Dec

22

Taglines

Filed Under Art of Writing | Leave a Comment

Advertisers know the importance of getting you to remember their products. Single lines or jingles that stick in your head like an earworm and live in there for decades. Some of them backfire. “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” is one – remembered but not for the reasons they wanted. Or the poster of the raw egg and the friend egg “This is your brain; this is your brain on drugs” gave way to the addition of “this is your brain with a side order of bacon”.

Then there’s the tv ad I just saw. The line in question is: “Nothing says date movie like a 3D ride to Hell”. The movie? My Bloody Valentine 3D. I’m never going to go see the movie – I don’t do gore horror. I’m certainly never going to forget the movie, if only because of that line. The trailer shows the characters running around, screaming in horror, about to be killed, and then they come up with that line for the advertising? I’m not sure what they were aiming for, but I’m pretty sure they failed. The date movie reference really implies comedy, but the subject isn’t really.

Tag lines are something you need to think hard about for your novel. Distill the very essence of your novel down into a single sentence. A 30 second pitch. It’s difficult – very difficult – but if you do it right, everyone will remember your book (and want to (re)read it). If it doesn’t, well, they could very well be laughing as they leave your book on the shelf.