Tagline

In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line^[1][2]) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, social group, or product. As a variant of a branding slogan, taglines can be used in marketing materials and advertising.

The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable dramatic phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of an audio/visual product,^{[note 1]} or to reinforce and strengthen the audience's memory of a literary product. Some taglines are successful enough to warrant inclusion in popular culture. Consulting companies which specialize in creating taglines may be hired to create a tagline for a brand or product.

Nomenclature

Tagline, tag line, and tag are American terms. In the U.K. they are called end lines, endlines, or straplines. In Belgium they are called baselines. In France they are signatures. In Germany they are claims. In the Netherlands and Italy, they are pay offs or pay-offs.^[3]

Organizational usage

Referral networking organizations may encourage taglines to be used as the conclusion to an introduction by each attendee. The purpose would be to make the introduction and that speaker more memorable in the minds of the other attendees after the meeting is over. Other terms for taglines are "memory hooks" (used by BNI®) and "USP" or "Unique Selling Proposition" which is a more commonly known term.^[4]

Headlines versus taglines

The tagline is sometimes confused with a headline because information is only presented with the one or the other. Essentially the headline is linked to the information; Once the information changes, the headline is abandoned in favor of a new one. The tagline is related to the entertainment piece and can, therefore, appear on all the information of that product or manufacturer. It is linked to the piece and not to the concept of a specific event. If the sentence is presented next to a logo, as an integral part, it is likely to be a tagline.

Functional taglines

With a "tagline", a supplementary expression is called of a movie film.^{[note 2]} It is an explanatory subtitle, in addition to the actual movie title, on posters or the CD/DVD packaging of videos and music. Taglines can have an enticing effect and are therefore an important aspect in the marketing of films. Increasingly also found in the advertising world, taglines are a form of advertising slogan.^{[note 3]} A tagline for the movie series Star Wars, for example:

Tagline: "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." – Star Wars^[5]

Effect: It was a long time ago in a far, far away galaxy ...

Film and television

• "Garbo talks!" – Anna Christie, and the follow-up "Garbo laughs!" – Ninotchka^[6]
• "Be afraid. Be very afraid." – The Fly^[7][8][9]
• "In space, no one can hear you scream." – Alien
• "Freddy is just at the corner." - A Nightmare On Elm Street
• "Who you gonna call?" – Ghostbusters
• "There can be only one" – Highlander^[10]
• "One ring to rule them all." – The Lord of the Rings^[11]
• "Love means never having to say you're sorry" – Love Story^[12][13][14]
• "To boldly go where no man has gone before" – Star Trek^[15]
• "The truth is out there." – The X-Files^[16]
• "Why So Serious?" - The Dark Knight
• Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... - Jaws 2
• "Nothing on earth could come between them." - Titanic
• "Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas." - Army of Darkness
• "Some houses are born bad." -The Haunting
• "It knows what scares you." -Poltergeist
• "You will believe." -Ghost

Video games

• "Finish the Fight." – Halo 3^[17]
• "The gears of war are lubricated by the blood of soldiers" – Gears of War^[18]
• "One giant step on mankind" – Destroy All Humans!^[19]
• "Sinners welcome." – Saints Row^[20]
• "It's the Zombie Apocalypse. Bring friends." – Left 4 Dead^[21]
• "Some mountains are scaled. Others are slain." – Shadow of the Colossus^[22]
• "Prepare to Die" – Dark Souls
• "War. War never changes" – Fallout
• "Go To Hell" – Dante's Inferno^[23]
• "Revenge Solves Everything" – Dishonored

Novels

• "Winter is Coming" - A Song of Ice and Fire

Etexts

Websites also often have taglines. The Usenet use taglines as short description of a newsgroup. The term is used in computing to represent aphorisms, maxims, graffiti or other slogans.

In electronic texts, a tag or tagline is short, concise sentences in a row that are used when sending e-mail instead of a electronic signature. The tagline is used in computing with the meaning of a "signature" to be affixed at the end of each message. In the late eighties and early nineties, when the amateur computer network FidoNet began to flourish, the messages that were exchanged between users often had a tag-line, which was no longer than 79 characters, containing a brief phrase (often witty or humorous).

See also

• Trope
• Byline
• Hook (music)
• Jingle
• Subliminal stimuli
• Subtext
• Subtitle
• Catchphrase

References

Citations

1. Dictionary definitions at OneLook.
2. OneLook definitions.
3. Timothy R. V. Foster, "The Art and Science of the Advertising Slogan", at AdSlogans.com.
4. Dr. Ivan Misner "Seven Second Marketing"
5. "Taglines for Star Wars (1977)". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
6. Foshee, Andrea. "Ninotchka". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2010-09-27. [']Garbo Laughs!' was the famous catchphrase on which this film was marketed during its release in 1939, recalling the 'Garbo Talks!' campaign for Greta Garbo's initiation into talking pictures with Anna Christie in 1930.
7. Mooallem, Jon (2004-02-29). "How movie taglines are born". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-02-17. the seminal tagline for The Fly ('Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.') [...] 'Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...' (Who remembers that the line promoted 'Jaws 2,' not the original?)
8. "Sands of Oblivion: Some Secrets Should Never be Unearthed!". Horror Year Book. 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2008-02-17. That may be the second most over used tagline after 'In space no one can hear you scream.'
9. Muir, Hazel (2006-03-14). "In space no one can hear you scream". New Scientist, issue 2542. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
10. "Taglines for Highlander (1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
11. "Taglines for The Lord of the Rings (2001)". IMDb. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
12. Erickson, Hal. "Love Story: MTV movies". Allmovie. Retrieved 2008-02-20. The movie's tagline "Love means never having to say you're sorry" became an iconic American catchphrase
13. Sir, Paul (2007-04-21). "It's heart warming to hear Dr Mahathir saying 'I'm sorry'". The Borneo Post. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
14. Abbott, Jerry (2008-02-13). "The meaning of true love". The Torrington Telegram. Retrieved 2008-02-20. In 1970 the movie 'Love Story' with Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal coined the phrase: 'Love means never having to say you’re sorry.'
15. "Taglines for Star Trek (1966)". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
16. "Taglines for The X-Files (1993)". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
17. "Taglines for Halo 3 (2007)". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
18. "Taglines for Gears of War (2006)". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
19. "Taglines for Destroy All Humans! (2005)". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
20. mobygames.com: Saints Row (Xbox 360)
21. "Taglines for Left 4 Dead (2008)". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
22. "Taglines for Shadow of the Colossus (2005)". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
23. "Taglines for Dante's Inferno (2010)". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-02-07.

Notes

1. Such as a movie film or a television brand
2. Another type of summary of a movie plot is the Log line.
3. Taglines condense the conceptual message in a memorable sentence.

External articles

• A List of Famous Taglines. taglinedb.com