I did a search to see if anyone had started a thread to remark on these little gems before, but came up blank. The one I saw in the theater last night was the Hero/Crouching Tiger-referencing one sponsored by Best Buy that’s been playing all summer, and I just thought I’d finally express my gratitude. I grant that some of them are more clever than others, and it would be nice if they could produce a greater variety, as seeing the same one repeatedly over an entire season can wear pretty thin after awhile. However, in general I think they do a pretty good job spoofing the often turgid and predictable presentation of actual movie trailers.
Far more importantly, though: they really seem to work. Watching the audience after one of these spots is shown, I’m amazed at how many people do in fact pull out their cell phones to switch them off. I may be mistaken, but it seems to me that there are significantly fewer ringtone interruptions at the movies since these ads started running a few years back.
This is the sort of offbeat humorous approach that I myself try to employ at work. If I have to post a minor procedure change of some kind, I’ll often make an effort to present it in an entertaining fashion rather than a simple, cursory instruction. This has the dual effect of drawing attention to the request itself, and deflecting any annoyance that might otherwise be engendered by a sudden shift in routine. At the very least, people who might otherwise think dismissively, “Ah crap, another pointless protocol change,” might find their ire dampened as they wonder bemusedly, “Why is this protocol change being announced by a cartoon chicken?”
"In a world … where cell phone use has been prohibited … where the slightest ringtone can cause the viewing audience to rise up and kick the crap out of you … where the management will permanently ban you from the theater for being such a selfish, inconsiderate dickhead … "
The first few times I saw one (the Native Americans going on the buffalo hunt), huge chunks of the audience clapped their agreement - and we weren’t interrupted by cell phones. It was great.
Popcorn doesn’t bother me so much. It’s the crinkling of plastic packaging being opened that drives me nuts. They open it slooooooooowly, so it won’t bother anyone. Just rip it open you stupid [censored]!!!
Huh - funny. One of those trailers didn’t play last night when I went to see WotW, and a coupla times through I heard a cell phone ring (stupid bitch even answered it, at full volume. There’s a special place in hell…)
Perhaps if one *did *play, she would’ve turned it off.
I’m one of the people who often need those things to remind me to turn off my phone, so good on them. (No, I wouldn’t answer the damn thing if it did go off in the theater.)
And the theater industry WONDERS why DVD sales are shooting past box office receipts!
I read an article somewhere recently that said the movie theaters need to bring back real ushers, with the ability to toss unruly customers, in order to return the movie going experience from the depths of hell.
(And I don’t understand why people have to switch off their phone. They should already be on vibrate mode!)
hijack: I don’t remember a ‘real’ one of these, (don’t go to the theater much,) but I still nearly laugh out loud when I remember the itchy and scratchy short 'toon along those lines that they showed once on the simpsons… with I&S going to the movies themselves, and getting annoyed by a quacking duck loudly “talking” over the dialog
Predictable cartoon violence ensues, with the final message to turn off cell phones and pagers being spelt out across the screen in…
The Alamo Drafthouse here in sunny (well, usually, but not today) Austin has an assortment of humorous cell phone/loud talking warning clips, some featuring George Romero of zombie-type-movie fame and Homestar Runner. Such appeals are often followed by a screen threatening to “take your ass out” should you so offend. I’ve never heard a phone ring in those theaters.
I might not mind this. I am not afraid to express my displeasure to inconsiderate moviegoers, however. I begin with “Shh,” then go on to “Please be quiet,” and sometimes I have to go as far as “Shut the {censored} up!” Anything beyond that, and I will happily miss five minutes of a movie–even a good movie–to go get a manager. I don’t want to be a bitch, but if I’m paying nine dollars just to get into the movie, I’d like to be able to hear it.
The only cell phone commercials I’ve seen thus far have been the “Inconsiderate Cellphone Man” spots, which are amusing, but get old quick. I’d like to see the Crouching Tiger one. I feel slighted.
I love Rob Huebel’s Inconsiderate Cell-Phone Man, with the guy talking loudly on his cell in all these awful situations – bird watching club, library, yoga class, his wedding, etc. “I’m looking at a picture of it now – unsavory!”
If someone needs to catch a call that bad, they should have the cell phone sitting next to them. The rest of the world does not care that the guy next them likes the song “Can’t Touch This” enough to make it a ringtone!
And nothing worse than sitting in a restaurant, watching my wife dig through that satchel…err…purse of hers looking for a ringing cellphone! OH THE HUMANITY! :smack:
I don’t even know what my cell phone sounds like. I’ve had it on vibrate ever since I first got it in December. I hate it when people draw attention to themselves with loud obnoxious rings and ringtones.
