Cineplex-Odeon is making ticket-holders pay to be advertised to, at their inconvenience. The "Pre-Show Experience" comprised of still slide, digital animation and moving picture ads are projected on the movie screen with sound, making them too large and intrusive to ignore. The audience is not given a choice whether to view them or not. Cineplex-Odeon has generally made viewing the ads a coercive, mandatory condition to gain preferred seat availability, with no alternatives in place. The pre-show ad reel runs for 21 minutes before the movie, and more can be included.

In these conditions, waiting for a movie to begin has become almost intolerable.

This petition asks Cineplex-Odeon to stop all pre-show advertising in their theatres, prior to a movie.

It asks Cineplex-Odeon to consider alternatives to advertising, in order for their audience to be pleased before a show - and glad to pay to return. It asks that Cineplex-Odeon earn their high ticket prices by finding other ways to make money that respect the audience. It asks Cineplex-Odeon to consider that their current approach is antagonizing their patrons, encouraging stay-at-home viewing, depressing ticket sales and a tarnish on their brand.

If Cineplex-Odeon is on such shaky financial ground that they cannot do without the revenue from these ad sales, then they must at least provide a clear means for people to chose to see the ads or not. Also, there must be no preferencential service, or lack of equal service standards or difference in pricing because of a ticket-holder's choice to endure the "Pre-Show Experience" or not. It is time Cineplex-Odeon respected, attended to and pleased their customers instead of herding and exploiting them.