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Gotham, Fox
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, superheroes are here to stay on TV, and there was perhaps no more sweeping verification of that fact than Fox’s live-action Batman spin-off Gotham. The centerpiece of the network’s fall marketing strategy, Gotham blasted into an incredibly competitive Monday night with its guns blazing, including an epic Comic-Con takeover and star-studded PR stunts like turning the New York Public Library into Fish Mooney’s bar for a premiere screening. But perhaps most importantly, exciting on-air promos like the one below were incredibly effective at driving tune in – more effective than any other show, according to some sources.
Jane the Virgin, The CW
Gotham wasn’t the only series to grab a slice of that sweet Monday night pie this fall – The CW’s Venezuelan telenova adaptation Jane the Virgin ignited the transformed network with its tale of a most unexpected pregnancy, delivering its highest ratings for that time slot since February 2012. A centerpiece of The CW’s overall “Heroes Within” branding campaign, Jane’s success is partly due to its cross-cultural appeal and clever storytelling, and partly due to delightful promos like this extended trailer, which have consistently combined the melodramatic flair of melodrama with the awkward naturalism that defines American comedy.
Review, Comedy Central
From roles such as Eastbound & Down’s crapped-upon principal Terrence Cutler to a memorably perky Benjamin Franklin impersonator on The Office, master improviser Andy Daly has proven himself to be one of the unsung heroes of comedy. So when Comedy Central’s Review finally gave him the star spotlight he deserves – in the role of the intrepid Forrest MacNeil, reviewer of “life itself” – the promo needed to lay out the premise of the show while introducing this guy’s unrivaled chops.
Comedy Central delivered that promo in a brilliantly edited spot that splices the show’s reality-style footage with rapid-fire call-to-action typography and graphics from its all-important star rating system. If you weren’t excited to watch Review already, you will be after watching this:
Hard Knocks, HBO
The best sports media marketing emphasizes the characters involved and their stories over highlights and statistics. In this spot by 2C Media for HBO’s documentary series about the Atlanta Falcons’ training camp, the premium network needs to show nothing more than the faces of the athletes, a churning guitar-driven soundtrack, and just a touch of oddly chilling CGI to send a powerful message: These guys don’t just play football during training camp; they become football.
Penny Dreadful, Sky
There are promos that distill the essence of the show at hand down to a perfect little package and then there are promos that are works of arts in themselves. Such is the case with the trio of eerie, hypnotic animated spots London-based animator Gergely Wootsch made for Sky TV’s airing of the horror-drama Penny Dreadful. Made with a combination of 2D and 3D elements, they’re simply works of art.
They also happen to be perhaps the first promos to ever offer an academic critique of the show at hand, as historian Matthew Sweet gives us a little background on the literary horror character in question, then proceeds to explain, in professorial style, exactly how John Logan’s new series successfully incorporates those elements.
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