Ads Before Movies
Published by Kaonashi June 8th, 2006 in Articles.When I was a kid, I remember going to the movies and noting that if the movie time said “6:15″, that meant that the movie would start about 5 minutes after the trailers. No big deal. My parents would yell at me and my brother to hurry up and finish getting dressed so we can make it on time.
Nowadays, when my boyfriend and I go to the movies, we don’t really worry as much getting there on time. The reason is that if the movie time is “6:15″, this means that the movie doesn’t actually start until about 6:30- a whopping 15 minutes later.
In addition to about 5 minutes of trailers (which I never minded since they’re fun to watch), going to the movies these days means having to sit through 10 minutes of mind-numbing commercials. This doesn’t include the 30 minutes of cycled, usually local ads audiences have to sit through as they locate their seats and buy popcorn.
When I first started seeing ads before trailers I thought it was unusual. However, that was around 1998 or so, and they would only have about 2 or 3 so it wasn’t so bad. Now it seems that the number has tripled, with just one ad coming after the other. There were so many ads that during my latest trip to the movies, I realized at one point that we hadn’t even seen the trailers yet, let alone get to the actual movie.
I don’t understand the point of commercials in movie theaters. During WWII, audiences would get animated shorts or news footage- entertaining stuff for them to watch as they waited for the main attraction. Now, we get garbage. Nobody enjoys sitting through 10 minutes of advertising. The last time I went to the movies, the guy sitting next to me grumbled to his friend about having to watch the ads. Hell, most people hate sitting through 2 minutes’ worth of commercials on TV, which is why so many people have invested in Tivos.
Imagine if they pulled this crap at concerts. Instead of an opening act for Madonna, audiences would be treated to a half hour of ads. I think they’d start rioting in the streets.
My understanding is that commercials are required for (non-cable) television because, since the shows are offered for free, ads are run in lieu of payment. But when we have to pay $10 for a movie ticket, I think that we deserve not to be bombared with 10 minutes’ worth of advertising. On the other hand, I do wonder though if the reason we’re paying “only” $10 for a ticket is because of the ads. Lord knows how much more tickets would cost without advertisements. I cringe to think about it.
I guess ads are a necessary evil we have to put up with, as long as movie tickets remain expensive.
3 Responses to “Ads Before Movies”
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The movie trailers used to be after the movie and not before, hence the name. What really irritates me is when they put movie previews on the DVD’s I buy.
What is your take on the increasing amount of product placement in movies? I saw the break up the other day and I caught so many subtle advertisements, it kind of threw me off the movies. Starbucks Coffee, Bud light Beer, Subway sandwiches and Pepsi Soda are prominently featured in the movie…
It’s really that kind of thing that makes me appreciate foreign films more, especially the old ones. Hollywood is selling out to the corporations and becoming more and more commercialized as time goes on. Nowadays, I can tell a movie was made in Hollywood just by the plot. Hollywood movies are meant to make money and hence must have mass appeal. They are often dumbed down so that they get a bigger box office and thus, more viewers for corporate advertising. Take any blockbuster and try to count the number of products they slip into the scenes. “The Breakup” is the norm for corporate advertising, not the exception. Foreign films, on the other hand, are not as commercialized yet. Though they may not have the huge draw as Hollywood films you can be sure that they say a lot more. In the independent and foreign film markets, the movies just seem to have more integrity and artistry. This is in part because they don’t cost as much to make.