I arrived just five minutes before the advertised show time and the line up for popcorn was quite long. Knowing there'd be previews, I decided to chance being late and get some popcorn. After all who can resist... Sorry, now I am talking about popcorn when I'd said I wasn't. Let's move on. I got to my seat a few minutes later than the aforementioned show time just when things were getting started (the screen was blank for a while when I first got there). The pre-show festivities consisted of a few previews and get this, eight advertisements. I'm not exaggerating, I counted them just so I could complain to you in an accurate fashion. Doesn't eight seem a little excessive? I remember when there was one ad and people booed. Now eight is acceptable? Sheesh.
I'm not against advertising in any philosophical or dogmatic sense, but I think if you're going to hold back the show for (and this is not an exaggeration either as I checked the time) 17 minutes after the much publicized start time to pitch stuff, then you're taking advantage of us. And I'm not talking about the popcorn, which if I wanted to I could. Since we're talking about getting taken advantage of. But I will hold back.
See you at the commercials!
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Just do what my husband does. Every few minutes during the ads, he will say in a very loud, clear voice, "I PAID for my ticket!"
ReplyDeleteOr do what I do. Not go.
The solution is simple, but the theatres won't do it. Have the movie start ON TIME and all the previews and ads start well before (17m, from the sounds of it) the advertised start time, so you can avoid them by simply entering the theatre on time.
ReplyDeleteI guess you have to wonder if it is fair play or not. After all if you go to a hockey game you get a lot of advertising thrust upon you and you've paid good money for those tickets as well.
ReplyDeleteWhether it is fair or not isn't my concern. If you own the theatre, or the hockey rink, I suppose you can do whatever you want. I would just like some honesty in the advertising--if the ad says the movie is gonna start at 7pm, then they should be running the ads right up until the starting time; they shouldn't be starting the ads at 7pm.
ReplyDeleteI don't like them, either, but I don't see what paying for a ticket has to do with anything. I pay for a newspaper and it's filled with ads. As Jack says, you pay for sporting events and they're filled with ads. You pay for cable and the stations are filled with ads. Hell, the only reason I can think of that people watch the Super Bowl is to see the ads.
ReplyDeleteAs for Dan's suggestion, yeah, that's not gonna happen. Advertisers want people to see their ads. The best we can do is boycott the products that are being advertised, and let them know that's why we're boycotting.