• by Erik Sass , May 9, 2007

Out-of-home advertising just got a new twist. National CineMedia, one of the nation's leading in-theater cinema advertisers, is planning to distribute free CD-ROMs that feature a virtual movie theater with trailers and other content from upcoming studio releases. The PC and Mac-compatible disc, produced in collaboration with Movie Clips Inc., includes content from Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Paramount/Dreamworks, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox and New Line Cinemas.

The free CD-ROM will be distributed year-round at more than 1,000 theater complexes in 47 states, including CineMedia's founding members: AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark USA, and the Regal Entertainment Group. In addition to movie teasers, the CD-ROM uses a simulated 3D world to present a variety of entertainment, including playable movie games, music videos, printable movie posters, desktop wallpaper, virtual comics, new release DVD trailers and a "coupon savings lobby."

Although the Internet is hogging the spotlight, promotional and advertising CDs have recently been enjoying a quiet resurgence.

In March, SaverCD, LLC announced plans to begin national distribution of CDs containing printable coupons in early 2008, with a first national mailing scheduled to include 15 million CDs. SaverCD's pool of coupon marketers includes AllRecipes.com, Bally Total Fitness, Chuck E. Cheese, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Pizza Hut. Since its inception in October 2005, the company has mailed about 3 million "$averCDs" to 400,000 households. There is a 90-day shelf life for each quarterly saver.