Fast Forward Through Those Ads
I absolutely agree with Kenn Viselman’s objections to the string of commercials larded into the introductory portions of video movies, especially the Disney feature films (“Insidious Practice of Video Ads,” Feb. 14). This is an obscene exploitation of the viewer, especially the children who are set up for this captive mind-and-emotion thuggery.
As a practicing great-grandfather, I had to suffer through three of Disney’s incestuous advertising assaults one day recently while waiting for the titled features to appear: “Tarzan,” which has 16 minutes of pre-feature advertising; “Mulan,” which has almost as much; and “Dumbo,” which, though an earlier release, falls only a little shorter. The tyke and I did do some other things during the day, but since he was out of preschool because of an ear infection and the weather was cold, the TV-video option had priority.
Dare we hope that the video industry will reform itself out of this vicious and insidious practice? Not without a powerful message from we who are mad as hell about their messing with our children’s heads. Raise the banner, Kenn! You have sounded the call and we support you!
JOSEPH PATON MARSHALL
La Mirada
Kenn, and please don’t take this personally, as admirable as it is baby-sitting for your 4-year-old niece, I seriously doubt if she knew the difference between CD-ROMs, DVDs, upcoming movies and “Tarzan.”
However, if you are also concerned about other parents saying “no” to their crying child, I have two words for you and other parents: Fast forward.
DANA AXELROD
Hesperia
After finishing Viselman’s article on the proliferation of advertising on home video titles, I wonder if companies such as Walt Disney realize that no one with any patience whatsoever sits through this crap. If I wanted to see commercials before a movie, I’d pay $8.50 at the local gigaplex like everyone else! This is the No. 1 reason (marketing geniuses, pay attention) I treated myself to a DVD player this winter. I, and I alone, get to decide what shows up on my screen.
RON HARDYMAN
Glendale
The amount of advertising on children’s videos is horrible, and I hope someday they will do something about it. Disney has at least 11 minutes’ worth of previews, etc., on their new videos. When I first timed it, I couldn’t believe it. However, when my granddaughter puts in a video, I just fast forward it 11 minutes, thereby bypassing the Disney hype-fest. It’s a small victory, at best, but a victory nonetheless.
AMANDA ASHLEY
Whittier
We always sit through “commercials” for at least 10 minutes before the movies on video finally start. I wish this were not so because when I rent a movie, I want to see the movie. It’s bad enough having to sit through previews when we go to the theater.
TONI JACOBSON
Monterey Park
Most of us are aware that a small tab is removed from the video to protect it from being recorded over. Well, that tab hole can be covered with a small piece of Scotch tape and then you can record snow, or a blue screen, or anything else you want to, right up to the instant the feature film starts.
True, it would be more responsible if Disney and other money-making machines were a little less in-your-face with their advertising efforts. However, all things being equal, this little ditty might level the playing field a little. It requires the parent to be more diligent, but that diligence will pay off in spades if a child isn’t wailing for another gift when they already have the one.
THOMAS E. MEURER
West Hollywood
Unlike television, where we have no control over the editing, we can hop, skip and jump around the videos. I have an almost 3-year-old and a 9-month-old and, without any hesitation, I glide right past those commercials to the beginning of the movie. My kids are none the wiser and don’t seem to care.
And about those middle-of-the-night crying fits or public tantrums all because of the latest video release, I would suggest you muster up the courage and decide who is boss, you or Barney?
So before you spend your valuable time and the FCC’s on drumming up another ruling on advertising, I recommend the aforementioned procedures. Like it or not, Disney has the right to promote its products, and, like it or not, it is the parent’s responsibility, not the FCC’s, to govern what our kids watch.
JEAN MANINGER
Los Angeles