http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/28/nyregion/28nyc.html?oref=login

December 28, 2004

Paying for Art, But Instead Getting Ads
By CLYDE HABERMAN

IT was the 11th straight commercial - the second with Beyoncé trilling and shilling for Tommy Hilfiger - that pushed the audience over the edge.

These people had gone to Loews Lincoln Square to see a film. But at 4:45 p.m., the announced starting time of "The Aviator," they were pounded instead by an advertisement blitz. They knew, too, that a barrage of previews was still to come. Some at this popular theater complex on the Upper West Side reached the breaking point.

"Oh, come on!" a man cried in the dark.

"Give me a break!" a woman called out.

"We paid for a movie!" another man shouted.

That they did, and dearly: $10.50 for an "adult" ticket. A "child" or a "senior" paid $7. At the movies, apparently, anyone over 62, or even a mere 55 in some places, is not deemed an adult.

This audience was forced to put up with 6 minutes of ear-bursting commercials, followed by 11 minutes of thunderous coming attractions (which is another way of saying commercials). If people arrived early, as most did to find decent seats, they became prisoners as well to 27 advertisements that flitted silently across the screen in a continuous loop.

In all, some sat for as long as 50 minutes before finally getting what they had paid good money to see. Not surprisingly, they were fed up. If anything, their reactions were mild. At a recent screening of "I {sheart} Huckabees" in the same theater, the commercials drove one man to shout a strong, all-too-familiar obscenity at the screen. He was roundly cheered.

It may be too early to predict a full-throated consumer uprising. But the stirrings of rebellion are evident despite the happy talk from some theater owners. One major chain, Regal Entertainment Group, has cited an Arbitron survey contending that most audiences, especially younger ones, like advertisements.

Jason Thompson is skeptical. He is a graphic designer in Portland, Ore., who created an anti-commercials group called Captive Motion Picture Audience of America.

Like many moviegoers, he feels the advertisements are unfair and alien to American tradition. Movies are not television. You pay to get in. There is no mute button or channel changer. You're stuck, forced to listen to high-decibel sales pitches.

Beyond that, "movies are kind of an art form," Mr. Thompson said by phone. "We want to enjoy that art without having all these advertising messages rammed down our throats."

IT would have been nice to ask Loews Cineplex Entertaiment what it thinks. The company owns many theaters, including Lincoln Square. But Loews "does not comment on such questions," a spokeswoman said. Sure, why waste time discussing a matter of concern for many customers?

Granted, in a world of wars and killer tsunamis, this issue ranks far down the list of things to keep you tossing and turning at night. But movies, particularly during Christmas week, are as much a part of America as supersized fast food. The advent of the commercials leaves some people feeling they are being played for suckers.

"I don't just hate them - I resent them," Steve Rappaport said on Sunday at Loews Lincoln Square. "I think the reaction is starting to become more noticeable. I think it's because the commercials are getting longer." Another moviegoer, Elizabeth Cooke Levy, objected not only to the advertisements but also to their running when the film is supposed to start. "I'd like them to show the movie at the time they say they will," she said.

Plainly, the commercials have not stopped ticket prices from steadily rising. The National Association of Theater Owners - there's an acronym for you: NATO - says the average movie ticket in the United States cost $6.03 last year. That was 29 percent higher than five years earlier. Never mind that the Consumer Price Index rose less than 13 percent during the same period.

Now and then, headline-seeking politicians propose boycotts of theaters to protest high prices. But that suggestion doesn't fly any more than do occasional calls to stay clear of the concession stands, where theaters really make their money.

One idea from Mr. Thompson's group is to shout at the screen during commercials. That tactic has clearly begun to enjoy some support in New York. And who knows? Theater owners might eventually get the message.

"The way the ads have been increasing," Mr. Thompson said, "it seems they're trying to see how far they can go before the public pushes back."

If I want to see commercials, I can always stay home and watch tv. If I pay to see a movie, I want to see the movie, not MPAA commercials, popcorn commercials, or coming attractions for movies I probably will never see.

Someone get a lot of people together and go to a big movie theater. Pay for tickets to any movie, and walk out when a commercial plays. Previews are acceptable, but not commercials. Once the commercials start playing, have everyone get up and demand their money back and threaten a lawsuit if they don't. They'll think twice about playing them again.

Make sure you tell EVERYONE that they play commercials...

Go to http://www.commercialalert.org for more info and ways to fight commercials in movie theatres, among other places

I am not against having a few commercials here and there on broadcast TV or Radio... I am not even against having a few banner adds on free to visit websites...

...but too much is too much! Pop up ads and 15 min or more of commercials per hour on radio/tv??? Gimme a break!

And, if you are paying for a cable channel or access to a website or a ticket to a movie theatre, any commercial at all is a SIN!

It's common knowledge that previews usually last 15 minutes and people come late to skip them.

I do agree though that movie theater's should disclose the time when the movie actually starts as well as when the previews start.

If you really wanted to make an impact, have a few hundred people call the theater asking for the real time the movie starts. They may start publishing it on their own.

If theaters want to show commercials, they should offer incentives by having guests take a survey at the end of the movie. Those who pass get a few bucks off the ticket price or something.

jsk2001, luv ya! But, PLEASE do not give them any more "ideas" on how to ruin things... they continually figure out enough on their own.

Today it is all about how to get you to part with your money. Funny thing is, no one has really proved commercials work. Don't know about you but when I shop in a store, I don't think about what I saw on tv or heard on the radio of this or that product. I buy products because they do what I need them to do. If they don't I don't buy that brand again. Plain and simple.

To me commercials are a huge waste of my time and the broadcasters time. Brand name per say, (advertised) doesn't cause me to buy. I would come closer to buying because my neighbor said something to the effect that this product works. It isn't about brand name, its about the product doing its job. No amount of money is going to make me buy something either I don't need or does not work more than once.

If I went into such a theater to see a movie I paid for and was lambasted with commercials on my dime, I wouldn't be back. Vote with you pocketbook. No money means the customer doesn't like your product. (Hint hint RIAA.)

Another reason why I don't go to movies anymore. I wait a little bit (like 3-4 weeks) and by DVDs from blockbuster when they sell their used ones for 2 for $20. I have a big screen and sorround sound. And popcorn is pretty easy to make. This way, I get my movie, at a cheaper price, and the RIAA doesn't get anymore money since I got a used one from Blockbuster.

People are sheep. If they won't complain about abuse like that, they deserve what they get.

Last I knew, people had not abandoned going to the cinema. If they did, the ads would stop.

However, I know how to get them to stop. Force the critics in their private screenings to watch 16 minutes of high volume ads and previews before they are allowed to see the feature. Believe me, the practice would stop very rapidly.

The UK is worst for putting up and shutting up. Too reserved to say what they think and if you do people look at you like you are mad. I hate it. I want to just shout out my opinion but it 'embarrasses' friends etc.

"Too reserved to say what they think and if you do people look at you like you are mad."

Especially concerning the BPI and our GCN.

Well I tested my idea about calling the theater, and asked how long the previews are and they told me 10 minutes.

You should try this at your own theater. I don't see how a law is needed if people can just call and ask. Eventually if they received lots of calls, they may start listing it on their own.

I am amazed that adverts can still be effective.

Some time ago, there was a campaign over here to pass a law limiting the time for which flowers may be placed at the site of a fatal traffic accident and forbis the construction pf perminant memorials - the alleged reason being that these could distract drivers, causing another accident. (Through I suspect another reason - over enough years, those perminant memorials would just keep appearing until they crowded the roads.)

I wrote to an involved MP and pointed out that billboards are far more distracting - ban those first.

I recieved no reply.

Trivia: movie ads are called 'Trailers' because they used to be shown AFTER the movie.

Adverts, adverts everywhere... bring on the revolt!

"This way, I get my movie, at a cheaper price, and the RIAA doesn't get anymore money since I got a used one from Blockbuster."

man, the RIAA makes movies now too? : )

jsk -- Is it a survey or a test? How do you pass a survey?

sorry, I meant the MPAA not RIAA.

It used to be that TV was free, the signal came from an antena, and the advertising paid for the show. Now the cable company wants me to pay @$40/month for a wire that pokes thur my wall and there are still advertisements. I dont have cable, let coke or pepsi or somebody buy it for me.
I havent been to a movie theatre in years, main reason is prob'ly cuz I can't smoke or I can't sit nakkid, or possibly I just don't feel the expirance is worth $6.03 (Its $8.50 here...).
I just bought Pirates of the Caribbein the other day for $8.99 and when I wanna watch it I just double click Pirates_of_the_Caribbean.DivX , I keep the DVD well hidden from my children. I think movie theathres may just die like the dinosaur they are.

MPAA/RIAA

...same damn thing.

I don't know which media started the practice of having ads interfer with the viewed program. It's bad enough that there are so many ad spots within movies now that they sometimes overshadow the film itself.

With tv it seemed to start with voice-overs that butted in on a film's end credits. Then they started halving the screen so you can't read the credits or listen to the music. The most annoying thing though is when stations split the screen and give 75% to ads, leaving the rest for whatever the channel is designated as. A good example of this is cable's channel guide. They've now got the ads taking up so much space that you've got to be quick to figure out what's on a channel.

I'm just plain boycotting the theaters until they change their ways. I'll watch a flick on HBO or Cinemax where there are no trailers or adverts prior to the show and when the credits roll - they roll. Theaters are for chumps. If I want the film, I'll record it and it won't be cluttered with the verbage you get from a purchased dvd. It may not have the "extras" that purchased DVDs include... but really do you lay out your cash for the feature film or the out-takes?

If the MPAA's not making enough dough off their films it's their own fault. People don't want filler, they want the product they were promised. That and nothing more.

and you know what? Im tired of trailers on dvds, that really pisses me off. When dvds came out i was like, yay, no trailers.and now theyre back. Im tired of ads at the theaters too.

Trailers? Lols, they don't trail anymore. In fact most of the dvds don't allow you to fast forward through them either. Try it sometime. There will be a few old ones and a few exceptions but for the most part, your fast forward button ceases to function during those trailers.

It isn't about whether they are making money with the movie. As always extra income above and over what it brings in is what it is about. Whether you go and buy said product or not, there is always some smuck willing to pay to get his mention in there.

I have already made mention of the fact that I don't believe the commercials work as far as you gonna run out and buy what you were bombarded with as ads. In most cases if I think of it I will purposely pick something else so as not to award those that plague us with the commercials.

azurre, I do the same thing.

I buy all my dvd's from the local rental store.

I don't pay to watch commercials. It's bad enough we've been duped for so long into paying to see previews.

The commercials before the movie are annoying, but what's worse is product placement IN the movie. Take I, Robot for example...

"Coming Attractions" are part of the movie going experience and are not really an annoyance (in the case of the Wing Commander film they were the whole reason to go). Sitting through one commercial was a little peeving "Hey, isn't this a movie? When did they get commercials". Sitting through more than one was aggravating "Hey now, I don't need this Uptight Citizens Against Pot ad rammed down my throat", anything more than two became a hanging offense in my book.

Now, I don't pay the customary $7.50 to go to the movies, I wait for the DVD or I go to a second-run theatre. Sure, the dinky little place still has the ads, but it's $2 a person to get in, or $7 each for dinner and a movie. And the theatre cares, cares! as to whether I have a good experience or not. You can't beat that with a stick.