Editing Star Wars (film) (section)

== Marketing ==
[[File:Star wars 1977 us.svg|thumb|Rendition of Dan Perri's original ''Star Wars'' logotype]]
While the film was in production, a logo was commissioned from [[Dan Perri]], a title sequence designer who had worked on ''[[The Exorcist (film)|The Exorcist]]'' (1973) and ''[[Taxi Driver]]'' (1976). Perri created a [[logo]]type consisting of block-capital letters filled with stars and leaning towards a vanishing point. The graphic was designed to follow the same perspective as the opening text crawl. Ultimately, Perri's logo was not used for the film's opening title sequence, although it was used widely in pre-release print advertising and on cinema [[Marquee (sign)|marquees]].{{sfn|Taylor|2014a|loc=Chapter 11}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Star Wars (1977)|url=http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/star-wars/|website=Art of the Title |access-date=June 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402074725/http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/star-wars/ |archive-date=April 2, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The logotype eventually selected for on-screen use originated in a promotional brochure that was distributed by Fox to cinema owners in 1976. The brochure was designed by [[Suzy Rice]], a young art director at the Los Angeles advertising agency Seiniger Advertising. On a visit to ILM in Van Nuys, Rice was instructed by Lucas to produce a "very [[Fascism|fascist]]" logo that would intimidate the viewer. Rice employed an outlined and modified [[Helvetica]] Black typeface in her initial version. After some feedback from Lucas, Rice joined the ''S'' and ''T'' of ''STAR'' and the ''R'' and ''S'' of ''WARS''. Kurtz was impressed with Rice's composition and selected it over Perri's design for the film's opening titles, after flattening the pointed tips of the letter ''W''. The ''Star Wars'' logo became one of the most recognizable designs in cinema, though Rice was not credited in the film.{{sfn|Taylor|2014a|loc=Chapter 11}}

For the film's US release, Fox commissioned a promotional poster from the advertising agency Smolen, Smith and Connolly. The agency contracted the freelance artist [[Tom Jung]], and gave him the phrase "good over evil" as a starting point. His poster, known as [[:File:StarWarsMoviePoster1977.jpg|''Style 'A''']], depicts Luke standing in a heroic pose, brandishing a shining lightsaber above his head. Leia is slightly below him, and a large image of Vader's helmet looms behind them. Some Fox executives considered this poster "too dark" and commissioned the [[Brothers Hildebrandt]], a pair of well-known fantasy artists, to modify it for the UK release. When ''Star Wars'' opened in British theaters, the Hildebrandts' [[:File:Bros Hildebrandt Star Wars quad poster.jpg|''Style 'B'<nowiki/>'']] poster was used on cinema billboards. Fox and Lucasfilm later decided to promote the film with a less stylized and more realistic depiction of the lead characters, and commissioned a new design from [[Tom Chantrell]]. Two months after ''Star Wars'' opened, the Hildebrandts' poster was replaced by Chantrell's [[:File:Tom Chantrell Star Wars quad poster 1977.jpg|''Style 'C''']] version in UK cinemas.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<br><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sansweet|first1=Stephen J.|last2=Vilmur|first2=Peter|title=The Star Wars poster book|date=2005|publisher=Chronicle Books|location=San Francisco|isbn=978-0-8118-4883-1}}</ref><ref name="photosecrets">{{cite web|title=Evolution of the Star Wars Poster|url=https://www.photosecrets.com/evolution-of-the-star-wars-poster.html|publisher=PhotoSecrets.com |access-date=July 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728144712/https://www.photosecrets.com/evolution-of-the-star-wars-poster.html |archive-date=July 28, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Dass|first1=William|title=The History of Star Wars Posters|url=https://filmschoolrejects.com/star-wars-the-posters-14ad09654325/|website=[[Film School Rejects]] |access-date=July 30, 2017|date=December 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619164922/https://filmschoolrejects.com/star-wars-the-posters-14ad09654325/|archive-date=June 19, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=A short history of the first British Star Wars posters|url=http://www.sci-fimovieposters.co.uk/british-star-wars-posters.htm|publisher=SciFiMoviePosters.co.uk |access-date=July 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802160624/http://www.sci-fimovieposters.co.uk/british-star-wars-posters.htm|archive-date=August 2, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Fox gave ''Star Wars'' little marketing support beyond licensed T-shirts and posters. The film's marketing director, [[Charley Lippincott]], had to look elsewhere for promotional opportunities. He secured deals with Marvel Comics for a comic book adaptation and with [[Del Rey Books]] for a novelization. A fan of science fiction, Lippincott used his contacts to promote the film at San Diego Comic-Con and elsewhere within the science-fiction community.<ref name="Dreams" /><ref name="KurtzIGN3" /> 

{{external media|video1=[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i-vsILeJ8_8 Star Wars: Teaser Trailer]|width=250px|float=right}}

The film's teaser trailer was released in late 1976, with [[Malachi Throne]] as the narrator.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Retroist |title=The Original Star Wars Teaser Trailer (1976) |url=https://www.retroist.com/p/the-original-star-wars-teaser-trailer-1976 |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=www.retroist.com |language=en}}</ref>