Legislation Proposed to Publicize Start Times of Ads in Theaters

Think you have a captive audience for that promotion planned to run prior to the start of Be Cool? Think again. A Connecticut legislator has proposed new rules requiring that all movie theater advertisements and listings provide the public with the start times for both the promotions and the trailers that run prior to the start of the movie, and the movie itself. Rep. Andrew M. Fleischmann (D-West Hartford) said that such separate listings would allow moviegoers to make their own decisions regarding how much time they spend watching ads and movie trailers.

“For movie theaters to advertise the wrong start-time is misleading, and tremendously unfair to consumers,” Fleischmann said in a statement. “It’s now commonplace for people to show up for a movie that’s supposed to start at 8:00, and then find themselves sitting through 25 minutes of ads and trailers before they get to see the actual movie.”

Fleischmann said that theater-goers have become a captive audience for marketers and advertisers and their “endless ads.” “It’s unfair, it’s maddening, and it needs to stop,” he said.