When Ads Attack
Brian in Atlanta
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/70075.htm
WHEN ADS ATTACK
By Russell Scott Smith
March 6, 2003 -- SHOW up at a movie and you'll have to watch Craig Kilborn
sell Coca-Cola, Celine Dion shill for Chrysler and Fandango's curlyheaded
guy dance with bells and say, "What do you mean, sold out?"
Cash-strapped theater chains have been showing more ads - and New Yorkers
are joining a nationwide chorus of protests.
"I love the previews but the ads drive me insane," says telemarketer Phil
Nugent, 35, "especially because ticket prices keep going up.
"If they shave $2.50 off the admission price, maybe I'll sit through the
ads."
That's unlikely, because theaters are counting on ads to pull them back from
the financial brink.
"When people are watching TV at home, they might get up and go to the
refrigerator during the ads," says Kavir Dhar, a media analyst for New
York's Jefferies and Company. "But in the movie theater, nobody's going
anywhere."
Consequently, theater chains can charge an average of $25 per 1,000 people,
as opposed to the $11 per 1,000 views for newspapers or the $19 for TV
stations.
That means a projected $90 million per year for Regal Theaters alone.
"With money like that," Dhar says, "it's no surprise the industry is moving
toward more pre-show advertising."
Indeed, the film-screen ad industry is projected to grow by 30 percent this
year, says Matthew Kearney, president of the Cinema Advertising Council.
Regal is leading the pack with "The 2wenty," a 20-minute block of pre-show
programming now in 27 metro-area theaters.
The program includes a five-minute "NBC Studio Tour" featuring Jay Leno,
David Spade, and Sean Hayes, a documentary about the Hulk roller coaster at
Universal Studios, and an "Oscar memories" documentary by Turner Classic
Movies.
" 'The 2wenty' is advertising disguised as entertainment," Dhar says.
Regal Theaters spokeswoman Lauren Leff says the chain's independent research
found no negative reaction to the promo reel - and that audiences were
overwhelmingly entertained.
Perhaps moviegoers' biggest peeve is the timing: Last month, a Chicago
English teacher filed a lawsuit against Loews for showing ads after the
lights go down.
The suit, which seeks class-action status, asks that theaters list the
films' actual starting times or pay up to $75 per patron as "lost time"
damages.
Loews calls the suit "ludicrous," but more than 700 moviegoers nationwide -
including more than a dozen New Yorkers - have contacted Portland, Oregon
lawyer Douglas Litowitz asking to be added as plaintiffs.
"We see commercial creep everywhere - ballparks are being named after phone
companies, now movie theaters are showing ads, too," says Litowitz.
"People didn't request them, and they are tremendously angry about it."
There have even been some spontaneous demonstrations.
At a recent weekday matinee of "The Hours" at the Loews 72nd Street, the
audience started booing so loudly at the ads that the projectionist stopped
them.
"It was an absolutely phenomenal protest," says marketing consultant Mimi
Gaber, 33, who was in the audience. "I wish there was more of that."
--
-Brian in Atlanta
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
Jasoncheaser
thatnk goodness I dont go to one...
---------------------------------------------------------
>"I love the previews but the ads drive me insane," says telemarketer Phil
>Nugent, 35, "especially because ticket prices keep going up.
>
a TELEMARKETER complains about annoyong ads! BAHHHHHHAHAHAHAHA!
oh, thats to good!
Your Pal Brian
> "I love the previews but the ads drive me insane," says telemarketer Phil
> Nugent, 35,
This from a telemarketer?
> That's unlikely, because theaters are counting on ads to pull them back from
> the financial brink.
Here's my prediction: At some time in the future, I don't know when exactly,
theaters will start running ads during the picture. First it'll be an
"intermission" like the old AMC. This will cause a great uproar, of course, and
much gnashing of teeth, but the ad revenue will make up for lost ticket sales,
so it'll stick. Then it will expand into regular commercial breaks.
Your Pal Brian Predicts.
Brian
Jasoncheaser
what else do you predict oh great brando?!
(bows to you)
StormChaser
"Brian in Atlanta" <by...@gibberish.com> wrote in message
news:FvH9a.337755$iG3.41677@sccrnsc02...
> From the New York Post at:
> http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/70075.htm
>
> WHEN ADS ATTACK
> By Russell Scott Smith
>
> <snip>
>
> Loews calls the suit "ludicrous," but more than 700 moviegoers
nationwide -
> including more than a dozen New Yorkers - have contacted Portland, Oregon
> lawyer Douglas Litowitz asking to be added as plaintiffs.
>
Add my name to the list.
This is a tasteless business
practice that I have addressed
in previous posts.
The theatre chains should not
subject their patrons to torture
sessions for lack of revenue but
should complain to Hollywood
about the crappy movies that are
distributed to them.
Mark
Philip
"Your Pal Brian" <brian...@iFreedom.com> wrote in message
news:3E67F387...@iFreedom.com...
> Brian in Atlanta wrote:
> Here's my prediction: At some time in the future, I don't know when
exactly,
> theaters will start running ads during the picture. First it'll be an
> "intermission" like the old AMC. This will cause a great uproar, of
course, and
> much gnashing of teeth, but the ad revenue will make up for lost ticket
sales,
> so it'll stick. Then it will expand into regular commercial breaks.
>
No, what will happen is that the movies will BECOME ads, with products
strategically placed to be seen during the action.
Hang on a minute...
William Hooper
>Here's my prediction: At some time in the future, I don't know when ex
actly,
>theaters will start running ads during the picture. First it'll be an
>"intermission" like the old AMC. This will cause a great uproar, of co
urse, and
>much gnashing of teeth, but the ad revenue will make up for lost ticket
sales,
>so it'll stick. Then it will expand into regular commercial breaks.
That is the unmentioned shadow looming behind hi-def video projection
like DLP being introduced into theaters. Insertion of ad breaks,
additions of cable-TV like "bugs", localized content, etc. will be
a breeze, technically.
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Lokke Heiss
> theaters will start running ads during the picture. First it'll be an
> "intermission" like the old AMC. This will cause a great uproar, of course, and
> much gnashing of teeth, but the ad revenue will make up for lost ticket sales,
> so it'll stick. Then it will expand into regular commercial breaks.
>
> Your Pal Brian Predicts.
But why stop there? Pretty soon the bottom frame of the screen will
be 'liberated' and used to flash across ads and game scores just like
the way they do it on ESPN. And when you get hopelessly bored with a
shot in a movie that lasts longer than three seconds, your eye can
drift to down the comforting moving ad banner and catch up with the
world and Coke.
But why stop there? All the product placement in films is so shoddy
and undisciplined, with CGI and planned editing you can dramatically
expand placement availability. You've seen those ads at basketball
games next to the scoring table that scrolls from one ad to the next
every two minutes? Just do the same thing in a scene. One minute the
guy is holding a Coke, then you morph it into a Mountain Dew, cut away
and come back he's holding a Dr. Pepper. Three placements and three
payola checks where before you only had one. I call this plan
'increasing the density of the available marketing.'
Bill Morris--Tech Support
"Lokke Heiss" <lhe...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:984c1d33.0303...@posting.google.com...
> > Here's my prediction: At some time in the future, I don't know when
exactly,
> > theaters will start running ads during the picture. First it'll be an
> > "intermission" like the old AMC. This will cause a great uproar, of
course, and
> > much gnashing of teeth, but the ad revenue will make up for lost ticket
sales,
> > so it'll stick. Then it will expand into regular commercial breaks.
> >
> > Your Pal Brian Predicts.
>
> But why stop there? Pretty soon the bottom frame of the screen will
> be 'liberated' and used to flash across ads and game scores just like
> the way they do it on ESPN. And when you get hopelessly bored with a
> shot in a movie that lasts longer than three seconds, your eye can
> drift to down the comforting moving ad banner and catch up with the
> world and Coke.
Great. Movie screens will start looking like Bloomberg Market Watch.
I'm going to the corner of the room and get drunk.
Bill
--
"When we die, we don't go to purgatory.
We just land up on the roof and lay there."
--Edward E. "Steady Ed" Headrick,
inventor of the modern Frisbee.
Bill Morris, bmo...@mw.net
Your Pal Brian
> what else do you predict oh great brando?!
>
Heck, the job's already been done for me:
http://avclub.theonion.com/avclub3528/avfeature3528.html
Brian
Brent Walker
The next thing you're going to tell me is that filmmakers are going to
start introducing vehicles, characters and "lifeforms" into their
movies for no plot purpose other than to sell tchotchkis and McDonald
Happy Meal toys....
Brent Walker
(who thinks a Kalla Pasha action figure would've kicked ass against
any Star Wars action figure)
Joanne Capella
reason to make me think twice before going out. I'll just wait a few
months; for a few dollars more than the price of admission I can buy
the film on DVD. This advertising scheme might help theatre owners
financially in the short run, but will eventually cause more potential
patrons to stay home.
Joanne
William Hooper
The exhibition industry had one of its best years in 2002. It's
usually tied to how good the movies are that come out. The corporate
tendency to say "they'll get used to it" in terms of ads, reduced
quality of projection, minimization of presentation issues like no
curtains, turning the lights up early etc. is in fact borne out by the
fact that the demo for theater-going stays at about the same age. As
older people go less, the younger ones don't really see a problem
because, for them, "it's always been that way". The population of
movie patrons pretty much slides through that age demo. When
theatrical video projection becomes the only theatrical format, the
image issues & further extended ad content issues won't really
decrease attendance because they'll come in over a time that includes
the younger patrons understanding of it as what movie theaters mean.
Tony Spadaro
1984 -- and that was the first time I'd been in one since the summer of 1981
before we had AC in our house. In what way are the ads different from the
half hour of "Previews of all the other films playing or going to play in
the next three years in this multiplex and every other multiplex we own
including some that aren't built yet" of that era?
--
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com
home of The Camera-ist's Manifesto
The Improved Links Pages are at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/links/mlinks00.html
"Joanne Capella" <bow...@dreamscape.com> wrote in message
news:16327e2e.03031...@posting.google.com...