This effect is enhanced further still when presented on a large scale such as the side of a bus or on a billboard.įilms without franchise appeal need to clearly establish a mood or tone that suggests genre and/or story. Examples of this are ‘Toy Story 4’s ‘Woody’ poster, below, and Star Wars: Episode 1, above, featuring the shadow of Darth Vader looming large.Īs they don’t need to include a lot of information, teaser posters can stand out from the competition by creating a striking impact with large amounts of negative space such as in the teaser for ‘Black Widow’. If this character is a very visible part of the cultural lexicon, these teasers may not even need to feature the film title.

Character-drivenĮxisting franchises often feature a beloved or iconic character teasing us with the expectation that the new film will explore that character’s story in greater detail than ever before. Let’s examine some popular approaches to this. In order to build intrigue, it’s important for a teaser poster to carefully balance design principles with audience expectations. Great teaser posters can utilise extremely limited information – such as a title, release date or simple imagery – to whet our appetites and build hype.īut there’s more to effective teaser posters than just keeping things simple - good examples are actually the result of a very considered series of choices strategically picked to create the maximum impact on its intended audience by dropping ‘clues’ about the film or show. This can be for a combination of practical reasons – for instance, design choices for the film such as casting or production design may not yet be complete – and for creative reasons – as the audience, we can ‘fill in’ any blanks with our imaginations.

So what exactly is a teaser poster? Well, in comparison with conventional posters, a teaser poster is typically very pared back, employing a minimalist style. In fact, a teaser poster now often marks the start of a campaign years before a film or TV show’s planned release. So it’s no surprise that marketing campaigns have had to step up their game, tapping into innovative ways to capture and keep our attention on new releases. And everything - from indie darlings filmed on iPhones to high production value blockbusters – is vying for our attention. In recent years, with the advance of digital technology and the proliferation of streaming platforms, we have seen a serious explosion of quality film and TV content.

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