Hit Where It Matters

It's no secret that those who spearhead the ad campaigns of a brand have a specific audience in their minds as targets to whom they might sell the product.In the case of television,it doesn't require me to exemplify the way commercials of various products are segregated among the many programmes that cater to viewers with different interests.And what about ads shown at cinemas prior to the start of a movie or,in some worse cases during intermission (a phenomenon of indian cinemas).
Last week i was one among the many who had assembled at one of our small town cinemas where a Hollywod flick titled '300' was being screened.Once inside,to my absolute horror,we were bombarded with an array of ads of jewellery and sarees with visuals which,no doubt,had left no lasting impression on the minds of the audience.Needless to say that the meaningless and gruesomely trashy music and lyrics accompanying those stupid visuals fell on deaf ears.In this southernmost state of a third world country,where viewers of Hollywood movies are predominantly male,it left me guessing at the logic (or the lack of it) in trying to sell (which is the primary objective of ads) exclusively feminine products to 250 odd men (not a single woman in the half-full auditorium).Agreed that at a time when ticket sales are dropping ,these ads are a source of regular income for the theatre owners.But,even out of such an obligation why screen those to the men who had come to watch death-defying war sequences and not to get disgusted at the sight of some anorexic models in their ill-fitting kancheepurams or banaras or whatever the hell they were covered up with. Couldn't they have kept those visuals depicting women adorned from head to toe in ridiculous patterns of jewellery back in their shelves,to be screened during the re-runs of a family drama where they could have had a more sympathetic and appreciative audience?
It was with a hint of trepidation that i recalled that in this part of the world,Hollywood movies(strictly speaking,those shown at theatres),meant supernatural themes and surreal characters.Atleast to those who are in the business of distributing these movies who argue that movies belonging to any other genre simply wont sell.So when a 'Ghost rider' makes it to the cinemas,a 'Sweet Home Alabama' or 'The Pursuit of Happyness' is left with no takers.Right or wrong they may be in their presumptions, but I'm not surprised since it conforms to our theory of 'target audience'.But what i dont understand is,(this is where the fear part creeps in) how come those who screen these supernatural action flicks are totally unaware of this very target audience that the distributors seem to be so sure of?

PS:Theatres in our small town which screens Hollywood movies shut down their equipments as soon as the movies end,without letting the credits to roll out or the theme song to play,ostensibly to save electricty!Maybe they should stop screening those idiotic ads instead of that.