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Author Topic: Why are commercials so damned boring? Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 10-13-2005 09:27 AM                    Bruce, when I started getting headaches from watching that stupid documentary thing over and over again (it was the last spot to show before the film start), I decided to count the individual cuts in that ad. Grand total: SEVENTY... in a SIXTY SECOND ad. No wonder I kept getting a headache. So then I decided I would just LISTEN to it. Of course that meant that I had to keep hearing that brilliant profundity "Places so small, the only way to be noticed is to be larger than life" or something like that.  |  IP: Logged Paul Gordon Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 580 From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Registered: Aug 2005 posted 10-17-2005 07:39 AM                        Regarding the topic of commericals in Movie theatres, I really wish the big theatre chains whould put two starting times in their listings, one when all the commericals/trailers start and one when the movie starts. I'm just glad I work at a second run that has no commericals!! Also projectionists at those chains, turn the damn comemericals and trailers down!!! their to fringin LOUD!!!  |  IP: Logged Amanda Jones Film Handler Posts: 92 From: Indianapolis, IN, USA Registered: Aug 2005 posted 10-17-2005 04:18 PM                     New coke trailer being delivered to theaters this week to be on screen by Friday. "Line Starts Here", I hope its better then the current "Road Trip" one.  |  IP: Logged Robert Burtcher Expert Film Handler Posts: 194 From: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Registered: Jun 2005 posted 10-18-2005 09:45 AM                     Me too. The latest Coke rolling stock has sucked. I personally like the new Honda Civic Si rolling stock... Catchy tune and interesting visuals. New and different, imo. The US Cellular "Movies are no longer silent..." rolling stock was mildly amusing, but different. I like it when companies come up with rolling stock that's unique to theatres. My all-time most hated rolling stock is the "Bod Man Fragrance Spray" ad. All they did was pull both of their 15-second TV spots and splice them together, back to back. Craptacular.  |  IP: Logged Evans A Criswell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1579 From: Huntsville, AL, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 11-02-2005 04:05 PM                        The worst trend going now is the Regal "20". The audio is loud and harsh and irritating, and it's playing when people get to the theatre a little early and tend to just want to sit and talk to their friends before the movie starts. The Regal "20" feels like a bad Entertinment TV show with a bunch of commercials. I admit it is one reason my moviegoing has slowed down so much. In 1998, I went to 80 movies that year. This year, I've seen about a dozen in theatres, if that many. There's very little appeal left. Commercials and poor showmanship are ruining the industry. I went to the theatre more than anyone else I know, and if I've been turned off, think of how many others are.  |  IP: Logged Robert Harrison Expert Film Handler Posts: 239 From: Harwood Heights, Illinois, USA Registered: Jun 2005 posted 11-02-2005 06:57 PM                     We run commercials that are essentially telling people to stay home and watch TV. Most of our ads are for either Turner Classic Movies or films coming out on DVD.  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 11-02-2005 10:14 PM                    Yeah, kinda funny when you think about it, ain't it. We just had posters up advertising a TV show. "MAKE SURE YOU PUT IT IN A VERY PROMINENT LOCATION" said the documentation that came with the poster. Sure, let me just take down this King Kong poster, and I'll stick it there.  |  IP: Logged Mike Croaro Master Film Handler Posts: 394 From: Millbrae, CA Registered: Apr 2005 posted 11-03-2005 09:50 AM                     The title of this post suggests that the author finds television commercials on the big screen entertaining!? Any kind of ad (IMO) on the screen is unwelcome and intrusive. If the chains and operators wern't so sleazy they would realize this and omit with this bullcrap.  |  IP: Logged Dave Williams Wet nipple scene Posts: 1836 From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA Registered: Jan 2000 posted 11-03-2005 12:02 PM                        quote: Paul Gordon Regarding the topic of commericals in Movie theatres, I really wish the big theatre chains whould put two starting times in their listings, one when all the commericals/trailers start and one when the movie starts. While that sounds like a great idea on paper, the reality of it is much more complicated. You have the fact that it will take more space in advertising listings, and therefore will cost more money. You also have to deal with the general public that regardless of how well you point out in your advertising listings or on your movie listings board, they will take it to mean that there are two different showings. More confusion is not what the public needs. My thought would be that better route would be to just advertise the program start times as always, and then when at the theater, you can post the amount of time that the pre show takes up. Often you might not know the exact pre show time until after the deadline for print ads are due. quote: Mike Croaro The title of this post suggests that the author finds television commercials on the big screen entertaining!? Any kind of ad (IMO) on the screen is unwelcome and intrusive. If the chains and operators wern't so sleazy they would realize this and omit with this bullcrap. To say that any kind of on screen advertising is unwelcom and intrusive is to not truly understand the nature and history of advertising. Movie trailers are an advertisement, and people actually look forward to them. They are often entertaining, and tell them of movies to come. Movie trailers are not new or unique. They have been used since the black and white days. Product placements have also been part of the movie landscape for just as long. A certain brand of cigarettes, alcohol, soft dring, place to eat, airline, it's all the same. A price gets you placement. It may even get you a rewrite in the script to accomodate your product. I will agree that tv spots reformatted for the big screen are a joke. If there is some advertising spots that are created for the big screen, and are entertaining, then I have no problem with it. The theater owner gets the take instead of the producers of the film you are showing. With the amount of your box office that they get, it is a nice change. Slide advertising before the show has never been a problem. It does not interfere with the show itself, and people quite often get engaged in the trivia slides. And then the real argument here is that there are no commercials interrupting movie during the movie, it is all pre show. As long as the preshow does not exceed a reasonable amount of time, then it gives people an opportunity to arrive late and not miss the movie. And as for the sleazyness of chain operators, this implies that they are not entitled to make a profit? I agree that they should be more concerned with making things right instead of righting the pocketbook, but there has to be balance. Most operaters of chains listen to investors and banks, not a small percentage of theater goers or a small amount of techs on what they are doing wrong. We all collect a check for whatever we do, and I am sure there is someone somewhere that thinks we are sleazy for what we do for money, whatever that is. Ciao  |  IP: Logged Mike Croaro Master Film Handler Posts: 394 From: Millbrae, CA Registered: Apr 2005 posted 11-03-2005 01:01 PM                     Dave Williams wrote: To say that any kind of on screen advertising is unwelcom and intrusive is to not truly understand the nature and history of advertising. Movie trailers are an advertisement, and people actually look forward to them. They are often entertaining, and tell them of movies to come. Movie trailers are not new or unique. They have been used since the black and white days. Product placements have also been part of the movie landscape for just as long. A certain brand of cigarettes, alcohol, soft dring, place to eat, airline, it's all the same. A price gets you placement. It may even get you a rewrite in the script to accomodate your product. Hi Dave; Others: Sorry if my post was unclear. It was intended ONLY for television commericals. I have no problem with movie previews and I am tolerable of snack bar ads as they have been present for decades. Mike  |  IP: Logged Mike Spaeth Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1129 From: Marietta, GA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 11-03-2005 01:17 PM                        In the good old days of which you speak ... there was no stadium seating ... there was no digital sound ... customers today want all the convenience of these modern (expensive) megaplexes ... but do not understand that some thinking outside of the box and new revenue forms (i.e. advertising) may result. Go to a sporting event ... they have "on screen advertising" on the video boards during breaks ... and you're paying much more for that hockey or baseball game than going to the theatre.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-03-2005 02:44 PM                        In the good old days, theatres also had 70mm prints (or sometimes 35mm mag), full-time operators, one screen per theatre, curtains, and the desire to put on the best possible show. Screw stadium seating (I don't like most implementations of it, anyway), I want showmanship, not overly loud TV ads.  |  IP: Logged Bernie Anderson Jr Master Film Handler Posts: 435 From: Woodbridge, New Jersey Registered: Apr 2000 posted 11-05-2005 01:33 PM                        Because they're made by marketing people. It's the same problems with Trailers. They're cut almost exactly the same.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 11-05-2005 08:46 PM                        How is it that no one else has mentioned the fact that any commercials, be them on TV or in theatres, are all getting VERY bland and boring? Not only are the commercials a PITA to some 75% or better of the moviegoing public, the films they are paying to see are not that great either! Add insult to injury and attendance suffers. I can think of three, maybe four movies I've seen since leaving the theatre in March. The best one to date was Wedding Crashers.. Movies, and commercials alike, are all being replayed, rewritten, and reworked to the point that they ALL seem to be, well, just BLAH. I'd rather watch Discovery or The Histroy Channel at home than go sit in the theatre and deal with the jackasses that attend the shows... Sad really.  |  IP: Logged

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