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“The Television Moment of the Year!”

Roll up, roll up for the most over the top claims that TV promos have been selling all year!

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What’s in a promo? Plenty according to the exaggerations and spin that have bombard us during commercial breaks.

According to Channel Nine, The Voice premiere was “The Television Moment of the Year!”

But the hyperbole didn’t stop there. The Voice was also “Australia’s Favourite Show” with “The Biggest Blind Auditions By Far,” It even went as far as declaring “The Voices are out of this world. The Superstars are out of control.” And just to cap it off, apparently, “Nothing on Television Compares to This.”

In the end The Voice was an entertaining show that rated best in its Blind Auditions and produced a singer with the lowest debut single of all 5 seasons.

But who said promos had to promise truth in advertising?

All year TV Tonight has been tracking some of the most blatant claims in TV promos, to see how they measure up after they have aired.

Here in no particular order are some of the most overt claims so far:

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The most anticipated moment of 2016: Home and Away (season premiere)

The most colossal show of them all: My Kitchen Rules

Television’s biggest night of the year: My Kitchen Rules

Biggest TV Night of the Year: (Feb 1 Seven)

One of TV’s most successful crime dramas: CSI Cyber

The world’s #1 show: NCIS

One of TV’s biggest cliffhangers: NCIS

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The drama event of the year: Molly

The drama event of a lifetime: Molly

Australia’s new #1 Drama: Wanted

The most anticipated drama of the year: The X-Files

2016’s biggest mystery: The X-Files

The episode that will stop the planet: The X-Files

The world’s biggest quiz show: The Chase

The television phenomenon taking the world by storm: You’re Back in the Room

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The biggest Blind Auditions by far: The Voice

Nothing on Television compares to this: The Voice

The Voices are out of this world. The Superstars are out of control The Voice

Australia’s favourite show: The Voice

The television moment of the year: The Voice

The best renos of the year: Reno Rumble

The surprise announcement of the year: Married at First Sight

The most dramatic talent on earth: Britain’s Got Talent

The drama Australia’s been longing for: Love Child

Australia’s Favourite Drama: Love Child

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TV’s Biggest Twist: The Briefcase

TV’s Best Thriller: Criminal Minds

The Most Anticipated New Series: Westworld

The Most Captivating Thriller in Years: Hyde + Seek

The Most Powerful Story of the Year: 60 Minutes report by Tara Brown

28 Responses

  1. Wow. I hadn’t realised that I’d missed so many significant events.

    Surely 2016’s biggest mystery wasn’t the X-Files, but how the new, poorly-constructed and half-hearted X-Files episodes managed to get green-lit.

    I’d also add that lumping two episodes of the same show together, as the networks do so often in a lazy way to fill schedules, doesn’t really constitute a “special event”, but that doesn’t prevent them from advertising it as such.

  2. So glad you wrote a story about this David. I was just thinking about this the other day so It’s like you read my mind. The word ‘event’ should be banned from all future promos.

  3. “exaggerations and spin”? You’re too kind! How about outright lies?
    I can’t believe that the networks think that these promos work. But maybe they do work, in which case I truly despair for the gullibility of the viewing public.

  4. The most magnificent post ever written on the Internet. …By one of the best TV journalists of all time. . If you thought David Knox was spellbinding reading. Wait Tiill You See his Next epic article. “A Must Read” – Freddy Blinds” The Daily Telegraph. …..” “A tear jerker”. – Justin Casey Howells – Sydney Morning Herald.”. “”Better than watching paint dry.” Scotty Cam – The Block. ….. Tempers will reach boiling point, tonight…On TV…Tonight!!!!!

  5. Channel Seven’s see why everyone is switching over and misleading TV promos, Nine and Seven I’m looking at you in regards to The Big Bang Theory.

  6. I’m sure we all know by now that “The Biggest Television Event of the Year!” (or derivatives of it) is one of Channel Nine’s favourite promo lines because they use it so often. Although I don’t think that anything will top “Meltdown of the Century” in a promo for The Hot Plate last year!

  7. On next on Seven nightly news (story)…..commercial break…… rest of news…….on next (story)….. commercial break….. you get the drift!! keeping it to the end

  8. Is it just me or does the Channel 10 voice over woman’s voice get on anyones nerves? Really annoys me the way she seems to whine out the words.

  9. They have certainly stopped the whole “movie length episode” fib for when it was just two episodes, now that they regularly try to burn off shows that are not working. Instead they seem to use “special event” for this and pretty much anything else

    1. Nooo, I saw a promo for something by someone yesterday re a movie-length-episode. Was so memorable and engaging I have no idea what it was for, but probably something on Seven. Possibly last night’s two eps. of Criminal Minds.
      Now every second thing is “event”. What new words can the Americans come up with for our local promo makers to copy?

  10. The promo for Australia’s Got Talent 2016.
    “In lounge rooms across Australia, minds will blow. Night after amazing night, millions of Australian jaws will drop. It’s the mind boggling, eye popping, all new Australia’s Got Talent. Get set for goosebumps.”
    lol

  11. I feel Seven started this and because it was seen as effective, Nine and Ten have jumped on the bandwagon. Nine’s are so cringeworthy they come across as desperate (and perhaps they are). Ten’s are more grounded, except for that X-files one!

    I think there is room for a good promo but the hyperbole is actually quite off putting. It’s insulting the intelligence of the viewer to form their own opinion.

  12. Promos are a form of advertising. Why is it then that they can get away with spewing forth the absolute untrue lies that they do?!?!? No other industry sector could get away with the sort of shit they claim. Could you imagine …

    Cars: ‘The most un-crash able car ever built’
    Food: ‘The least fattening food ever!’
    Telcos: ‘The most solidly, uninterrupted mobile and data service of all time!’
    Insurance: ‘We never dispute a legit claim’
    Aviation: ‘Jetstar – Australia’s low-cost airline’ … Oh … Hang on ….

    1. Dear Spotty, I have to say that you are “spot on” Sorry for the pun, but it amazes me that the self regulation lacks truth, even in news bulletins or morning shows, I see “Breaking news” when I saw it the previous night… my latest favourite is “happening now”

  13. Absolutely redic. And The Block hasn’t even started for the year yet. The list will surely grow fast when it does.

    The best one was for a recent ep of 60 minutes, loaded with “the most anticipated episode ever” for 3 run of the mill stories.

    1. Yesterday, I watched the encore of BGT and noticed on the pop-up watermark that The Block would start in August, possibly after the Olympics.

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