Shhh! The Ads Are About to Start

"With God as my witness, I WILL DESTROY THE 2WENTY."

Arlington software engineer James Furdell, 29, posted those words last summer on his blog at Furdell.com. The object of his unbridled wrath: Regal's pioneering pre-show, "The 2wenty," which runs for 20 minutes before every movie on 5,300 screens nationwide.

"I really like watching movie trailers," Furdell said when reached by phone. "But those prepackaged commercials are just more offensive to me for some reason."

So far Furdell's threats remain unrealized, as evidenced by a recent screening of "The 2wenty" at the Regal Cinemas in Rockville. The program, a bit like "Access Hollywood" punctuated by product placements, included featurettes about Ron Howard's boxing movie "Cinderella Man" and TNT's miniseries "Into the West" as well as commercials for Cingular Wireless, Scion and Sprite. At the end, the voice-over asked, "Did you catch all of 'The 2wenty?' If not, get to the theater early next time."

Gary Ruskin, the executive director of Commercial Alert, a consumer group aimed at preventing intrusive advertising, is not a fan. "This is part of advertisers' attempt to turn nearly all entertainment into an infomercial experience," he says. "And that's sad and pathetic because people spend eight or 10 bucks and don't deserve to be hammered with ads when they're looking for a moment of solace."

While he concedes that programs like "The 2wenty," which ends prior to the published movie start time, are an improvement over commercials that run beyond that limit, he still says consumers would be happier without them.

The Captive Motion Picture Audience of America agrees. Or rather, Jason Thompson, a multimedia designer from Portland, Ore., does. Thompson is the only official member of the CMPAA, the name he assigned to his Web site and lobbying effort aimed at stemming the tide of movie marketing.

Among other things, Thompson's site encourages moviegoers to print out signs they can use to hold their seats while they escape to the lobby during the commercials. The message: "RESERVED. This patron is avoiding cinema advertising and will return when the feature begins."

"With movie attendance down for the second year in a row, theaters should engage in activities to enhance the theater experience rather than detract from it," Thompson contends. (Revenue from ticket sales for 2005 is down 7 percent compared with the same period in 2004, according to Variety.)

Many cinephiles aren't bothered by the advertising. An Arbitron study conducted in 2002 found that 66 percent of respondents didn't mind the commercials; among moviegoers ages 12 to 24, that percentage rose to 71.

"As long as the commercial is something thoughtful, interesting and more targeted, people will respond to it, just like they respond to advertising at the Super Bowl," says John McCauley, senior vice president of marketing for Loews.

Still, some moviegoers are responding with more than just concession stand griping.