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I can remember the time that I would head to the movie theater a little early, get my popcorn and drink, and enjoy a few previews. Now, movie theaters are advertising more and more products before the previews, so we have a "pre-preview." Not to mention the previews have increased ten-fold! Why did TV commercials move to the theater?

The answer is simple, because it works! Let's face it, advertisers are always looking for more ways to increase the number of times an ad is viewed, and TV commercials have hit their limits! Even in the best of sitcoms, 7 minutes of advertisements in a 30 minute time frame is pushing viewer tolerance. Using devices like TiVo and the DVR, many households record their favorite TV shows and watch them later while skipping the commercial advertisements. So the answer is to look for additional ways to get ads in front of us, and the movie theater was a perfect fit.

My only gripe is why so many? It seems that the movie previews and advertisements are getting to be about 20 to 30 minutes. In fact one theater chain, Loews Cineplex, is actually advertising the starting time as when the actual movie begins and not when the previews start. In fact, the Senate is proposing a "Film Start Time Bill." Under the Feature Actual Start Time legislation, movie theaters would be forced to conspicuously post two start times; one for the start of paid advertisements, public service announcements and/or previews and another for the actual start of the movie. Violators would have to pay civil penalties such as a fine. Personally, I think the Senate should be worried about grander issues other than movie start times, but it goes to show that people do not like Advertisements forced on them.

If people continue to skip TV commercials and head to the movie theaters 15 minutes late, then advertisers will have to come up with another way of getting their products in front of us. My prediction is advertising will siginificantly increase on web pages and search engines. I also bet your cell phone will start receiving more text messages and colorful ads on your new cool picture phones.

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Movie previews: Love 'em or hate 'em, they're here to stay Previews take up nearly half an hour before each movie in some theaters, with the concept of advertising films gaining in popularity, at least among promoters.