Task one:

Poster: The ugly truth

Genre: Rom-Com
Target audience: women between the age of 15-45 who are interested in the romance and funny
element, they are typically associated with watching light-hearted, easy to understand films with
two main protagonists (nearly always male and female), examples include 27 dresses what
happened in Vegas and its complicated. The demographic for this target audience would be B to
E as the demographic ranges from working mothers in their 30s to students in their early teens, this
genre is not typically associated with members of the upper classes in the A category.
How the poster attracts the audience? :
Colour: the use of red evokes romance and passion but also a sense of danger, inferring a
romantic comedy based upon the differences between two people. The red dress objectifies
Katherine Heigl thus making her the centre of attention and portraying her as typically female. The
red hearts draws the viewers attention to what men and women typically think with, this has a
comedic effect but is also stereotypically sexist. The use of the colour black allows the red to have a
heightened contrast; the male protagonist is dressed in black to give him a generic masculine feel
which again opposed the clothes of the female protagonist.
The use of stars: Here they have used the stars to create audience expectations, a lead male and
female role creates equality and attracts a female audience due to the heart throb Gerard Butler
who is also an established actor in his own right, and the use of Katherine Heigl who is the rom com
queen and a famous actress due to previous hits like knocked up and 27 dresses. The female star
attracts the target audience as she is typically associated with the genre of romcom and she is of a
similar age so they would share relatable experiences. Heigl is making a form of direct address to the
camera to make a connection with the audience, this infers that she is the main character and the
narrative is told from her point of view, she and the female audience can emphasis with each other
over similar situations or viewpoints over men. Butler is looking at Katherine Heigl emphasising that
he is interested in her and
The Typography: The sans serif font creates a modern/bold edge and the use of black contrasts with
the red to catch the readers attention. Heigl/Butler is in bold to make the actors names stand
out, thus inviting the reader to recognise the stars. Ugly is also in bold to emphasise what the film
is about or to describe the situation between the two characters, creating an interesting plot line.
The production blurb is in a small and the cramped steeltongs font is used to subtly mention the
cats/crew and production company without overwhelming the main headline or image, therefore
the audiences attention is sustained to the image and characters. The website is in red to
distinguish itself from the main text and headline, it is emphasised as it shows exactly where the
reader should go to access more information about the film; to then share it with their friends.
Signs and Symbols: The heart is a key motif as it infers what men and women think with; this is
stereotypically sexist and creates an emotional rift between the two characters, the black barrier on
the poster also separates them physically, inferring that men and women are different and they can
never be just friends, this attracts the audience of women as they want a plot with an interesting
division between the characters and the plot line. The barrier also evokes a slight sense of realism as
it portrays the common conflicts between men and women; this attracts a target audience who is
interested in real events and life stories rather than fantasy; unrealistic stories.
The layout: the poster follows the rule of thirds which breaks up the image and reinforces the
separation between the male and female characters. The masthead is at the bottom which puts
even more emphasis on the characters in the centre and the July is also at the bottom to place a
subtle indication of release on the poster without overwhelming the main image whilst tempting the
reader to schedule when to watch the film.
Does the audience need foreknowledge? : The audience doesnt need foreknowledge to understand
the genre, the hearts, male and female protagonists and the way they are looking at the camera
instantly indicates a romantic comedy. They know who is in it due to the cast titles at the top of the
page and the image indicates some kind of conflict due to the black barrier. However they do need
an element of foreknowledge to know the certificate, the film is a 15 and the poster can be
misleading as no certificate is shown and generally rom-coms are rated a 12.
Does the poster create enigma? : The poster does create enigma in the sense that is iconic for the
genre and it stands out from other rom-com posters due to its quirky image and contrasting colour
scheme. However it doesnt have an enigma because its quite generic, the whole man/woman hate
each other then fall in love has been done before many times so it is not unique in that way.