A genre in their own right, teaser ads are perhaps best known in the context of sporting events, where these brief “prequels” to a more extensive ad campaign are paraded in front of large audiences in a marketer’s version of a lab experiment. Some of the most prominent examples of these are annual Super Bowl ads, which are designed to spark interest and curiosity even before the unveiling of the main ad on game day. Advertisers have to be careful with this type of ad to live up to the promises heralded by the teaser; otherwise, instead of being riveted, viewers will feel duped and a backlash may result.
