If you were anywhere near a movie theater or YouTube in late 2015, you probably remember that specific feeling of a Nicholas Sparks marketing campaign hitting its stride. The movie The Choice trailer didn't just promote a film; it sold a very specific brand of coastal North Carolina yearning. It had everything. Wind-swept hair? Check. Overbearing parents? Check. A medical crisis that forces a rugged man to make an impossible decision? Naturally.
Most people think these trailers are just random clips thrown together. They aren't. They are carefully calibrated emotional machines. When Lionsgate dropped the first look at Travis and Gabby, they weren't just showing us a story about neighbors; they were trying to reclaim the magic of The Notebook.
The Anatomy of The Choice Trailer: What Actually Happened
Honestly, the trailer is a bit of a spoiler-fest if you look closely. It starts with the classic "meet-cute." Benjamin Walker plays Travis, a veterinarian who loves his dog and his bachelor lifestyle. Teresa Palmer is Gabby, the feisty medical student who moves in next door. The trailer spends about forty-five seconds on the banter. It’s light. It’s airy. There’s a lot of sun-drenched boat riding.
Then, the music shifts.
The piano kicks in—a staple of the Sparks Cinematic Universe—and suddenly we’re fast-forwarding through years of their lives. We see the wedding. We see the kids. And then, the crash. This is where the trailer gets its title. The "choice" isn't about which person to date; it's about a husband holding power of attorney while his wife is in a coma. It’s heavy stuff for a two-minute clip.
The song playing in the background of the main trailer is "Daylight" by Rudimental, featuring Ame. It’s upbeat initially, which masks the impending doom that fans of the book already knew was coming. Interestingly, the trailer features a heavy emphasis on the phrase "Tell me what I should do," which became the central hook for the entire marketing push.
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Why This Specific Trailer Stuck With People
Marketing a romance movie is harder than it looks. You have to promise the audience a "happily ever after" while simultaneously threatening them with a "tragic ending." The movie The Choice trailer mastered this duality.
Think about the competition at the time. In early 2016, we were seeing a shift toward more cynical storytelling. The Choice felt like a throwback. It leaned into the "will-they-won't-they" trope with zero shame. Critics often dunk on these movies for being formulaic, but the trailer views don't lie. Millions of people watched it because it offered a predictable comfort.
One thing most people missed? The director, Ross Katz, actually used the trailer to highlight the chemistry between the leads more than the plot. Katz, who produced Lost in Translation, knew that if the audience didn't buy the "neighborly friction" in the first thirty seconds, they wouldn't care about the hospital bed scene at the end.
Visual Cues You Might Have Missed
If you go back and watch the movie The Choice trailer today, pay attention to the color grading. The beginning is saturated with warm golds and blues—the "honeymoon phase." As the trailer progresses toward the accident, the colors desaturate. It becomes grey, sterile, and cold. This is a classic visual storytelling trick used to prime the audience’s tear ducts.
- The dog (Moby) is used as an emotional anchor.
- The porch scenes are filmed during "golden hour" to maximize the romantic aesthetic.
- The "choice" itself is never fully explained in the trailer, creating a "curiosity gap."
The Real-World Impact of the Marketing
Lionsgate spent a significant amount of money ensuring this trailer played before every major romantic comedy and drama in late 2015. They were targeting a very specific demographic: the "Sparks Sisters," a self-named group of super-fans who travel to Wilmington, NC, to visit filming locations.
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The trailer also served as a launchpad for Benjamin Walker. While he had done Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, this was his first real shot at being a traditional romantic lead. For Teresa Palmer, it solidified her place as a go-to actress for heartfelt dramas.
But did it work?
The film didn't hit the box office heights of The Notebook or Dear John. It earned about $23 million worldwide. Some analysts argue the trailer gave away too much. By showing the accident and the hospital scenes, it may have satisfied the audience's curiosity enough that they didn't feel the need to buy a ticket. Others say it was just "Sparks fatigue." By the time the eleventh book-to-movie adaptation rolled around, the formula was starting to show its age.
Misconceptions About The Choice
There’s a common rumor that the trailer was edited to look like a different movie than the book. That's not really true. If anything, the movie The Choice trailer is incredibly faithful to the source material's vibe.
Some fans complained that the trailer made it look like Gabby was the one making the choice. In reality, the "choice" is entirely on Travis's shoulders. This nuance is often lost in short-form marketing. Also, the trailer implies a much shorter timeline than the movie actually covers. The film spans over a decade, but the trailer makes it feel like a whirlwind summer romance gone wrong.
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How to Experience The Choice Today
If you're revisiting the movie or the trailer, it's worth looking at it through the lens of mid-2010s cinema. It was a time when mid-budget dramas still got wide theatrical releases.
Watch for the "Sparks Tropes":
- Rain scenes (though surprisingly few compared to The Notebook).
- Letters or written notes.
- A "secret" location (the point).
- Waterfront property that no one in their 20s could actually afford.
The trailer remains a masterclass in how to sell a "tear-jerker." It doesn't use complex metaphors. It uses heart-strings. It uses puppies. It uses the fear of losing the person you love most.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
To get the most out of this story, don't just stop at the trailer.
- Compare the US and UK Trailers: The international marketing for The Choice was actually much more focused on the medical drama than the romance. It’s a fascinating look at how different cultures respond to tragedy.
- Visit the Locations: If you’re ever in Wilmington or Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, you can find the actual spots where Travis and Gabby’s houses were built. Most are private property, but the general scenery is exactly as it looks in those HD trailer shots.
- Read the Epilogue: The movie changes some of the pacing of the book's ending. If the trailer's "choice" left you feeling unresolved, the book provides a much deeper dive into Travis’s internal monologue during those weeks in the hospital.
- Check the Soundtrack: Beyond the trailer music, the film features artists like The National and James Bay. The trailer was designed to sound "indie-pop," but the actual movie is much more of a traditional orchestral score.
The movie The Choice trailer is a time capsule. It represents the peak of a specific era of romance filmmaking that has largely migrated to streaming platforms like Netflix and Hallmark. Watching it now feels nostalgic, not just for the story, but for the way movies used to be sold to us.