Seriously. Why are they doing this to us?
I can’t stress how gut-retching it is to pay a ridiculous $12 to go see a movie (I could have easily downloaded, by the way) just to have them play AT LEAST 9 commercials that I see on cable EVERY day. Cable that I pay an incredibly high rate for which is overrun with irritatingly loud and annoying commercials that hold no interest to me whatsoever. Commercials that bombard my computer (through my expensive internet service) when I watch a poor quality video of my friend’s band.
But I can even handle all that because at least I can skip the ones online or mute them on my TV. But in the movie theatre? What the shit! There’s no escape, you just have to sit there with this garbage being crammed into you like a businessman violently raping your face.
Commercials for cars, commercials for pop, commercials for phones, commercials for computers, commercials for vacation resorts.
I really wish I could tell these fucking advertisers that you’ve corrupted our whole planet with ads that make me want to jam rusty spoons into the back of my skull and scoop out my eyes. That you’ve over-saturated the market and now people just completely tune out your totally unoriginal piece of ass being pumped out over and over again until it’s become a piece of $300 000 white noise. Congratulations, morons. —Movie No-Goer
This article appears in Jan 5-11, 2012.
You HAVE to sit there?
What cinema are you going to??
Dude, the ads are total bullshit. So i stroll in late. No big deal.
I love going to the movies, even with the commercials. I agree though, they are a complete nuisance. I have even stopped watching certain tv channels based on the frequency and duration of their commercial breaks. What really pisses me off to no end is when they show the same Goddamned ad every. commercial. break! (Sometimes TWICE in the same break even!) Annoys me to no end. Like you, I either turn the channel or mute it until it’s over.
I have to wonder though, if the theatres stopped showing the advertising, (which companies are paying big advertising dollars to the theatres for the use of the ad space/time), how much of an increase would there be on the already over-inflated costs of tickets and concessions? Maybe the theatres are just being purely greedy?
In any regards, good bitch and……nice Gill Morgan….I was not expecting that.
The theatres have to make money somehow considering that they make next to nothing off of ticket sales.
The theatres have to make their money some where?…
It costs 3.50 for water and something like 12 bucks for a drink and popcorn… I am also sure the ticket revenue more then makes up for the cost of the license of the movie… They are just growing their profit margin…even at the cost of the customer, seems to be a growing trend these days.
You are comparing watching a movie in a theater to being orally raped? Honestly, you have no fucking clue. Slap yourself for me.
You know though.. one good thing about the ad culture is that ads are going to get better. (hopefully…)
A few years ago i went to a film that was essentially two hours of commercial shorts. Something about the world’s best ads. And you know what? They were GOOD! Hilarious. Well photographed. Enjoyable. The appealed to a more highbrow audience which means they’ll never make it to the mainstream.. HOWEVER..
With the prevalence of ads in today’s media (not to mention today’s schools, courtrooms, funeral parlors…) the time is soon coming when ads will target the consumer that is watching them. So at least you’ll be bombarded with ads and ad frequency that suits your taste and texture. And that’s better than nothing if you have to be marketed to 100% of the time..
The worst is when the person watching the commercial has any sort of background in design or advertising. Having to sit through commercials is bearable, but being forced to watch the most mindless drivel ever broadcast almost makes me want to, as you said, ‘jam rusty spoons into the back of my skull and scoop out my eyes’. There should be a watchdog group for these advertisers, so when they try to put out these horrible commercials someone can say, “Are you sure? You really want to put THAT on T.V.?”
The worst is baby commercials… Denim Baby Diapers? Seriously?
Last 2 movies I or my friends went to see were packed, IK, so that strategy doesn’t always work.
commercials can be funny….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgGud5gsbIA
though for some fucked up reason there was a time I had to endure an endorsement…
to watch this COMMERCIAL on youtube.
a mandatory commercial before I can voluntarily watch a commercial???
THAT is fucked.
also… if you know how to (and presumably can) torrent movies.. why bother with the overpriced cable you so ruthlessly mock?
TheCaptain. I work in advertising as a developer and designer. Before that i was a writer. And in my teens i was an actor.
Commercials make me want to jam forks into all sensory orifices. And then twist them.
Tommy Good point.
Well OP you can always put headphones in and watch pirated content on youtube until the commercials end. It saves you from the drivel and it’s sort of a nice kind of protest too.
IK, we are cut from the same cloth… except it seems you have a mountain more experience in dealing with mind numbing advertising than I do. I really feel bad for you, having to deal with all the bad designs throughout the years.
Admittedly though, I really love good advertising, it’s just hard to come by.
I can dig a good commercial or a thoughtful, clever commercial. I can’t stand the majority of them today! There is zero imagination or creativity that goes into them. You know, where they just like show people with the product, laughing and dancing around. Good job, I’m sure that look a very long time to figure out…
OB, you answered your own complaint. Download. That way you can avoid all those commercials.
watch free movies online…at home alone. Like a troll.
Just ignore them, no one is forcing you to watch them, I mean how many ways can you do a milk commercial anyhow.
I’d take ads over having to watch Jagger and Bowie murder ‘Dancing in the Streets’ anytime…
I have to say the commercials at the theatre are a little over the top. When my wife and I go to the movies, it costs over 50 bucks with tickets and concessions, and it takes effort to find a parking space in a giant lot. Unless people are using theatre parking lots for park-and-ride, I’d say that profit isn’t a problem. They’re just greedy fuckin pigs, and should be prevented from playing 15 mins of TV commercials before 20mins of movie trailers. It’s bullshit, and anyone who thinks this is acceptable is an idiot!!
I usually finish half my popcorn by the time the adds finish … me a pig? or adds too long?
… a bit of both I think.
You’re right OP.
Why do people even waste their money at movie theatres? I use my DVR; have saved hundreds as a result; sit at home in comfort, with reasonably priced eats and drinks AND I get to smoke all the pot I want without some prude complaining!
Why do they do this to us? The answer is simple. Revenue. And they say there are no stupid questions.
i remember when they showed the three stooges before the movie
I thought the tickets were more around $10 but then again I haven’t been in a while. Yes it sucks that the concessions are so pricey but if you plan slightly ahead and bring in your own food, it’s way cheaper. I know it’s sposed to be “not allowed” now but who cares.
Some people actually like ads. A lot of people, actually. Like when I watch TV with my Mom, I have to mute the commercials myself or else she’d just leave them on. And sometimes she tries to make me look up an ad she liked on Youtube. And when I’m not with my little crowd of wise-to-ads friends, I often hear people chuckling together about this or that ad. These are the people they create ads for.
I’d like to know why the non-trailer ads just started appearing one day in theatres. Was it just some brainstorming session and they were like, we have to make more money because we’re a corporation so let’s just start showing ads again since it’s not like people are going to riot in the streets?
I first witnessed this phenomenon when I was living in France in the late 90s. This has been going on in Europe for years before they brought it here.
You could always stake out your seat by leaving your jacket there or something and going to the washroom or taking a little walk while the commercials are on.
Oh who gives a flying fuck. Really? Just don’t pay attention or arrive for the movie a few minutes after it’s supposed to start. Simple.
Whiners.
the family went to see tintin and my poor dad kept asking me “is this it?” we just chatted til the *feature presentation* came on
PG, they did but found too much puke in the theater after showing clips with the Three Stooges (DD, Steal, and Kelly).
Theatres are just looking to make more money. If I go to a movie I usually show up late enough to miss the ads or completely ignore them. The only thing an ad has ever enticed me to purchase … a Reese blizzard at 10:30pm (and no, I didn’t write the ice cream bitch).
And Captain, I don’t work in the industry but I have to disagree about the worst types of ads … those for feminine hygiene products cause me to cringe and hang my head.
Theatres are just looking to make more money? Gee. I thought movie theatres, like most businesses, were just looking to make more friends or save the rain forests.
I agree wholeheartedly OP, I hate that. Don’t they make enough money from their $5.00 popcorn (Empire size). Of course that means that I have to go back and get my free refill so it seems like I’m getting my money’s worth. I don’t want the extra bag but I must get it as a matter of principle.
Yeah PG, I remember when they had cartoons before the feature film, that was great. I also remember, a few years back, seeing the first commercial before a movie and thinking “Uh oh, this can’t be a good trend!”
Today I watched the episode of The Simpsons in which Homer flips his lid at the number of movie previews, and ends up shirtless and screaming, and running out of the back door of the theatre. Classic shit. I agree with the OP, and Homer. If I want to be advertised to, I can stay home. I can’t afford the shit they’re trying to sell me, and I don’t care to. PLAY THE MOVIE!!!
Trood, in those days they didn’t have the rampant piracy that there is today.
Wanna know a movie tip? Save your refillable popcorn bag, bring it back next time and ask for a refill ;). Repeat until bag falls apart. Also, some of the best times you will ever have in a theatre will be when you byob to watch the latest “horror” movie.
Can anyone tell me where the nearest drive-in theatre is? God I miss going to the drive-in. Call me nostalgic but there is just something about going to see a movie at a good ole’ fashioned drive-in theatre. (For those who actually “watch” the movie, that is. I mean, hey, It ain’t called the Finger Bowl for nothing lol)
And yes, I’m old enough to remember when you had to put the speaker in your window in order to hear the movie. Now you just tune into the drive-in’s FM freq.
There is one back home that is open every summer. Double feature every week and I think the only ad you see is in between the features when they show this:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ti5Eov8V4Mg/S_55…
“Let’s all go to the lo-bby
Let’s all go to the lo-bby
Let’s all go to the lo-bby
And get ourselves some snacks.”
Speaking of money and stuff, Survivor or Z is in today’s CH: http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/50528-w…
HA …HA !
The above is a direct rip off from the Simpsons. But for someone who is complaining about the cost of cable, movies & how you recognize you are being ripped off but still keep on paying, it fits.
So does ,Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
(f’in sheeple piss me off)
@avast: I know there’s a drive-in down the Valley somewhere. If memory serves me correctly, it’s either in the New Minas-Wolfville area or the Windsor area. I’m sure you’ll find it easy enough if you google “Valley Drive-In”.
@everybody else: http://musicmovielist.com/wp-content/uploa…
There is one in Westville, Orgasmafunk! It’s just off the Westville exit and a very short drive past the Circle K and gas station.
The Valley Drive-In is actually just outside Coldbrook on the way to Berwick… I think if you take exit 14 off the 101 and head down the old number one (past cambridge and coldbrook — you’d turn left at the end of the off ramp towards the wendy’s/tim hortons) you’ll see it on the right hand side of the road, eventually.
🙂
Thanks guys. I’ll have to check it out this summer. If you want, I can sneak you in like they used to do, in the trunk of my car. lol Anybody else wanna come? (Bring blankets and bug juice.)
the valley drive in…. yup yup.
just over an hour away or so.
http://valleydrivein.com/index2.asp
@Donairious… oh large one… I hope that’s not survivor….
knowing she lives in fairview… man, it’s a scary place.
@ Tommy… weren’t you one of the folks preaching to never leave your jacket alone in public? It may have been a bar or DAL SUB or something….
but I’m pretty sure you were. Don’t leave shit alone in public… unless you don’t mind it being stolen or ransacked through.
i’ll hide in your trunk avasto, as long as you let me out
Actually, Zed — when I left my iphone in the bathroom, it was in the dal sub and someone returned it to the info desk! <3
MEANWHILE, there’s some thief in my office stealing my stuff from the office fridge. And someone stole my festive box of kleenex in december right off my desk! I found out who the kleenex thief is, and it turns out they’re too adorable to be mad at. I hate when that happens.
Anyway, when I went to go get my iphone, they had two others that had been turned in by students! Dal students really don’t suck like everyone says they do.