The Purpose Of Trailers
A trailer is meant to entice the prospective audience. It’s supposed to show us a couple of high spots that’ll inspire us to tell our friends, “Hey, this is cool and we should go watch it together.” It’s a promotional tool among various others.
A trailer, however, isn’t supposed to be a total highlights package for a film. The reason we escape into a world of entertainment is to experience surprise and wonderment. If these moments are ruined beforehand, why should we spend our hard-earned cash trying to recapture them?
It’s like watching a good horror and your friend pipes up, “Oh, the scary guy will pop up from behind that chair now. Check how awesome it is.” The moment’s gone and you’ll never experience it the same again. Much the same way I already saw how Spider-Man will try to stop a plane from crashing.
Jumping The Gun
Marketing campaigns for big blockbusters are starting earlier and earlier nowadays. By the time the final marketing push arrives, teams go into overdrive and pump out as many teasers, posters and trailers as possible to rule the online conversations. It makes perfect PR sense to increase and maximize engagement in this crucial build-up to the release date.
Sometimes, though, these teams can be a little too overeager and jump the gun. Looking at Spider-Man: Homecoming, for example, we’re still three months and a bit away from its release date. After all you’ve seen so far, do you really want another trailer? I know I’ll be apprehensive of seeing anything after this last one, and we know for sure there will be more to come. The question is, how much more will be spoilt for us? My guess: plenty.
