Every year I go on a rant between now and February about how marketing budgets for awards consideration ads and the ridiculous dollars spent on Super Bowl advertising could both be reallocated to making sure people see the movies that are being hyped for awards but which aren’t going to get on a lot of people’s radars. This year is no different and that’s the focus of my latest contribution to AdAge.

Aris, who edits my stuff, asked for an important addition and so I’ll include it here:

I completely understand that the bigger the movie, the bigger the marketing spend, as more dollars are seen as insuring the movie doesn’t fail at the box office. But considering the other factors at play, some of which I’ve laid out here, there has to be a better way to spend a buck.

I really do understand that. But, as I’ve stated many times here, a movie like Green Lantern isn’t going to need a Super Bowl commercial to reach a mass audience. The press coverage will take care of that. On the flipside, an extra million dollars could seriously broaden the reach of a movie like Tiny Furniture, which is loved by those who have seen it and has the potential to be a hit if enough people were aware it existed. So some balance would be nice.