# When did Theaters start showing tv commercials? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678 "2015-02-26T17:08:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/1 "2015-02-26T17:08:38Z")
I rarely go to the theater. I went in 2008 or maybe 09? to see the movie about Julie Child. There were the normal previews. I don’t recall any tv commercials. (that was six years ago and maybe I just forgot). Went 2 weeks ago (early Feb 2015) to see American Sniper and they had three or four tv commercials mixed in with the previews. Exactly the same commercials that I see all the time in my living room. Quite a surprise for me. When did that happen? Is declining ticket sales requiring this additional revenue source? I know in my case it takes an extremely special movie to get me to the theater. Too much hassle and the tickets are so high priced. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/2 "2015-02-26T17:20:26Z")
I moved to a smallish town back in the mid-1970s and was shocked to see the local theaters running commercials before the show. A few years later I moved back to the big city. The big chains weren’t doing it quite yet, but I’m pretty sure they started just a few years later. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/3 "2015-02-26T18:16:56Z")
The earliest commercials I can recall were at the drive-ins. Encouraging people to walk up to the concession stand for drinks and snacks. A unique problem for drive-ins because people in cars never saw the concession stand unless they got out and walked to where it was. A pretty good hike if your car was parked in the rows closer to the screen. There may of have been some local commercials. Haircuts at Tom’s Barbershop. Burgers at the Tip Top Dairy Bar. stuff like that. I can’t recall. But, actual TV commercials. That I don’t recall seeing before. You’d think they’d at least film unique commercials for the Theaters. It’s kind of tacky running the same crap we see night after night in our living rooms. It really diminishes the experience of leaving home and going somewhere special for a night out. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/4 "2015-02-26T18:18:15Z")
Theaters have been running commercials for some time, usually for local businesses. I’m sure I saw them before 2008. However, they don’t run them after the published show times. A theater with an 8:00 show would end the commercials at 8:00 (or a little earlier) and start with the previews. If you arrive during the previews, that’s all you’ll see (and show times are the times the previews starts, since that allows people to arrive a couple of minutes late and still not miss the movie). ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/5 "2015-02-26T18:21:49Z")
I read about this for the first time in 1999. Ebert wrote about Chicago area theaters doing this and I had never heard of it. Then, I went to see The Sixth Sense and it had commercials. I was shocked. Ebert predicted the next step is to pause the movie mid-way for a commercial. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/6 "2015-02-26T18:22:16Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Theaters have been running commercials for some time, usually for local businesses. I’m sure I saw them before 2008. > > However, they don’t run them after the published show times. A theater with an 8:00 show would end the commercials at 8:00 (or a little earlier) and start with the previews. If you arrive during the previews, that’s all you’ll see (and show times are the times the previews starts, since that allows people to arrive a couple of minutes late and still not miss the movie). That may be why I saw commercials at American Sniper. We got there 20 minutes early because it might sell out. Had quite a wait before the movie started. I guess that’s why we got treated to all the commercials. Ironically the movie only had about 15 to 20 people in there. The sell out crowds were a couple weeks earlier when the movie first opened. We could have showed up 5 minutes before it started and been fine. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/7 "2015-02-26T19:38:09Z")
This is when I saw them. On Guam in 1972. In New Deli, India in 1973. In Israel (three different communities in 73-74. Throughout Great Britain 74-75. Now technically, these may not have been TV ads. I didn’t see them on the ‘tube’ (I wasn’t watching much television at the time), but everything about them screamed “TV ad.” ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/8 "2015-02-26T20:19:01Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I read about this for the first time in 1999. Ebert wrote about Chicago area theaters doing this and I had never heard of it. > > Then, I went to see The Sixth Sense and it had commercials. I was shocked. > > Ebert predicted the next step is to pause the movie mid-way for a commercial. That’s my memory as well-- late 90s. I remember the trivia slides and then suddenly it was a “pre-show” that included one or two commercials for things like Coke or M&Ms and then into the trailers. Now there’s commercials and behind the scenes featurettes, etc. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/9 "2015-02-26T21:18:18Z")
Right around the turn of the century in these parts, as I remember it. Titanic (1997) didn’t have commercials. Fight Club (1999), as I recall, did. They play them before the previews, so if you don’t arrive pretty early you might miss them. It’s not the only reason – but one of them – that I don’t see movies in theaters more than once every couple of years anymore. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/10 "2015-02-26T21:28:05Z")
In the Atlanta area, the first movie to have ads prior to screening was _Murder by Death_ (1976) which… 1. Had my sister screaming about the fact that she saw an _ad_ before the _movie_!! She was **affronted**. 2. There was an article in the Atlanta Constitution about this… had a graphic of Rhett Butler saying “Pardon my dear while we wait for the commercial”, or some such. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/11 "2015-02-26T22:23:17Z")
Probably when the technology to project them became common. When the only thing up in the booth would have been film projectors any commercial would would have to be converted. An expensive prospect I’m sure that was rarely (though probably never) done. Once theaters began installing projectors that could work off of tape I’m sure it started to expand and now now that it is almost all digital a TV ad is just another file that can be in the computer. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/12 "2015-02-26T22:31:44Z")
It depends on the circuit (chain). Regal and AMC have a 20 minute program of advertising before the movies. This includes stuff from the studios about upcoming movies and tv shows and sometimes local ads. This revenue stream is huge for these chains. Thanks to digital projection you can custom the ads to each screen. Want to advertise to families? It goes up before the Big Hero Six but not American Sniper. I used to own and operate a theater and when I took it over in '92 in the booth I found an old ‘trailer’ ad for local shop that was from the late '70s. A lot of theaters use slide advertising before the movies. So, just about forever. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/13 "2015-02-26T22:46:36Z")
I couldn’t pinpoint the year, but I remember seeing TV commercials preceding the main feature since the late 1990s. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Ebert predicted the next step is to pause the movie mid-way for a commercial. It’s been done. I remember going to the movies as a kid in the '60s. There would usually be a short intermission in the middle of the movie, which some people used for a snack or bathroom break. For those who didn’t, there was a short clip shown of a celebrity speaking up for some charitable organization, after which the ushers would go up and down the aisles with cans, asking for donations. This practice stopped some time in the '70s, a few years before the big movie theaters were all subdivided into multiplexes. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/14 "2015-02-27T02:51:01Z")
That charity would be the Will Rogers Institute. Theaters still collect donations for it. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/15 "2015-02-27T04:22:22Z")
Agreed that it is probably dependent on location and chain/independent, but in my experience additional ads (as opposed to the stuff they put on before the trailers) started around 2004. For a while it seemed like it was getting really out of hand, with something like 10 minutes of ads before the movie but after the published start time. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/16 "2015-02-27T16:32:47Z")
I was worried that the “that’s weird, you didn’t even mention Leonard” line in response to Penny’s perfect evening was going to spark a relationship crisis, which I don’t need to see again. Instead they made a joke and just moved on. So good on them for that. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/17 "2015-02-27T16:59:33Z")
[Anybody remember the talking lighters?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOSHWqWFT1k) That was in the 70’s. (Granted, it’s not a regular TV commercial.) ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/18 "2015-02-27T21:10:15Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > I was worried that the “that’s weird, you didn’t even mention Leonard” line in response to Penny’s perfect evening was going to spark a relationship crisis, which I don’t need to see again. > > Instead they made a joke and just moved on. So good on them for that. Sorry, I think you’re looking for the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=750390)across the hall. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/19 "2015-02-27T21:12:27Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > That charity would be the Will Rogers Institute. Theaters still collect donations for it. You’re right. I had forgotten that it was always the _same_ charity, until you reminded me of the name. I haven’t heard of a theater collecting for it in about forty years, though. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678/20 "2015-02-28T01:24:19Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > I couldn’t pinpoint the year, but I remember seeing TV commercials preceding the main feature since the late 1990s. > > It’s been done. I remember going to the movies as a kid in the '60s. There would usually be a short intermission in the middle of the movie, which some people used for a snack or bathroom break. For those who didn’t, there was a short clip shown of a celebrity speaking up for some charitable organization, after which the ushers would go up and down the aisles with cans, asking for donations. > > This practice stopped some time in the '70s, a few years before the big movie theaters were all subdivided into multiplexes. I don’t know if it was also for The Will Rogers Institute but where I live (the northeastern US) they started doing this again in the early 90s. I had no idea this had ever been done before and, nothing against being charitable, but I found the practice absolutely intolerable! You’ve paid good money to be there, and probably bought expensive concession food as well. This isn’t fucking church! Begging for money is **NOT** allowed here. I think many people complained because the practice didn’t last too long (thank god!) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-theaters-start-showing-tv-commercials/713678.md?page=2)