Anger rises when lights dim

By IRENE CHAPPLE

A university media lecturer has questioned the need for cinema advertising - and raised the prospect of a class action lawsuit to stop it.

Writing in the industry magazine Admedia, Geoff Lealand said it was "damn cheek expecting us to pay $12 or more to see a feature, to be force-fed 10 to 15 minutes of unwelcome big-screen advertising before the film begins".

Lealand said he had friends and colleagues who arrived at cinemas late in order to avoid the advertising played before a movie.

"I have noticed more and more people struggling to their seats in the dark after the scheduled starting time, in order to avoid the ads," he wrote.

Lealand said the practice may attract the New Zealand equivalent of a class action suit under way in Chicago.

That lawsuit has been filed on behalf of all Loews Cineplex patrons by teacher Miriam Fisch.

It accuses Loews of deceptive business practice because ads begin at the time advertised as the start of the feature movie.

Lealand said his letter had attracted emails from people in the advertising industry who appeared to be very sensitive about what he was saying.

However, Lealand said the argument was similar to that of pay TV, where a customer would pay to view and did not expect advertisements.

Lealand was also not impressed with Val Morgan's advertising campaign that screens before films and brags cinema audiences are "captive."

It was "arrogant" to expect people to sit through the advertisements when they had paid money to see a film.

"I don't mind a trailer to two," said Lealand. "but not so many ads."

He didn't think it should make the tickets more expensive, claiming the the bulk of cinemas' money was made on overpriced popcorn.

However, Val Morgan general manager Murray Davis said viewers in New Zealanders were used to cinema advertising whereas it was a newer practice in the United States.

He thought it very unlikely that a lawsuit such as Fisch's would be filed in New Zealand.

New Zealanders have had cinema advertising, in its different forms, since the 1950s.

Cinema advertising, excluding trailers and inhouse promotions, now runs for about eight minutes. Val Morgan, which sells the bulk of New Zealand cinema advertising, charges $160 for a 30-second slot. Its sales in 2001 were $6.2 million.

"People appreciate it as a medium,"Davis said. "People see the advertising as part of the cinema experience."

Village Force chief executive Joseph Moodabe agreed: "People enjoy the quality of the ads that are presented."

"Obviously we use them to keep the prices low. It would have a significant impact [if advertisements were dropped.]"

Not all cinema owners agree. Victoria Cinema, an independent boutique in Hamilton, now shows two trailers per movie screening.

The lack of advertising is not entirely by choice: director Grace Martin said it can be difficult for newly established cinema to attract advertisers.

The Victorian charges $14 for a movie at night, but Martin said the higher price was for the coffee tables and larger chairs.

* ACNielsen research shows ratecard cinema advertising last year was $6.6 million, down from $7.1 million in 2001.