Now they advertise movies right IN THE MIDDLE of primetime shows.

What's next? Video Game Ads (such as one for Ratchet and Clank Future or Uncharted: Drake's Fortune) during primetime shows?

Or just plain ads (NOT product placement, brought to you by, or sponsored by type of ads, straight forward ads.) right in the show itself?

Edit: To clarify, When I mean in the middle of primetime shows, I don't mean commercial breaks, I'm talking about the show itself.

it will be really deseperate when they will start to break ads

I've noticed that the more invasive the marketing gets for a movie, the worse the movie is.

For Exhibit A, allow me to present "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer".

Yup, exactly, and another example is "Evan Almighty". (appeared during America's Got Talent)

and a Fantastic 4 ad appeared in the middle of MadTV.

Primetime television is getting worse just like the film industry. That's why I play video games to keep me entertained.

I wonder what was the date for the death of television as predicted by Star Trek?

I'm not sure I would say this somewhat new trend makes the advertiser "desperate." It's simply an adjustment to the way we watch TV. More and more viewers skip commercials - either by recording and physically skipping them or flipping channels or just not watching (go to the fridge, bathroom, etc.) Blame the VCR/DVR and remote control.

That, combined with the vast array of viewing choices we now have through cable and satellite, is making product placement more desirable. It's not just movie ads. Have you ever watched The Apprentice? It's practically an hour long commercial with a dramatic story line. And I know there are countless other examples like that.

As we gain more and more ability to tune out the advertiser, they have to come up with more creative ways to get their product in front of the population for consideration. I find some of their tactics annoying, as well, but I can see why they do what they do, and I'm pretty sure it's only going to move more and more in that direction as time goes by.

-Vence Vida

The sad truth is that advertising still works on the general population. If they show a movie trailer enough on TV or myspace and MOST people will see the movie just because its on their mind. 300 was a perfect example of great advertising. They pounded myspace and TV although not as much on TV and people went to see it to see what all the hype was about. They got a very well put together movie this time.

The problem comes when advertising lies, which is the case most times. “Man of the Year” with Robin Williams was marketed as a comedy when it was really a drama where some funny stuff happened. People went to see a comedy and were disappointed. If people had gone expecting a drama they might have liked it. I’m of the opinion that if you are selling a good product you wont have to advertise it that much.

The “Sequel Stamp” doesn’t help either of the movies mentioned above. Fantastic Four 1 was a horrible movie so Idk why anyone would want to see the second. The problem is that not many people in the industry are creative anymore. They are all business people who just want to make a buck. It will soon turn around like it always does.

I don’t want to be political but this partially is.

Gas costs so much that people don’t want to go to the movies. We don’t have the money. We are living in a hostel atmosphere, which the war in Iraq. The world is in the biggest flux it has been in sense the industrial revolution. Gas to bio fuels, encyclopedias to web sites, FILM TO DIGITAL. I have gone off the subject and it now sounds like I’m writing a term paper, so I’ll just end by saying it will get better soon, but it will get worse before it gets better.

^Excellent insight, I guess the small screen crowd should be what the studios focus on next the way things are going.