Tag Lines

There are good tag lines, bad tag lines, confusing tag lines and no tag lines. Some work wonders, others act as a prison or a tax you have to pay. But the task of making less really be more, of really communicating your positioning, aspirations, culture and attributes – current and future – is a very, very tough one and one that may just as easily lead you astray.

I am one of those people that are lead around making decisions on movies and books by the tag lines on the front. If I am not dragged in by the front of a movie I don't rent it. It's really a hit and miss approach but I can't change. My post about The Grudge is one small example. They suck me in and I can't stop thinking about them until I have ran out and bought/rented it. Movie previews when the tag line scrolls across the screen and a man's deep voice comes on telling me my life will be changed forever if I watch this movie. I'm convinced.

I am on the Costco website looking at books and found this one:

"My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself, and that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."

The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
Now, I want it. I want it so bad that I would overlook the fact that the book is hard cover. I hate hard cover books. I like to wreck my book and bend it and fold it and insert strange bookmarks in it. Basically whatever I find at the moment I need a bookmark. Pens, hair clips, other books.....I even once used a dirty sock. Laying on my couch I have a habit of removing my socks and leaving them there mixed up in my throw for days. When I can't find any socks I go looking for them in my couch and bed sheets. One was there within arms reach and I couldn't see anything else so I used it. You can't do this with hard cover books. I have to much respect for them. They look nice and they cost more. The only exception to the rule is my Frank McCourt books. Those are treated with more respect than you would give your own mother after she saved your life by dragging you from a burning building.

Two other ones that caught my eye:

Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival by Anderson Cooper

Night by Elie Wiesel

The only thing holding me back from the trio is that Stupid Oprah sticker on the front. Good thing there's an older cover that doesn't have that sticker. I treat those Oprah Book Club stickers like they would turn to acid and burn my finger off if I touched it. My dislike for that woman is higher than Becky's dislike for Yorkton drivers.

Other ones include:

As Good As It Gets - A comedy from the heart that goes for the throat.

Big Fish - An adventure as big as life itself. How can you resist?

Contact - A message from deep space. Who will be the first to go? A journey to the heart of the universe.

High Fidelity - From the guys who brought you Grosse Pointe Blank. That's all the quote I need.

Interview With a Vampire - Drink from me and live forever.

Man on Fire - Revenge is a meal best served cold.

Now, take a look at my side picture on my blog. Who wouldn't want to read my blog after seeing that tag line? Hold me back.