Line #59 Main/NeverTrustATrailer


1	[[quoteright:350:[[WebVideo/EchoChamber https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/never_trust_a_trailer.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsqb69huwPk The trailer]] for the second season of our ''WebVideo/EchoChamber'' web series.-] ]]
3
4	->''"Considering what we get, it's highly possible that Movie Trailer Voiceover Guy also sells billions of dollars worth of used cars and swampland real estate every year."''
5	-->-- '''Website/TheAgonyBooth''' [[http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Star_Trek__Insurrection.aspx on]] ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection''
6
7	If CoversAlwaysLie, trailers can, too. Sometimes TonightSomeoneDies or hyping TheReveal might not be enough. And with the Internet an open window these days for writers and directors to viewers' likes, dislikes, hopes, predictions, and {{Shipping}} loyalties, it's easy to know exactly how to bait fans into watching the next episode. Be careful not to believe everything you see, though, because as all FanVid makers know, any scene can be mixed-and-matched with another to look completely different from their real context.
8
9	Of course, Administrivia/TropesAreTools, as used correctly this can be a very clever way of averting TrailersAlwaysSpoil (by not mentioning or downplaying the real main plot).
10
11	Indeed, the creation of fake trailers to make a movie look like it's from a completely different genre has become one of the Internet's most beloved recent art forms, such as ''Film/TheShining'' as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmkVWuP_sO0 family-oriented romantic comedy,]] ''Film/MaryPoppins'' as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic slasher horror flick,]] ''Film/{{Elf}}'' as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkwdYSn3Uws a thriller,]] ''Series/{{Luke Cage\|2016}}'' as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gpED0Z57RU '90s sitcom,]] or the one that started it all, ''Film/TheTenCommandments1956'' as a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kqqMXWEFs high school romantic comedy.]]
12
13	Another way it can backfire is if you ''can't find'' enough good footage to make a decent trailer, audiences can extrapolate just how bad the rest of the material must be.
14
15	[[PolishTheTurd If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.]]
16
17	However, this practice may die out because a judge ruled that [[https://ew.com/movies/ana-de-armas-fan-lawsuit-studios-can-be-sued-misleading-trailers studios can be sued for misleading trailers]].
18
19	See [[http://www.cracked.com/article_17585_5-things-movie-trailers-need-stop-doing.html this list]] for more examples.
20
21	'''Subtropes:'''
22	* AdvertisedExtra: This person is portrayed as a major character, but isn't.
23	** LadyNotAppearingInThisGame: A subtrope of this, where the disproportionate appearance of a sexually-alluring character in the publicity material (and who may not appear in the work ''at all'') is used to make the work seem more erotic than it actually is.
24	* BillingDisplacement: The big-name actor plays a smaller part in the work than the marketing materials suggest.
25	* ClickbaitGag: A gag about how thumbnails and headlines for web content exaggerate the content to get more readers.
26	* CoversAlwaysLie: The illustration on the front of the book has nothing to do with the book itself. Some cases, it's gorier or [[SexyPackaging sexier]] than the real thing.
27	** AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: A character is made more badass on the cover overseas as compared with its home market.
28	** RedSkiesCrossover: A big CrossOver event was advertised, but the effect it has on the story is woefully minimal.
29	** SuperDickery: For some reason, the hero is acting like an asshole. Buy the book to find out why! Turns out that the character isn't really acting like a dick at all.
30	** WolverinePublicity: A hugely popular character is advertised on the cover as a bait hook for readers... but their involvement in the story ranges from paper-thin to absolutely none.
31	* FoilerFootage: Trailer scenes that were specifically created to mislead viewers and were never meant to be in the film proper.
32	* MissingTrailerScene: Where the trailer includes a scene that's been cut from the film.
33	* RealTrailerFakeMovie: Someone - most likely fans - has created a very convincing trailer for a movie which is unlikely to ever be released.
34	* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: A major character doesn't show up in the trailer at all, either to avoid major spoilers or to create a misleading impression of the film.
35	* TonightSomeoneKisses: Taking a kiss out of context.
36	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Surprising, but these two often overlap heavily. It's not uncommon for a trailer to give away a plot-twist that occurs late in a film, while giving the impression that said plot-twist occurs much earlier and drives the primary conflict.
37	* TrailerSpoof: The trailer pretends to be for a different movie.
38
39	If it's a TV show's TitleSequence that lies, those are BaitAndSwitchCredits.
40
41	----
42	!!Example Subpages:
43	[[index]]
44	* NeverTrustATrailer/{{Anime}}
45	* [[NeverTrustATrailer/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
46	* [[NeverTrustATrailer/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
47	** NeverTrustATrailer/MarvelCinematicUniverse
48	* NeverTrustATrailer/LiveActionTV
49	* NeverTrustATrailer/VideoGames
50	* NeverTrustATrailer/WesternAnimation
51	[[/index]]
52
53	----
54	!!Other Examples:
55	[[foldercontrol]]
56
57	[[folder:Advertising]]
58	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18ya0-OZ58s This trailer]] for Snickers' Super Bowl ad leads you to believe that the guys in it really have Betty White on their team. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18ya0-OZ58s In the actual commercial]] she is called "Mike" and is told, "You play like Betty White!" She then eats a Snickers, and after a brief cutaway, she's replaced by a guy, proving that she only appears in the ad to support the {{tagline}}: "You're not you when you're hungry." [[spoiler:And so does Abe Vigoda.]]
59	* In the print ads for ''Son of Series/{{Svengoolie}}'', if a film was called "X of {{Dracula}}" or "Franchise/{{Frankenstein}}'s X" they always ran a picture of Creator/BelaLugosi or Creator/BorisKarloff in costume as the title monster, even if they weren't in the film and it wasn't a Franchise/UniversalHorror film.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Comic Books]]
63	* Most of the hype for ''ComicBook/Earth2'' focused on that world's versions of the Big Three: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. [[FirstEpisodeTwist They're killed off in the first issue.]]
64	** DC also tried to spin the marketing for the series as a DarkerAndEdgier take on the Golden Age heroes, when it actually falls ''heavily'' on the "Idealistic" side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. [[spoiler:Still, the forces of Darkseid do their damnedest to wreck everything, and the final arc before the "Society" ReTool is called "World's End" for a '''very''' good reason.]]
65	* When ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'' was first announced, DC billed it as Lex Luthor allying the various villains of the DCU to systematically take down the Justice Leagues & every other costume vigilante; the actual story is about Lex Luthor teaming up with any remaining heroes and villains to take down an ''alternate universe'' Justice League who have taken over Earth.
66	* The solicit introducing the new post-''Comicbook/FearItself'' [[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avengers]] line-up showed the teenage version of ComicBook/TheVision from ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers''. When the book actually dropped, the cover had been altered to instead show the classic, adult Vision. Presumably, this was to hide the fact that the Teen!Vision was being killed off in ''Comicbook/AvengersTheChildrensCrusade''.
67	* ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'' had promo art that featured the idea of ComicBook/TheJoker killing ComicBook/JimmyOlsen and the {{tagline}} saying "Jimmy Olsen must die!" and ''Wizard'' even had a cover of Franchise/{{Superman}} holding a dead-by-Joker toxin Jimmy Olsen. In the actual comic, the only time the two meet was early on when Jimmy interviewed the Joker while the latter was being held in Arkham.
68	* Played with for ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'': The solicitations for the series listed an 194th and 195th issue, but it was planned for Issue 193 to be the last.
69	* Several covers of ''[[ComicBook/UltimateXMen Ultimate Comics: X-Men]]'' features the team wearing costumes, including Jimmy Hudson in a version of Earth-616 Wolverine's classic yellow threads. In the stories themselves, they're a case of NotWearingSpandex.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Fan Works]]
73	* The [[http://youtu.be/pWgIzraQWu4 trailer]] for ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'' shows [[VisualNovel/AceAttorney Phoenix Wright]] using his HotBlooded attitude to scare and intimidate [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Fluttershy]]. In the actual story, however, Fluttershy will only speak to Phoenix, [[ADogNamedDog since she thinks]] he's an actual kind of phoenix. [[HarsherInHindsight Though that part does manifest in the form of]] [[spoiler:Phoenix having to accuse Fluttershy to buy time]].
74	* In ''Fanfic/ThePrayerWarriors'', Chapter 10 of "The Evil Gods Part 2" is titled, ""Piper and Jerry goes to Washington DC to Find out Who the [[TheMole Trac]][[RougeAnglesOfSatin tor]] is and Defeat them Once and for All so they would not terrorized by them ever again for as long as God allows Time to go on For." The Prayer Warriors go to "[[FreudianSlip Washing Dick]]", but do not identify or defeat the traitor.
75	* The "previews" for ''Fanfic/MassEffectHumanRevolution'' will often have details changed from what actually happens.
76	* At the end of ''[[Fanfic/ShadowchasersBackwater Shadowchasers Twice Told Tales]]'', the author provides a rather vivid and dramatic "trailer" for ''Fanfiction/ShadowchasersBackwater'' that he admits should not be taken fully at face-value, claiming it contains many scenes where the contexts are probably either misinterpreted and/or incomplete.
77	* The summary for ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10028141/1/Persona-4-Hot-springs-with-Yukiko Persona 4 Hot Springs With Yukiko]]'' makes it vaguely sound like a RevengeFic for the game's hot springs scene, in which the girls threw things at the guys for barging in on them, even though they were the ones in the hot springs at the wrong time. In actuality, it's a [=Yu/Yukiko=] fic in which they end up in mixed bathing.
78	* The trailer for season two of the AbridgedSeries ''WebVideo/UltraFastPony'' plays this for laughs, with the creator Wacarb running down a long list of things that will happen that did not, as well as Twilight saying the line "I am so full of all of the emotions" over footage of her break down in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero Lesson Zero]] which was never stated at any point in the season. Later Wacarb went on record, saying that the trailers should be treated as their own little thing and not a real representation of the season, after several people questioned him about it. Though it is averted with the following seasons' trailers, which are more obviously designed just to get people excited and not to give them any information on what's to come.
79	** This actually gets a CallBack in the season three finale ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Longest Recap Ever]]'', where Twilight ''finally'' says the line from the trailer and asks the audience if they can finally shut up about it.
80	* ''Fanfic/MobileFighterEvangelion'' was actually inspired by this trope, with the writer originally making presumptions based on a smiling Asuka, a grim looking Shinji, and an icy-looking Rei for the ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' poster that's currently that page's image that Asuka was a CheerfulChild, Shinji was a {{Determinator}}, and Rei was an IceQueen DrillSergeantNasty rather than the {{Tsundere}}, ShrinkingViolet, and EmotionlessGirl they respectively really were and deciding to make a story based around his assumptions.
81	* ''Fanfic/CorrinInPeril'' says that the main couple is Corrin and Ryoma, and also includes Yuri and Ignatz as characters. The two not only do not appear in the fic but are not even from the same world- it's a ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' fic and the two are from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses''. Curiously enough, the fic was first published in 2016, more than three years before ''Three Houses'' was released, so Yuri and Ignatz could only have been added later.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Music]]
85	* ''Music/{{Gloryhammer}}'': The first music video released on [=YouTube=] for the album "Return to the Kingdom of Fife" was an animated one for "Keeper of the Celestial Flame of Abernethy". The animation makes it look like the beginning of the album's story (the Zargothrax clone awakening) is shortly followed by the climax of the story (the clone freeing the original), when there are apparently decades in between.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Theatre]]
89	* Feld Entertainment has done this with their ''Theatre/DisneyOnIce'' and ''Disney Live!'' shows a few times:
90	** In 2010, when ''Mickey's Rockin' Road Show'' came to Nashville and Greensboro, it was advertised as a show featuring ''Playhouse Disney'' characters such as Mickey and his friends, the ''WesternAnimation/LittleEinsteins'' cast, ''WesternAnimation/HandyManny'' and the characters from ''[[Franchise/WinnieThePooh My Friends Tigger and Pooh]]''.
91	** In 2015, they promoted showings of ''Let's Celebrate!'' in California as ''Frozen on Ice''.
92	** One showing of ''Phineas and Ferb LIVE!'' was promoted as ''Three Classic Fairy Tales''.
93	* Some posters for the musical adaptation of ''Film/KinkyBoots'' show the young Lola and Charlie together as well as regular Lola and Charlie together, portraying a story about growing up. The young Lola and Charlie only appear in the opening number and never interact with one another.
94	* When ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'' made its American debut in Miami, its marketing prominently featured stars Bert Lahr (The Cowardly Lion) and Tom Ewell (from ''The Seven-Year Itch''). Posters declared the play to be "the laugh sensation of two continents."
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Web Animation]]
98	* An egregious example is the [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/161186 trailer]] for the third ''WebAnimation/{{Arfenhouse}}'' movie. The [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/268387 actual movie]] turned out to be a few seconds long (not counting credits) and was a TakeThatAudience to all the creator's fans who were nagging him to deliver on his promise of a sequel, though real sequels were eventually made.
99	* Parodied in ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' starting with Jibblies 2. The costumes Strong Bad is wearing in the teasers for upcoming Halloween toons are never the ones he wears in the toons themselves.
100	-->'''COACH Z:''' Hey, Strong Bad! I thought you was gonna dress up as [[Film/{{Alien}} the alien]] this year!\
101	'''STRONG BAD:''' (dressed as Film/{{Beetlejuice}}) Yeah, I was gonna, but when I got to Hammacher Schlammacher's, they were all sold out. I did get an awesome Shiatsu massage wine opener, though.
102	* Parodied by Legendary Frog in the ''One Ring to Rule Them All: Special Edition'', in which a "One Ring 3" Teaser includes shout outs to the movie Speed, the Incredible Hulk, and Charlie's Angels. Lampshaded by Sauron, who asks "Will any of this be in the actual movie?" His goblin assistant, Wayne, tells him that it'll all be cut in post-production.
103	* The season 7 trailer for ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' showed both Church and Tex watching over the Red and Blue teams in Valhalla. Neither actually appears in that season. In fact, according to WordOfGod, [[spoiler:the "original" Church actually ''died'' at the end of the last season, so it seems likely Tex did as well.]] The difference here is that ''Red vs. Blue'' trailers are more like prelude episodes than actual previews. The season 7 trailer contained no footage from later episodes because it wasn't supposed to. Church and Tex seem to have been inserted into it to encourage WildMassGuessing as to what unseen role they may have had in the season.
104	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
105	** Early trailers made the show look like it was going to be a fairy tale-themed ''WebAnimation/DeadFantasy'' when it actually starts out as a high school-themed fantasy. The first few episodes introduce the setting and characters, often comically, and there are few fight scenes, causing some disappointment among some fans who were expecting more combat. Creator/RoosterTeeth acknowledged the dissonance at the time the early episodes first aired.
106	** The first two trailers, "Red" and "White", don't show off the characters well. They instead focus on showing off the series' action potential. Ruby and Weiss are both much more somber than usual, which confused many fans when the series revealed them to be a LargeHam and AcademicAlphaBitch instead.
107	** The Volume 2 trailer contains altered scenes to disguise their true context. The most obvious is a shot of Ruby cradling Weiss's unconscious body; the trailer makes this look like a serious moment in a real battle, since they're both in their normal fighting clothes and Weiss is holding her sword. However, this shot's counterpart in the show itself (same animation, but a different render) is played completely for laughs, because they're actually just participating in a FoodFight, wearing their school uniforms, and Weiss is just holding a swordfish instead of a real weapon. While Volume 2 ''did'' eventually deliver some pretty dark moments, and Weiss does get messed up pretty badly later on, it's ''Blake'' who eventually ends up cradling her, and in genuinely serious context.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Web Comics]]
111	* When ''Webcomic/MyImpossibleSoulmate'' was first announced, the initial preview and premise made it look like a grounded, high school romance with a simple story of unrequited love. Once the comic officially debuted however, the author revealed the comic's other genre, an {{isekai}} fantasy.
112	* If you aren't familiar with ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', then the first half of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPoA5qAHqFU this video]] would have you convinced that the comic revolves around... well, a relatively minor side character. After that it breaks down into half a dozen tiny trailers not to be entirely trusted, before finally giving up and summarizing the comic in one sentence.
113	* The preview for ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'', which shows the characters like a trailer, is quite dishonest. It says "this is [Sonichu's] adventure and nothing less", while Sonichu becomes a DecoyProtagonist after a couple of issues. Also, it mentions in passing [[BigBad Walsh]] and the [[TheBadGuysAreCops Jerkops]] as throaway villains who the author doesn't care about. They are the most important antagonists in the story.
114	* Not a trailer, but a preview fragment. [[http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14904662/ These 2 panels]] give the impression that the heroes of ''Webcomic/SwordsAndSausages'' are going to wake up in bed together, naked, under the same blanket. [[http://www.tigerknight.com/ss/8-20 The full page]] reveals that Tor was only shirtless and Silver slept fully dressed -- her hair partially obscured her vest, which has the same colour as Tor's pants.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Web Original]]
118	* The subreddit [[https://www.reddit.com/r/NotintheMovie/ Not in the Movie]] is all about this.
119	* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' occasionally does this as a spoof of "PreviouslyOn" segments.
120	* More of a case of Never Trust An End-of-Episode Preview: The end of {{LetsPlay/Chuggaaconroy}}'s semifinal episode of his LetsPlay of [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Emerald]] shows a dramatic reveal of [[spoiler:[[BrickJoke Pokemaniac Steve]] wanting a rematch,]] leaving a {{Cliffhanger}} for the finale. In the finale, [[spoiler:Chugga beats Steve in under half a minute and spends most of the actual episode fighting [[{{Superboss}} Steven]].]]
121	* Inverted by Screen Junkies' ''WebVideo/HonestTrailers'', which pick apart plot holes and mock the movies featured.
122	* Many fans have created fake "trailers" for movies [[InTheStyleOf that make them out to be an entirely different genre than the actual film]]. Such works have a home on the Web at ''The Trailer Mash''.
123	[[/folder]]
124	----
125	->Dishonest as it may be, you gotta admit that it is kinda funny, too.

Context Main / NeverTrustATrailer