After finding this on the Internet, I knew that I had to add it to the blog. Although this type of movie poster can only advertise a movie franchise to an audience rather than a single film, I still believe that it is effective in promoting and representing a brilliant (possibly the best, actually) trilogy to be exported out of Britain. The trilogy which I am talking about is the Wright-Pegg-Frost penned trilogy: the Three Flavours of Cornetto Trilogy.
When it comes to the British acting duo, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the action films Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead automatically spring to mind - not forgetting the last flavour of the trilogy of course: The World's End. Simon and Nick could not have portrayed the leads of these great films without the direction of British writer and director, Edgar Wright. All I can say is if you haven't had seen at least one of these films yet and you can say 'yes' to the following questions:
- Are you a fan of action films?
- Do you prefer humour to soppy romantic classics?
- Are you in dire need of a good film to entertain your nights in?
Then, the Cornetto Trilogy is for you!
Containing elements from all of the three films, this franchise poster represents the trilogy to me the most effectively because its simplistic artwork clearly signifies to me what it is trying to promote. Of course, there are elements of it that can only be understood and appreciated by an audience who have watched all of the films such as the swan at the top of the ice-cream cone and the recurring quote 'You want anything from the shop?'. On the other hand, the emblems also signify a nostalgic feel and signify the country's roots. This attracts an audience who may have not watched the films before to go ahead and view them simply because the films are influenced by and appreciate Brits. The mention of several British places in the emblems represent the locations of the three films.
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| The fan-produced trilogy poster containing elements from all of the three films (L-R of emblems at bottom of cone): Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World's End (2013) |
The positioning of the Cornetto cone allows the consumer to identify this as being the focal point of the image and the iconic 'criss-cross' pattern on the cone represents the basic link of the three films: the mention of a Cornetto ice-cream (whether this is mentioned in the script or used as a prop by one of the cast members). The red colouring of one of the drops of ice-cream on the cone signifies blood and death. This is one of the several elements of the poster that represent the trilogy's main genre: action.
The other elements that represents the films' genre are: the melee weapons at the top of the cone and the pair of pistols at the middle of the cone.
The melee weapons are a reference to Shaun of the Dead where the cricket bat and the spades are used to remove the main army in the film: the zombie population of London. For anyone who is still unsure of what Shaun of the Dead is, this film is a zombie comedy (often abbreviated as 'zom com') which is about the title character's attempts to win back his ex but the main problem that distracts his attempts is that overnight, the streets of London have now been infested with zombies . This film reincarnated the 'zom com' genre for a modern-day audience and is a pastiche of George A Romero's 1978 horror 'Dawn of the Dead'. (For those who are not sure what a pastiche is, it is when a media text imitates the work of someone else as a celebration or a tribute to the original artist's work.)
The pair of pistols refer to Hot Fuzz, the second 'flavour' of the trilogy. This was a humorous crime drama that could also have been seen as a pastiche to the 'buddy cop' sub-genre of action comedy films (examples being Lethal Weapon, Point Break, Bad Boys, etc). The title of the film relates to the main theme of the film: 'fuzz' is a colloquial phrase for 'police force'. This informality appeals to the audience because even without having to watch the film, the title signifies a relaxed setting. This represents the film as being humorous and relatable to an audience who do not work with the police. Whilst Shaun of the Dead used melee weapons, Hot Fuzz used gunfights as the main cause of violence.
Out of the two elements described, the guns appeal to action enthusiasts the most because the use of guns is a typical code and convention in not only films and movie posters but in media text where action is the main and targeted genre.
At the bottom of the cone are two pints of beer. These not only represent the main theme of The World's End: they represent the recurring theme of the three films: the use of a pub as one of the main locations. In Shaun of the Dead, The Winchester is where the climax of the film occurs. In Hot Fuzz, The Crab Inn is a location where many of the film's events occur [including the introduction of Nick Frost's character, Simon Pegg's monologue of why he became a police officer and the confrontation between Simon Pegg and Jim Broadbent's character near the end of the film]. In The World's End, the film's plot is the apocalyptic events surrounding attempts to finally complete an ambitious pub crawl. The pints of beer also signifies a common stereotype of Britain: the pub and the pint of bitter. This appeals to the audience because it represents the British influence behind the films.
The final element right at the tip of the bottom of the cone represents the last of the three flavours: it is the map of 'The Golden Mile', the bar crawl of Newton Haven that the five main characters attempt to complete. This element represents The World's End and this is the element that, for me, is the most exclusive when it comes to fan appreciation. The positioning of this element at the bottom of the cone has been made because as it is the latest flavour, people who have seen Hot Fuzz and/or Shaun of the Dead may not have seen this film yet. Therefore, if it was the main focal point of the image, the majority of the target audience may not be attracted to the image because they do not understand why a 'random' map is in the picture. When put into this theory, the map is used as an enigma code for those who have seen the previous two 'flavours' and is intriguing, encouraging that particular audience (fans of the Cornetto Trilogy) to watch this 'flavour'.
In terms of the image's photography, a basic colour palette has been used to prevent any attention being drawn away from the focal point of the image. The grey background also gives definition to the bold outlining of the elements of the picture. Artwork has been used rather than photography to add to the image's nostalgic feel. The positioning of the elements surrounding the ice-cream cone resemble an emblem (a bit like the Queen's Coat of Arms) and this represents the British influence behind the films. The capitalised typography makes it clear to read and the old-fashioned font also adds to the nostalgic feel.
Although this was not a compulsory post for the school's media course, I decided to analyse this poster because for me, it effectively represented three of my favourite films. It also provided me with inspiration for future projects and showed me that artwork on posters can be just as effective as photography. It also showed me that posters do not necessarily have to include the film's title in order for the audience to identify what film the poster is advertising.
(Cornetto - All Rights Reserved to Unilever)
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