Screening Ads for the Big Screen

I went to the movies this week (highly recommend The Zookeeper's Wife) and paid special attention to the well-targeted ads before the trailers. I'd guess they were a lot different from ads shown before, say, Kong: Skull Island, even though they are both PG-13. As I sat in one of those tricked-out new seats alongside my good friend, I started thinking about -- what else? -- brand safety. With all the concern being voiced about content environments it dawned on me that I was cocooned in about the safest brand space possible: an "opt-in" venue with MPAA-vetted ratings for the content and its ads and trailers.