The most underwhelming teaser campaigns of 2012
In this roundup from the Encore and Mumbrella Annual, we look back at seven of the most underwhelming teaser campaigns from the last 12 months.
1. Blackberry ‘Wake Up’
Speed boats with banners, a flashmob outside the Apple Store and a video blog by Nate ‘Blunty’ Burr. This was the teaser of the year. The reveal? Wait for it… a landing page. BlackBerry’s rivals sat back and laughed. Naked boss Mike Wilson described the strategy as pre-digital age. Ouch. Wake up indeed, BlackBerry.
2. Canadian Club ‘Beer Fairy’
Only slightly less oddball than The Works’ effort for Jim Beam was the creation of a sweaty, smelly, fat, balding bogan bloke with wings in an unbranded video for Canadian Club.
3. Jim Beam ‘It’s time’
Tarzan calls, monkey noises and cries of the wild were let out over loud speakers around Sydney. Was it a trailer for a Jim Carrey film? No. It was an annoying teaser for Jim Beam’s ready-to-drink alcopop.
4. Mazda ‘Cheetah’
A video clip of a cheetah sprinting through the streets of Brisbane was a triumph of visual effects. And it takes a ballsy car maker to make any sort of ad without their car in it. Just a shame this beautiful animal had to transform into a very ugly car.
5. Commbank ‘Can’t’
The problem with the much-dragged-out ‘Can’t’ campaign was that when the reveal eventually came, most people had stopped caring who was behind it.
6. NAB ‘Stand-Ins’
NAB staff auditioning to work for people who would have to go in on AFL grand final day was an interesting use of corporate sponsorship. Next to the brilliance of NAB’s ‘Break up’ campaign, it was a bit of a let down.
7. John West ‘Fisherman’
What a juicy brief. Take a classic ad character, the John West fisherman, and bring it up to date. But the reveal to the teaser, well, just wasn’t funny.
- This list first appeared in the Encore and Mumbrella Annual available in the App store and on Google Play.
