They say that we should never judge a book by its cover—oh, but we all do! The title and cover image that content creators use can make or break their online career. And the sad truth is that no matter how good your content is, nobody will read or watch it if it’s not marketed the ‘right’ way. And a lot of that depends on pandering to constantly-changing algorithms, whether YouTube’s, Facebook’s, or something else.
So, naturally, content creators learn to adapt (their livelihoods depend on it!) and change how they make thumbnails, in order to please their AI overlords and capture their (potential) audience’s attention. However, the result is that some creators go waaaaaay too far.
The thumbnails they make are so over-the-top, so ridiculous that they’re in a league of their own. Here at Bored Panda, we’ve collected the most epic fails from all over the net to share with you. Check out just how bad things can get below, and don’t forget to upvote your fave worst offenders, Pandas! Are there any clickbaity thumbnails that you’d actually have clicked on? Tell us in the comments, we swear we won’t judge you.
Bored Panda reached out to content creator, comedian, and broadcaster Trev Lewis for a chat about thumbnails, keeping up with algorithm changes, as well as whether or not a bad thumbnail might mean that otherwise quality content will be ignored. Read on for our full interview with him!
#1 This Youtube Ad
Image source: Drummer_0000
#2 Great Chase
Image source: Top_Celery9396
#3 Why? Just Why?
Image source: TheTipArrowNations
#4 Doing Yoga With A Baby
Image source: professor_abee
#5 I Can’t Stop Laughing
Image source: wakugandan-chubungus
#6 Pretty Sure The Second Image In This Thumbnail Is A Dog Holding A Pinecone
Image source: FlipSide97
#7 Youtube Clickbait Thumbnails That Get Millions Of Views
Image source: DanFlaylen
#8 Oh, This Thumbnail Sure Is Unforgettable
Image source: Paparazzi14
#9 Are You Still Going To Complain About Leg Space In Economy Class Flights?
Image source: magnemist
#10 Yes, That Looks Very Real
Image source: buttercream-gang
#11 Wow Gordon, That Cookie Must’ve Been Delicious
Image source: reddit.com
#12 Scariest Bridge
Image source: Silvanarix
#13 Not A Single Element In This Thumbnail Is Real
Image source: Camwood7, Perplexify
#14 This Clickbait
Image source: Elatedwanted
#15 Amazing Thumbnail
Image source: adamboultwood
#16 Is This Where Milk Comes From?
Image source: vivo78
#17 Youtube Thumbnail Gone Too Far
Image source: Kage_BunshinNo_Jutsu
#18 I Deserve An Award For Finding The Worst Thumbnail Ever
Image source: IGotAccountToAskthis
#19 They’ve Gone Too Far
Image source: FighterX9
#20 Talk About Thumbnails
Image source: Phone_Confident
#21 No Way
Image source: FerencS
#22 Crazy Basketball Thumbnail
Image source: Harvickfan4Life
#23 This Youtube Thumbnail I Came Across
Image source: Random_Cat66
#24 Wow, Spider-Man Got Ripped
Image source: Dibbik
#25 He Could Have Photoshopped More
Image source: DylanTop5
#26 This Youtube Thumbnail
Image source: roxyclean
#27 Think Someone Used The Completely Wrong Thumbnail
Image source: bmartin1989
#28 Fast Dogs
Image source: Cuber_01
#29 This Clickbait. Yes, So Many People Have Toe Teeth
Image source: GeezerEbaneezer
#30 Seriously, Who Allows These Thumbnails?
Image source: Kitkats213
#31 Fighting Through The Tears. Remember To Like And Subscribe, Guys. This Is So Hard. Merch 20% Off
Image source: jimmyraid
#32 Her Posture Was So Bad It Made Her Arms Bigger And Bent The Door Behind Her
Image source: LambSauce26
#33 This Shameful Clickbait Thumbnail Of Liv Tyler
Image source: idigholes
#34 Bald People
Image source: masarusenpai
#35 Third Most Subscribed Youtube Channel Uses The Most Questionable Thumbnails I’ve Ever Seen. Some Of Them Encouraging The Use Of Hot Glue In Extremely Dangerous Ways
Image source: HaC3rPr0
#36 These Clickbait Youtube Videos
Image source: Hipped_Orange22
#37 The Thumbnail For This Fake Story Is A Call Of Duty Map
Image source: Laggin-N-Swaggin
#38 Channels That Clickbait You With Red Circles On Nothing
Image source: yomyoo
#39 It’s In The Water, It’s A Mammal, Probably A Dolphin
Image source: CIoverload
#40 Lizard Brain
Image source: ocso639
#41 Why Is She Like That
Image source: emlgs
#42 Idc Bye
Image source: 7olenge
#43 Worst Thumbnail I’ve Ever Seen
Image source: Sxy_rexy
#44 Cursed Clickbait
Image source: chandlerriggs
#45 Nice Arm, Ted
Image source: SugarSpunSister90
#46 Duck vs. Car
Image source: DiverGaming
#47 Remember This Match Arsenal Scored A Powerful Goal Against Chelsea That Broke The Goalpost
Image source: paddyarsenal
#48 Bidinflation
Image source: Dr_Occisor
#49 When You Only Have One Thumbnail For News From NLR
Image source: orangutantrm88
#50 Eh, Close Enough
Image source: JohnMuirIsMyHomeboy
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