What’s The Value Of An Ad?
I’ve always been pretty anti-advertising. Being suspicious, as I am by nature, of big business and its motives, I’m generally against the ever-rising tide of advertising that constantly creeps into our lives. I had an epiphany of sorts, however, over the weekend. I went to see “Juno” on Sunday at the Kabuki Theater here in San Francisco.
(Not to veer totally off course for a moment, but “Juno” is fantastic – the best movie of 2007, and likely the best of 2008. Sweet, funny, deep, well written and well acted. If Ellen Page doesn’t at least get nominated for an Oscar, it’s a crime.)
The Kabuki is owned by Robert Redford’s Sundance Cinemas group, and as such, prides itself on providing upscale, progressive venues for it customers. This includes amenities like restaurants, a bar, food at less horrific prices and, most importantly for our purposes, no advertising before the movies. Nice, right? Well, there is a catch … you have to pay a $2 “convenience fee” added on to the ticket price because of the lack of advertising. Now, your $10 movie just became a $12 movie. It was a bit cheesy and made me think: “Um, I’d rather sit through an ad or two that I’ll just ignore and have my $2, please.”
It made me think, though, about how my views on advertising have changed since working in technology. First off, I think I’m much more ad resistant because I operate eight to ten hours a day in the advertising-saturated environment of the Internet, and, secondly, there is a place for advertising – especially if consumers and companies benefit mutually from it. I’ll gladly watch or click through an ad if it gets me a service or content that I would have otherwise not gotten. For example, want me to sign up and fill out a form before I read an article? I’ll pass. Click on an article or watch a 15-second pre-roll ad? Sure, sounds good.
Advertising isn’t a totally insidious beast aiming always to brainwash the masses with a corporate agenda, but it’s also not wholly appropriate in plenty of situations – schools, parks, monuments and historic landmarks should never, ever be associated with a company or brand, or even money and profit. On the Internet, though, it’s a perfect economic gatekeeper between consumers and companies trying to make money.