More and more airspace seems to be taken up by the networks [and their local affiliates] promoting themselves. While watching one show you are exhorted to watch other shows on that same channel - and, occasionally on another channel - this seems like a new trend to me, and one that hasn't become prevalent, where a network will run an ad for a show on another one, usually because it's 'targeted' to the same audience.

In addition to the regular ads, you have more and more 'bumper' promos that run alongside or underneath the credits for the 'previous' show - and recently I've noticed that the credits will sometimes roll under the opening scene for the next show, e.g. last week on The Apprentice, you saw the opening scene while Deal or No Deal's credits were underneath.

Then there are the movie ads, shortened versions of the theatrical trailers, that run for about two weeks before a movie opens, and usually disappear soon after - only to reappear, with new review quotes, for the DVD release.

What are some of your favorite tv and movie ads? Least favorite? In general, do you get ideas of what shows to watch, and what movies to go see, from these ads? What trends in movie and tv promotion do you love/hate? Which old-style techniques do you miss?

Discuss...

I love movie trailer ads! Love, love, love them! Even if it's for a movie I would never in a million years pay money to see (I'm looking at you, "The Libertine"). People complain that trailers tend to give away too much, but that has never been an issue with me, as I am a spoiler-whore from way back.

One thing that drives me crazy: why do producers put scenes in the trailers that don't make it to the movie? I understand if a couple of shots end up in the first theatrical promo before the majority of the editing has been done, but when they're in the tv ads 2 weeks before the movie comes out, you'd think they'd know better.

I can't stand the commercials for She's the Man. There's already been a movie made that set Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in high school. It's called Just One of the Guys and it's awesome and doesn't star annoying WB starlet Amanda Bynes. I'll be glad when the movie opens on Friday and I won't have to see the trailers anymore.

The other week I (and fellow audience members) were shown a "sneak preview" of X3; I believe it was during the 2 episodes of 24. Well, it is my favorite of the trailers because 1) I'm a big ol' fangirl and 2) the potential for a great ride and the wonderful, sweeping music.

My least favorite trailer is for RV. The sad thing is that I like the cast,but it feels like it's just a paycheck movie, or at least that's what it ends up looking like in the ads. Robin Williams and Cheryl Hines are parents that take their kids out for a family vacation, run into Jeff Daniels, Kristen Chenowith and their brood, and wackiness ensues, including a clogged sewer line.

Things I hate in a trailer? One that maybe eagle and I share- characters in trailers (or the movies too) telling us we won't like them/ daring us to like them. Sorry, I'd rather see folks I'm pretty sure I'm gonna like, especially at $8 a pop. (Granted, I can indulge a few weeks later at our dollar movie theater, but ....) There are some movies where you don't need to go to the movie because the trailer truly gave you a Cliff Note's version. Those I hate.

A good show ad doesn't use all the good jokes/moments in the promo. Invasion, I think, is good about this in that there's some facet of the episode that they run with, but there's usually more than that one story element going on in the episode, so it barely tells you what's coming. Since it's a show that's primarily suspense-driven, that's a good frustration in my book; I want to know more/see more!

I don't mind tv shows getting some movie time, as if I had cable, I'd've tried Over There which looked very cool on the big screen. Maybe some of the smaller shows/nets could do the movie ad thing once in a while to help remind folks/bring in new folks. Plenty of fx's shows could get time before summer blockbusters like X3 or M:I:3 or Pirates of the Carribbean.

A couple of TV promos I like:

One is Conviction, with "All Will Be Well," it's such a great song but has little to do, as far as I can tell, with the show.

Another is Heist (sp?) with Stereo MCs' "Connected". Sometimes, song choice in promos goes a long way toward selling the show (sometimes not, I don't like Conviction and am lukewarm about Heist.)

Edited to correct gross gramatical errors.

I cannot stand the little ads for a show that bop around on the screen during another show. TV is getting horribly excessive with both promotion graphics invading your viewing pleasure and squeezing more advertising time into TV (and everywhere else) in general. I'm beginning to wonder if they're doing that to get viewers to buy DVDs of every show on TV, where such interuptions to the flow aren't included - if you don't count the annoying waiting time for the fast-forward-proof warnings that start every professional DVD in existance.

It's even worse when the promo bugs are distractingly animated all over the lower part of the screen. Just get off my TV, you attention-getting whores!

We're going to need pop-up blockers for TV shows real soon!

Every single cable network I watch, including Cartoon Network, is bending over backwards to squeeze in as many ads for Campus Ladies as possible. Rest assured, all those involved are on the top of my list for destruction when the revolution comes.

The Librarian:


IA with that; The Fixx's "One Thing Leads To Another" works with The Evidence and is part of the reason I want to check it out. (It makes great sense as a theme for a forensic/procedural-"...and when the wrong word/ goes in the right ear/I know you've been lying to me...")

I like that there are pre-season rundowns of a network's fall slate of shows. You see what the newer shows are sorta supposed to be about, as opposed to just reading about them and other folks' opinions. You get to see some of the stars of the network, which is nice. It also is a bit Behind-The-Scenes, which can be fun too. Seeing that the folks who make your shows aren't just there for the check, but like what they're doing is nice as well. I wish the nets would take a week and stagger their Fall Preview specials; it'd feel more Fall-y, since I am no longer a student.

I like that many of the cable channels have network-centric, destinctive bumpers and promo spots. I wish the major nets would do more than change a font. (ABC's Yellow and Black promos/bumper spots were cool!)

SNAKES ON A PLANE. That movie cannot come out fast enough for me.

Edit:

Samuel Jackson signed up for the movie based on the title alone. It's going to be epic.

Does anyone else find that after seeing the countless trailers for a movie that you initially wanted to see, you don't want to see the movie?

If I see one more She's the Man trailer I may vomit. Amanda Bynes in drag; I don't need that. I kind of miss the creepy Hills Have Eyes child, though.

I had to know whether SNAKES ON A PLANE was what I thought it was. It is. Dude, you don't even need a trailer with a name like that.

It's a title, a tagline, a premise, and half the cast all rolled into one!

It's also the theme of an SNL sketch from the late '90s. Remember the snake puppet saying, "It's meeee!"

This sort of belongs in this catagory because it is a commercial for the channel itself. You know how channels do what they called in the old days: "Station Identification"? An example: this is NBC with the peacock.

Here is the WORST one ever: SciFi channel.
I'll spoiler tag it for the faint-at-heart and people with good taste.

A magician presents a little tan dog to the audience. He turns sides to said audience, lifts up the tail and PROCEEDS TO BLOW INTO THE DOG'S ... um ... you know. The dog turns into a ballon dog, but still. Ewww!

Not sure if this is the right thread, but last night, I saw the Greatest Thing Ever: This awesomely giggle-worthy Brokeback-style ad for the "premiere" of one of the LOTR movies (on TBS, I believe). Basically, Frodo and Samwise were just really gay, but what sold it was this *look* from Gandolf. I really can't do it justice, but it was simply beautiful.

Sometimes, I hate television stations for the way they play down to their audience like we're a bunch of chumps that only go for over the top hype. I've decided NBC is the worst offender. Like just now.

Anyone who likes West Wing or just John Spencer will know he died some months back. Well, this Sunday they're finally dealing with his death with an in-show episode. Now, if I were in charge of promotions, I'd probably have them say something like, "Tonight, the cast and crew deal with the death of John Spencer", or something along those lines. Insted the promo is something like " . . . the even that CHANGES HISTORY." And we KNOW that it's about Spencer, because a woman cries "Leo!" offscreen, that, of course being the character, so anyone who knows about his death alread KNOWS what the epi's gonna be about pretty much. There is, to me, NO REASON AT ALL TO KEEP US IN SUSPENSE. For these purposes, it just cheapens the whole thing and treats the fans (of which I no longer am, for anti-John Wells purposes) like they're a bunch of chumps who absolutely WON'T watch a show without a bunch of hype to get us interested. The thing is, with something this important, OF COURSE people will watch, suspense or no suspense.

I know I'm yelling, I'm sorry, I just feel so patronized.

I know what you mean, Librarian. It seems like in all TWW promos of late they are going for a different audience than the show has. I guess it speaks to the tone change of the show since Sorkin left, but it's even more pronounced on the promos with the disaster-every-episode like style.

All weekend, I've been seeing ads for this week's Law & Order:SVU. You know, the one they're saying is Unmissable.

Unmissable? It just does not sound right.

But they're right. The promo looks great, so I'll be there.

I don't know why, but it drives me nuts to hear a very short clip of music looped over and over and over. So, Sopranos ad, with your one bar of annoying plinky guitar repeated 47 times in a single ad? I hate you. I hate you so, so much.

The trailers for Silent Hill make it look really good. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, because video game-turned-movie generally doesn't end well, but...the TV wouldn't lie, would it?

inzombia wrote:

OMG, I just saw this!!! I ran over here to post about it. It was indeed TBS. Here's my attempt at describing the indescribable:

Three scenes of Sam and Frodo hugging/embracing, declaring affection for one another. Cut to Gandalf arching an eyebrow suggestively, just as the soft background music becomes clear: "SECRET LOOOOVERRRRSSSS, that's what we are....."

*Hysterical*.

Yeah, I have to give TBS credit for that ad. It was the first time I've actually laughed hard at a television promo, let alone a commercial in general, and I'm not even a Lord of the Rings fan. It's all about that Gandalf eyebrow arch.

I was just reading the recap for the latest Doctor Who episode and Jacob mentions an add for one of Scifi's "movies". I hate this particular commercial but I couldn't quite sum up my feelings for it, but this works perfectly:



I laughed for about 3 minutes. And while I was watching tv, it came on and I laughed again. Good times, good times.

I agree with glory85's sentiment. I find myself saying something like " Wow -- I can't wait until ' Fun with Dick and Jane ' opens " -- not because I want to see it but because a movie isn't advertised once it opens ( unless its those stupid post-viewing moviegoers in the lobby, giddy after seeing something like the Steve Martin 'Pink Panther' )

What stinks now is that 2 months after a movie leaves the theatres we get an advertising blitz for the " Special Edition DVD " ! ( Yes, I'm talking about 'Fun with Dick and Jane' again. )

Oh, I love those! Showtime Beyond (sci-fi oriented) also has some cool freaky ones.

The HBO promos are good too. It used to be "Sundays are HBO", but then they started doing clips of characters from all their shows over a related song, or clips to act like they're all playing telephone. These can get annoying at times.

FX is notorious for shrinking the credits and doing promos for their original shows but I love the Nip/Tuck promos. Basically because it's not the theme music or anything, but just the cool "Nip Tuck promo music" and you start with the overhead shot of downtown Miami. It's a nice Miami Vice-type aesthetic for our generation and always makes me look forward to the show.

Food Network has some self-promos, too, for their "competition" shows. There's a new one with a male figure skater paired with a large (cooked) lobster. The commentators are going on and on about how lovely they are together. Then the man takes the lobster by the claw and does a spin, and the lobster goes flying off out of camera range, with the guy holding the claw. You hear gasps and shrieks from the audience, and one of the commentators says, very dry-voiced, "Oh, that's going to be a deduction."

Made me laugh out loud.

I was headed over to the "Horrifying Commercials" thread to post about that one! WTF does that have to do with the SciFi channel? I just started getting the channel last month, and I was trying to watch a re-run of this Battlestar Gallactica I've heard so much about, and they assault my eyes with THAT. *gag*

I'm currently obsessed with the constant barrage of ads for TLC's Shalom in the Home. I never even watch TLC, but they have been running this ad on lots of other stations, too. The show itself sounds really odd but the jingle is catchy, and it seeped deep enough into my conciousness that I already set my TiVo for Monday night. Advertising works...who knew?

NBC has a nasty habit of stringing clips together to make it look like the show is about something entirely different from what it turns out to actually be about. It drives me crazy how unreliable their promos.

Like the promo for last night's episode of The West Wing? That one was misleading.

I just saw a promo at the end of Medium that said some thing like "coming soon, Molly Ringwald and Kelsey Grammer... as the angel of DEATH!" I nearly snorked up a lung laughing. Thanks, NBC!

Yeah, that ad was actually my favorite part of The West Wing on Sunday. Just the way the promo announcer tries to sell it. "...and Kelsey Grammer... AS THE ANGEL OF DEATH." What's next? David Hyde Pierce as the Prince of Darkness?

They've been showing that promo for 2 weeks. The first time I saw it I laughed and thought "that's a Soup moment!" And sure enough on Friday Joel poked fun at it.

I utterly hate movie promos that basically spoil the whole movie for you. After watching the trailers a couple of time, you feel like you've already seen the movie and had all the surprises and special FX ruined for you. If I'm looking forward to seeing a big blockbuster movie in the theater, say War of the Worlds, I deliberately change the channel whenever the promos come on. I love to be surprised and I love to see FX for the first time in the theater.

Last night I caught the "Next week's episode of Medium" promo at the end of the show. In it we find out, within 30 seconds, that next week her colleague at the DA's office turns out to be a drug addict, who goes to NA, and who has some kind of meltdown. So much for the surprise factor! Did I mention I hate that?

Dear CBS:
The following may "forge" a river:
Nature
Deities

The following may not "forge" a river:
Anyone not on the above list, particularly human beings, especially reality show contestants.

The word you are looking for? Ford. It will be on the quiz.

Thanks,
Shelwood

Can April 28 hurry up and get here so I can stop seeing trailers for United 93? I have a feeling this is going to begin to grate on my nerves as much as the self-congratulatory "This movie will change the Universe!!" ads for Brokeback Mountain did.

Those ads make me sick. 9/11 is way too fresh in my mind to see that on TV.

Absolutely, but what will make me really sick is if they feel the need to "alter it for dramatic effect" - meaning their usual practice of completely cheapening and disrespecting the survivors and victims of an actual event that has plenty of pain and trauma on its own, and actually would have made for a better story without their bullshit interference.

Shelwood, apparently the folks in charge at CBS couldn't afforge to go to college... (ba BOMP baaaahhhhh...)

And I HATE movie promos where they ruin all of the punchlines by showing them repeatedly, so not only do you see them coming a mile away during the actual movie, but you are sick of them.
Same with the drama surprise spoilers I guess but somehow ruining humor is even more of a sin. Maybe because it's so rare in comedy these days.

Yeah - so I turned on the TV last night, heard some people shrieking and some urgent-sounding words, knew I should turn the thing off, but nevertheless sat there frozen until the United 93 trailer flickered into view in all its glory.

So then I went to bed and had a wake-up-screaming nightmare that I thought I had buried in 2003. Damn it. Get that shit off. The. TV.

Ah, but you can use this to your advantage! You can bet they're only including the funniest jokes in the trailers, so if you don't laugh during the previews you can skip the movie entirely without worrying that you're missing too much.

Re the United 93 movie...from the commercials I've seen, it doesn't appear particularly exploitative. Upsetting, yes - I can't imagine not being disturbed by it - but the victims' families were very involved in the making of the film. My attitude is, if it's okay with them, who am I to quibble?

Oh, god, word. I don't live that far from "Ground Zero" in NY, and the movie looks like it's going to be utterly tasteless and embellished for "dramatic effect." I don't have issues with movies made on the subject; it's inevitable. But to set it on the plane itself? I just don't know how that could work out well.
And then, if the victims' families were involved with the making of it and are okay with it, well, I'm probably wrong. I won't be seeing the movie to find out.
Either way...I'd like for the trailers to stop now.

I'm slightly baffled by the furor over United 93, since A&E did a tv movie almost exactly like it a few months ago, Flight 93. No furor over those A&E promos, no furor over the tv movie itself... in fact, it got really good ratings for A&E, so a lot of people watched it (including me, bawled like a baby). Why the massive difference?

I honestly don't recall seeing any promos for that A&E movie. I remember hearing about it and feeling the same way I do about this theatrical movie, but then I promptly forgot about it because, well, I was never really reminded of it.

Really, what's grating me about this movie is that, apparently, you're a shitty person if you want to see it and you're an oversensitive crybaby if you don't. I'm already tired of it and the stupid movie's not out yet. I don't care much about the movie itself so much as the fact that people I know/encounter seem determined to choose sides over it. Personally, I don't give a shit; it seems vaguely exploitative to me, so...I'm not going to see it. Problem solved.

I want the movie trailers to be gone because they disturb the everloving fuck out of me.

Since the families helped with the movie and supported it I don't see any reason not to see unless you felt sensative about it which would be understandable.

I realized last night I'm really looking forward to the WB/ UPN merge, simply because it means UPN's "Get It On" commercials won't be on anymore.

And we won't ever hear the words "Fresh from the Frog" or "A fresh episode" ever again.

.
This is kind of what I mean. Isn't it possible that some people just aren't interested in seeing it? (I'm not saying that I'm not, I probably am, but even if I weren't, I wouldn't want to see this movie, because I honestly think it looks like good old-fashioned war propaganda and I've no interest in seeing it.) And apparently you get shit if you do want to see it, too - a friend of mine plans to, and she's getting crap from people who are planning on boycotting the movie for whatever reason.
So, y'know, every time I see a trailer now, my blood pressure spikes. God, I can't wait for it to be the 29th.

I won't be missing the "fresh episode" crap, myself. It's not produce, fer cryin' out loud. I'll miss the frog, though.

Some idiot, after reporting that Brokeback Mountain didn't sweep the awards, concluded that "America just wasn't ready for a movie about homosexuals"
Maybe they just didn't think it should win, asshole! If someone doesn't think Gone With the Wind deserves an Oscar, does that make them heterophobic?

I haven't seen a trailer for United 93 though; are the trailers graphic or sensational?
An article in the current Newsweek says the movie is very realistic, no fancy Hollywood crap, no juicing up the story (like it needed it - duh!) and was almost critical of it for not having any of the elements they usually destroy good movies with.
It doesn't even have a message supposedly, it's just reporting what happened.

No, they're not. As trailers go, they're quite reasonable--even though I hate the "Time Magazine calls it blah blah you better see it or you're a loser cakes" voiceover.

Oh, lordy, I heard that so many times over. Thing is, I didn't think Brokeback Mountain was anywhere near as good as Crash. (And I thought Good Night and Good Luck was better than both of them.) I was so tempted every time to respond, "Well, then, you're a huge racist because you didn't want Crash to win."
Hey, I'm using the same reasoning.

Anyway. I have to say, I'm getting tired of seeing the same trailers twice every commercial break. I was counting down the days 'til Silent Hill opened from, like, New Year's day, and by the time it opened, I almost didn't want to see it. The trailers managed to make me tired of a movie I hadn't yet seen, and one I'd been dying to see initially. (I still saw it opening weekend, though. Heh. Tried to go opening day.)

Heh--I thought the reverse (since I'm black and gay, does that make me self-hating?). I don't remember any tv spots for Crash, but lord almighty, I wanted strangle the voiceover monkeys for the spots for Brokeback. You'd have thought this movie had the power to cure cancer and make bunnies dance.



Seriously. And the overuse of trailers after a movie opens has the power to make me hate a movie I actually liked. See, Brokeback Mountain, Lord of the Rings.