Automakers fueling in-theater advertising surge

Car companies are flocking to in-theater advertising this summer, driven (heh) there largely by their desire to capture the attention of the audience coming out for the season’s biggest movies.

Both National CineMedia and Screenvision, the two biggest theater ad network operators, are seeing numbers this year far in excess of last year.

Not only is the theater audience a captive one but it’s also traditionally a younger one, especially in the summer. That makes it attractive for companies with brands they’re trying to sell to singles or young married couples, as many of the brands making the big-screen leap are.