Ghostbusters (1984) — "Who ya gonna call?" (with Mary Morgan)
"Who ya gonna call?"
The tagline nobody wrote. The song lyric that accidentally became the greatest marketing campaign in blockbuster history.
Here's the thing. It wasn't the original theatrical tagline. It wasn't on the poster. It wasn't even in the script.
Ray Parker Jr. wrote it as a song lyric. The audience made it iconic. And the studio just had the good sense to catch up.
So who wrote "Who ya gonna call?" Ray Parker Jr. did, for a number one Billboard hit. But somebody at Columbia looked at that lyric, retired the actual poster taglines ("They're Here To Save The World" and "We're Ready To Believe You"), and decided to make a song hook the permanent face of a $370 million franchise.
That person has never been named.
Which makes this the first episode of The Poster Says... where the mystery isn't who WROTE the tagline. It's who PROMOTED it.
Nate is joined by fellow voice actor and longtime colleague Mary Morgan, whose credits run from One Piece and Fairy Tail to Diablo IV and Hearthstone, to break down Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters (1984). The first comedy ever to spend real money on special effects. The movie Columbia had almost no faith in. The highest-grossing film of its year.
Along the way: the 60-plus rejected theme song submissions before Ray Parker Jr. walked in. The Huey Lewis plagiarism lawsuit that's still sealed to this day. Why "We're Ready To Believe You" might be the most underrated alternate tagline in franchise history.
And why "Who ya gonna call?" is the only major movie tagline that doesn't work unless the audience finishes it for you.
Two voice actors. One perfect question. You already know the answer.
🎙️ Follow Nate Begle: natebegle.com | @natebegle on YouTube and @natebeglevo on Discord
Mary Morgan is a voice actor whose credits span animation, anime, video games and beyond, including One Piece, Fairy Tail, Diablo IV and Hearthstone.
🔗 marymorganvo.com | @marymorganactorvoice on YouTube
