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11/16/2002 Archived Entry: "Harry Potter and the Annoying Advertisements"

One of my pet peeves is the total bombardment of advertising that one can't escape in American life today. A trip to the theater to see "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" today showed me just how bad it's getting. As noted in another entry today, "less is more" sometimes, and I, for one, would like to see less advertising in the movie theater.

I don't mind the "coming attractions" movie trailers much. Granted, they have their problems--too much volume, too many plot points given away, and many of them are for really lame movies--but it's part of the experience.

What raises my objection is the increasing presence of product advertising before a film. These ads are usually shot on videotape and transferred to film, so they look washed out, distorted, fuzzy, and grainy. Only rarely are they entertaining; often they're just copies of the same ads you are subjected to over and over again on television.

I've already paid an extortionate amount of money to get into the theater, and taken out a small bank loan to purchase snacks at the concession stand. (I sometimes think that "concession stand" uses "concede" in the sense that, say, Britain conceded Oregon to the United States in 1846.) After all that, I've paid for the right to see the movie, and I don't need to pay again by allowing an advertiser a free shot at my attention.

Is a lame Coke ad going to get me to run out and buy a hideously overpriced soda? No. If I was going to do it, I would've done it long before the ad was played. In fact, it makes me feel less comfortable with spending money on Coke products. I don't want to reward companies for being annoying.

People hate e-mail "spam," but the fact is, we tolerate advertising "spam" in many formats on a daily basis. Ads are in our magazines, newspapers, TV programs... on billboards, vending machines, buses, taxicabs, and even (illegally!) on sidewalks themselves... everywhere you turn, someone is trying to push into your life with another advertisement.

TV programs are practically "saturation bombed" with ads now. There's the usual ever-increasing number of normal ads. The network now puts promos for upcoming shows overlaid on top of the actual program, several times an hour, often with annoying animations that obscure the show. The credit sequences are scrunched to illegibility to make room for more ads. Many shows no longer have proper title sequences because that makes room for one more ad. Local TV stations even trim bits off shows to make room for one more local promo spot. And, of course, the network has to constantly advertise themselves with a channel logo on the screen. (That one is given the lame excuse of "people aren't smart enough to know what channel they're on, even though most every TV, cable box, and satellite dish sold nowadays comes with a built in channel guide.")

It has gotten to the point where I feel imposed upon by advertising. I feel as if the advertising agencies have absolutely no scruples, no line that they will not cross. Any tactic to get my attention, for better or worse, is fair game.

The message this sends me is: the companies that employ those tactics have zero respect for me, and count my time and attention as worthless.

Companies: Would you take out an ad that says, flat out, "People who drink carbonated soda! We think your time is worthless." Of course not! But you will, and often do, take out ads which imply the very same thing by virtue of how you try to cram them into people's lives.

I suggest that companies try more creative approaches. Take, for example, Ford's sponsorship of this season's premiere episode of "24" on Fox. They put ads at the beginning and end, and ran the show itself without commercial interruption. However, an astute observer would notice that Ford vehicles were featured prominently throughout. Ford was also mentioned explicitly in every promo for "24" that aired before the season began. This is a good deal less intrusive.

Also, companies should consider putting more information out there. A web site shouldn't just be a rehash of a print ad; it should cater to the person who already has some interest in the product and now wants the details.

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