Print and TV advertisers may be feeling the pain of lost auto ad dollars, but it’s a growing category for cinema

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In April and May, Nissan is returning to cinema advertising with a 60-second showcase of its new 2009 370Z sports car. Also, from Feb. 28 through March, Kia, a steady cinema advertiser since 2005, will use theater screens to launch Soul, its new hatchback.

Cinema is a core element of Nissan’s marketing for the 370Z. Unlike the marketing for its core models, network TV isn’t even on the Z’s ad GPS—except for targeted sports programming that heavily skews male. “Cinema is the broad-reach medium that we’re leveraging. It’s a core element,” said Chad Jacoby, senior manager of media operations for Nissan. “Cinema is more conducive to a spring and summer launch when TV viewership is down. We’re going where the eyeballs are.”

Meanwhile, Kia plans a traditional TV schedule starting in April, but cinema—because of its big screen, creative flexibility and captive audience—will lead the charge for that flight. “We like being able to introduce the launch with a longer creative version. We feel hamstrung by 30 seconds,” said Tim Chaney, director of marketing communications for Kia Motors America.

Auto advertisers are particularly smitten by cinema’s recall power, which is two to five times more than TV, according to a National CineMedia analysis of data from Nielsen IAG. Last year, for example, the cinema campaign for the Lexus IS F had 75 percent unaided recall.