation of pure action and tension from the fast and furious franchise. This is because a submarine and several cars on ice is a very unlikely occurrence therefore it is presumed there will be even more action than the other films. The other image included on the poster is in a capital ‘F’ and number ‘8’. The main characters are split into the 2 pieces of text which shows the different sides they are on and how it relates to the tagline and how they are ‘family no more’ which will reach the audiences expectations as they presume the characters would work all together. This promises pleasure is it shows a divide between characters considering they are all about being part of a family. Even for those who haven’t watched the other films will still be aware of this split because of the clever positioning and tagline. The blonde lady in the ‘F’ isn’t making direct mode of address, which infers she is an evil/bad character. The colours used on the poster are quite neutral but with a hint of blue, which represents trust, loyalty and confidence – this relates to the film and can be seen in the trailer for the film as the usual team is split. There is also a lot of black used on the poster, which presents power, evil and mystery. The lighting on the poster isn’t significant as it isn’t necessarily light or dark however the deeper meaning could include the clouds in the background being seen as the characters having a clouded judgement. Overall, the poster is very masculine: the cars, the men, the muscles and the look of the poster as a whole. There is no expert criticism or mark of quality included on the poster.