07.13.09 | Jason Marcewicz | Poster DoppelgangersPrint this Post
Here’s the first of a series of “poster doppelgangers” that will pop up from time to time on this blog.
I've tried not to include obvious low budget rip-offs of famous movie one-sheets nor any parody posters. Lazy marketing strategies and sheer lack of imagination are to blame for the following lame efforts.
Vamps a go-go...

Huge numbers...

Role models...

Round and round...


Dear Sir.
I find your attempt to entertain me to be thoroughly successful.
You'll be hearing from my attorney.
Your pal,
Jeff
I agree with Jeff
Honestly, I think that some of these examples are a bit of a stretch.
The True Blood and Jennifer's Body examples are right on, no doubt. That's a total rip off. Want a really cool concept? Look at the poster on IMDB for Vamp. Lipstick and fangs created from the type. That one's cool.
You should eliminate the "huge numbers" example right off the bat. If the movie title includes numbers, I would think that it's ok to emphasize them. If you look at the examples that you provided, the graphical elements and stylings are different (maybe not to the degree that you're looking for), especially with the Oceans 12 poster. They may not be drastically different, but when you look past the numbers, they do have unique qualities.
The "Round and Round" concept is simply a way to get a good amount of key characters into the image in an engaging way, and still be able to have focus on the film title. I don't really consider this lazy either... it's simply a straightforward way to get the characters, the super, the title, and possibly a thematic element of the film into one space.
Sorry to be the long winded guy here, but again, it some of these seem a bit of a stretch.
There's a lot of dopplegangers out there, but most of these examples rank kind of low. Maybe searching for more glaring examples would be appropriate.
The Vampires A Go Go is totally highway robbery. The CD/AD for the Jennifer's Body poster should be fired immediately.
Here's some more Movie Poster fun: "Movie Poster Head Fakes"
"Sometimes big stars bail out after a movie franchise has peaked or is on the decline...So they get a star who kind of looks like the original actor..."
http://usedwigs.com/movie-poster-head-fakes/
Hey Robofists,
Keep scowering the internet, I'm sure there will be something else you can suck the fun out of.
Hey Ant - perhaps finishing 3rd grade would help your spelling. It's 'scouring', not 'scowering'.
BTW - I agree with Robotfists (not 'robofists', Ant.)
Fun stuff. Another pair I've noticed in the past: Benjamin Button & Star Trek. (nearly colorless close ups of the faces of Brad Pitt & Cate Blanchett / Zachary Quinto & Chris Pine side by side)
Didn’t I See This Movie Blog Before…?”
Brilliant!
You can also add Passed Away to the last set of posters.
Norman: Ask and ye shall receive. Thanks!
Jess: You'll be seeing your pal Benjamin Button next time.
Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise sould get special mention here. See how many Ford movie posters have a close-up of Harrison looking all serious (Clear & Present Danger, Air Force One, K-19). And see how many Cruise movies have a profile shot of Tom running (Minority Report, all three Mission:Impossible movies).