As I lean back on my ergonomic Home Solutions desk chair and bite into my Starbucks spinach and feta wrap, I can’t help but think of how irritated I’ve become by the subtle sponsorship plugs that occur in movies these days.
It really gives me the kind of grief-induced headaches that Tylenol Extra Strength can’t cure. The last time I watched a movie on Netflix, I counted eight of them. I was so disturbed I immediately pulled out my iPhone and sent a text to my friend about it. Subtle sponsorship in movies bothers her as well.
Movie sponsorship hints have no effect on me. OK, maybe once I got a Coke from the concession area because I saw Michael J. Fox chugging one back in Teenage Werewolf at a theater when I was 15, but only because it did look pretty refreshing.
The only way we are going to stop these corporate pushers is if we boycott this kind of advertising. I may be as crazy as a Crate and Barrel, but I think if we speak about our intolerance, MGM Pictures might just listen.
I think that what worries me the most is how many children are being lured into this senseless and shameless promotion. My son and I were talking about this subject just the other day, because I wanted to see if he was being affected by this problem as much I was. We had just gotten home from getting ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s and were about to play a game of Scrabble when I asked him if he thought kids his age were being affected by this.
He scratched his head, moved his New York Yankees MLB baseball cap a little to the side, and said, “Mom, everybody plugs
something.” This got me thinking. I took out my Macbook later that night after I tucked him into his Serta mattress bed under his Target comforter. I Googled ‘shameless sponsorship’ in movies. Immediately an ad came up for Bed Bath & Beyond, which I thought was ridiculous. Everyone knows the outlet charges way too much for Martha Stewart linens.
I browsed a little more on Safari, but no one really had any answers to the big question. Seriously, we pay outrageous prices at Century Downtown theaters to see a movie and eat popcorn priced so high that Orville Redenbacher would be resurrected just to be subjected to ads?
I am going to put up a post on Facebook and try to get some feedback on this issue. I can’t be the only person who thinks the studios are wrong and taking us for fools. My girlfriends and I were doing a little shopping the other day at the mall — the Gap was having a huge sale — and they all agreed with me on this matter. Every one of them promised to do their part in making other people aware of it, too.
Maybe with enough support, these senseless violations on our movie time will stop. The next thing you know, I will be seeing shameless ad plugs in the books I read on my Kindle. When will it stop?
