Arianna O'Dell

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL254Y_jtc&feature=player_embedded]

My favorite ad of the Super Bowl was without a doubt Chrysler’s ad featuring Eminem. The ad gave me the chills as it defined Chrysler in a new light and verified that a city like Detroit could make a luxury car. “It’s the hottest fires that make the hardest steel.” Not only did Chrysler play on the emotions of viewers but it re-branded Chrysler cars as “Imported from Detroit”. Genius.

Read the script below :

Narrator : I got a question for you.

What does this city know about luxury, hm?

What does a town that’s been to hell and back know about the finer things in life?

Well I’ll tell you.

More than most.

You see, it’s the hottest fires that make the hardest steel.

Add hard work and conviction.

And a know how that runs generations deep in every last one of us.

That’s who we are.

That’s our story.

Now it’s probably not the one you’ve been reading in the papers.

The one being written by folks who have never even been here.

Don’t know what we’re capable of.

Because when it comes to luxury, it’s as much about where it’s from as who it’s for.

Now we’re from America – but this isn’t New York City, or the Windy City, or Sin City, and we’re certainly no one’s Emerald City.

Eminem : This is the motor city – and this is what we do.

Whoa.

What are you thoughts?

I get the freemium model. I really do.

If you give something away for free, you make your money in something else. That’s the basic gist. Selling your customer another product or perhaps increasing the amount of advertising can make up for lost profits and help subsidize costs when a freemium model is used.

Guess what?

A movie theatre is not a freemium model!

Movie tickets range anywhere from $6 to $20+. These prices are by no means subsidized. Movie tickets cost increasingly more each year and this trend will only continue in the years to come. Not only have prices increased over the past few years – but so have the amount of advertisements you get with your movie.

But you’re a marketer – you love ads!

I’m a marketer but even so, I want to see my movies without advertisements dammit! When I’ve just shelled out $10 to see a movie, I don’t want to have to sit through ten minutes of advertisements like I did tonight during Harry Potter. If I wanted irrelevant advertisements – I would have sat at home and pirated the movie.


Are Previews Annoying?

Previews are okay. Previews of upcoming movies serve two purposes. They inform the consumer of what’s playing soon and they serve as a marketing vehicle for the upcoming movie. Even though these are advertisements – they are often looked forward to and provide a relevant benefit to the consumer. An ad about Barilla pasta or Macy’s does not.

Other ways…

What could movie theaters be doing instead of annoying you with before the movie ads?

1.) Offer a run of a free movie sponsored by a company looking to advertise. – who wouldn’t want a free movie? (then by all means, give me ads)
2.) Give me a free popcorn and in exchange give me a branded box. – great way to build goodwill.
3.) Offer discounts to people who “check in” to the movies. – the best way to get people to see a movie is word of mouth.

Just a few thoughts. The possibilities are endless.

I love advertisements. I hate them when they’re not adding a benefit to my life.
Keep them off my movie screen.

How do you feel?