Poster

The American and British audiences differ in opinions and expectations with regard to film. It has been established that the British audience likes more gritty and "real" comedies while an American audience will prefer happy, more make believe endings. The posters show this through the image of the boat. In the English poster the men are walking proudly out into the unknown and the audience is left wondering what will happen to them, creating suspense and also admiration for the brave characters. In the American poster the men (and added girl) are falling into an ocean with a boat coming to rescue them already. *SPOILER ALERT* This already gives a sense that the characters will be saved at the end of the movie and the American audience can feel safe going in to see this movie.

Another key point is the difference in industrial information. While on the American poster allot of information is needed, such as "From the creator of..." and "inspired by true events." This is needed because of the high level of British content that would need explaining to an American audience. By just leaving the poster open for British audiences to fill in with their own knowledge it attracted them by making them feel clever and knowledgeable. This is also seen in the change in title from "the boat that rocked" to "priate radio," which was a much more direct title, explaining allot more of the story

The order of the characters has been changed also. In the English version it is the englishman who stands at the front while in the American poster it is the one American actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman, who leads the way. The addition of the two characters who were one of the main "love interests" in the film was more for the American audience who like the happier comedy. The walking in the English poster is also a reference to the classic English image of The Beatles crossing the zebra crossing on their album "Abbey Road." However the American audience may not understand this reference and so it was changed.