Posterized! Drive Toward Creativity

With the pink lipstick lettering and the toothpick-chewing matinee idol brooding over it, this poster, like the film itself, is a blast from the past, evoking '80s-era posters that had the stones to balance flamboyance and masculinity. The "Drive" poster's soft pink and white palette evokes Officer Crockett's signature outfit in "Miami Vice." This is fitting considering the film plays out like the best '80s thriller that "Vice" creator Michael Mann never made.

Apparently, the "Drive" ad is drawing the desired effect, as bloggers are buzzing about its unusual amount of glitz and wondering what it says about the film's tone.

Natalie Zutter at Crushable called the ad's colorful cursive campy and hilarious, resembling "a preteen's folder with 'Mrs. Ryan Gosling' scrawled on it in gel pen." Now that the film is in theaters, the delicately drawn font turns out to be more fitting than it initially seemed, as it effectively underscores the film's sensitive nature. It also telegraphs a promise that "Drive" is an action film with an appeal that crosses genders and demographics — a promise upon which the film delivers.

Imagine if this was the poster widely used in the film's marketing campaign ...

Looks like a Jason Statham vehicle, right? Oozing with testosterone, this poster alienates moviegoers not predisposed to masculine action films. While the central image is seductively murky and simultaneously recognizable, the roughed-out font makes the film look anything but unique or interesting.

If you were not a fan of action films, you would probably turn away from this poster pretty fast. The alternate "Drive" poster makes the film's genre more ambiguous and, in turn, creates a universal appeal for the movie.

John Horn of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "The flamboyant, pink script that accompanies the billboards for 'Drive' make the new Ryan Gosling movie look nothing like an ordinary crime thriller — which, unlike most Hollywood sales jobs, actually qualifies as truth in advertising." The film is, after all, "an unusual mash-up of art-house style and commercial genre movie-making."

In response to the poster, Bob Berney, FilmDistrict's distribution head, said, "We've tried to show that it's an elevated genre film -- that it's not 'The Fast and the Furious' but has a real look and a real style." Well, they succeeded.

The current poster for the film has a personality — it's alive, imbued with the verve of James Dean and Steve McQueen. However, many people seem put off by the poster's dash of color.

Wait a minute, let's get this straight. A movie poster has been designed that accurately reflects the filmmakers' intentions and gets people talking? Pinch me — am I dreaming, or has the ideal movie poster just been released? And why are on earth are folks complaining about it?

Tell me; what did you think of the "Drive" poster when you first saw it? And how do you feel about it now after seeing the film?