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FAMOUS PLAYERS THEATRES BOYCOTT

Famous Players Theatres across Canada began to place a 15-second political, pre-movie ad promoting same-sex marriage in its theatres at the end of January. The ad stated, "I do, is the same for both straight or gay couples", and then it called upon viewers to tell their MP's to support Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The ad was paid for by Salah Bachir, a leader in Toronto's gay community and the head of Famous Players Media, the company that sells advertising space in Famous Players theatres and on its screens. Bachir bought the ad on behalf of the homosexual organization Canadians For Equal Marriage, an organization that is lobbying for the same-sex legislation currently before Parliament.

These pre-film ads are viewed each month at Famous Players Theatres by 1,000,000 individuals, including children. They are repeated numerous times prior to the main presentation. When this particular ad comes on, individuals can object to the ad, by getting up and leaving, but unfortunately they are not able to have their ticket money refunded if they leave for this reason. This is quite different from the situation where ticket money is refunded if the main presentation is found to be objectionable.

A spokesman for Famous Players Theatres claimed that the ad was like any other ad, and that the "message doesn't necessarily reflect our point of view". However, the advertising organization Famous Players Media Inc., of which Mr. Bachir is President, although separately incorporated, is, nonetheless, an arm of the Famous Players Theatres. Moreover, Famous Players placed no disclaimer on the ad when it was displayed on the screen.

When inquiries were made to Famous Players Theatres as to how much Mr. Bachir actually paid for the ad, its response was a very hostile "it's none of your business". We subsequently learned, however, by newspaper reports, that Mr. Bachir paid $15,000 for the ads.

Audiences Held Captive by Propaganda Ad

It is unfortunate that audiences, especially young children, are held captive to this propaganda campaign, since they are in the theatre and paid money for a completely different purpose, namely entertainment, not indoctrination.

Famous Players' action was deeply offensive to millions of Canadians who respect marriage and who reject being held captive to an ad that is displayed for the purpose of political indoctrination on the controversial moral issue of same-sex marriage. The ad is a sharp departure from the usual ads in theatres, which only promote a product for sale. For this reason, REAL Women as part of a pro-family coalition, Defend Marriage, began a boycott of Famous Players Theatres.

Several weeks after the boycott began, Famous Players suddenly announced that the ad would no longer be shown. At the same time, it stated that the company would no longer, as a matter of policy, accept any political ads.

It is troubling however, that this policy change occurred only after a pro-family group requested that a pro-marriage ad be displayed at fair market price in the theatres. In reality, the new-found policy to reject political ads was a very convenient way for Famous Players theatres to refuse pro-family ads on marriage.

Famous Players has Problems

Another factor in Famous Players decision, however, may be due to the fact that its New York based parent, Viacom Inc., is placing Famous Players in Canada up for sale. Famous Players operates in 84 locations, with 794 screens across the country, and has about 44% of the Canadian box office market. The rumoured purchaser of Famous Players of Canada is Cineplex Galaxy which has 86 locations in Canada, with 775 screens - about 31 % of the box office market.

It is also known that Famous Players has been experiencing some financial difficulties. Since January, it has lowered the price of admissions in Toronto to $9.95, a four dollar decrease from its former ticket price. The company had also reduced its Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Winnipeg prices over the past two years. This move (which followed a similar price cut at Cineplex) was aimed at drawing back to theatres, customers who had grown accustomed to watching DVDs in their homes.

According to the Financial Post (February 28, 2005), Famous Players relies heavily on the increased revenue that comes from its pre-show advertising. This is because television commercials have lost their currency with viewers who generally try to skip them so that the companies purchasing the commercials are not finding them to be a satisfactory return on their investment. Pre-movie presentations, therefore, are proving to be an alternative venue for companies to advertise and a lucrative source of income for theatres. Consequently, the latter do not want to offend their patrons over ads that might reduce their financial return.

Famous Players was obviously, in no position to endure a boycott of its films. Nuria Bronfmam, the Toronto based Vice-President for Corporate Affairs for Famous Players, denies that the boycott prompted the decision to drop the same-sex marriage ads. She claims they simply ran their course. She does concede, however, that their patrons had made it clear to them that they did not wish to be exposed to political advertising. This was bad for business.

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