I have started treading the razor-edge of lateness in my attempts to miss the ads before big-screen movies, but to not miss the beginning of the movie.
I see a lot of movies, and have concomitantly grown weary of the same endless marketing drivel paraded, larger than life, before my eyes at the cinema.
I would argue against the efficacy of this sort of advertising, except for the fact that when I am unfortunate enough to arrive a little early, I discover that most of the people in the theatre are all too willing to surrender up a giggle at the tired old jokes and gasp in awe at the emotive bits in tug-at-your-heartstrings advertising.
But the ad that I am trying my hardest to miss is the "piracy is stealing too" offering that is unfortunately timed to play just before the main feature. The garish, aggressive filming style does nothing to make me feel receptive to the advertiser`s message.
The premise of the ad goes along the lines of: "You wouldn`t steal a handbag, you wouldn`t steal a car, you wouldn`t steal a movie, or would you? Buying pirated DVDs is stealing."
Aside from the ham-fistedness of this message, there`s a basic logic flaw in the argument. Buying a pirated DVD is not like stealing a car; it`s like buying a stolen car.
And if you get right down to it, the Robin Hoods among us won`t feel too bad about buying a product, the procurement of which was achieved with no great harm to its multimillion-dollar owners.
It brings to mind the dizzying internal conflict Mel Gibson must have gone through when confronted with a mother of five who approached him to tell him how his movie, The Passion of the Christ, had moved her.
"Where did you see it?" he asked.
"Oh," said she. "We can`t afford to go to the theatre, so I just picked up a copy from a guy on the side of the road."
The garish, aggressive filming style does nothing to make me feel receptive to the advertiser`s message.
Georgina Gueddes, Editor, ITWeb Brainstorm
While most movies aren`t created with the lofty ideal of instilling a sense of appreciation for the divine in the masses, it can be argued that most producers of the kinds of movies that get pirated aren`t really suffering as a result of the loss of a few millions of dollars.
At the very least, they`re not suffering the fist-in-the-gut sensation of realising their bag has been stolen or the true terror of being hijacked.
This anti-piracy ad is a cheap shot, undermining the impact of very real South African crimes, and I hope it doesn`t achieve what it has set out to do.
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