Cinema advertising was big business to the point that companies were even sponsoring the intermissions! The 'Time for a Capstan' advertising campaign was popular in New Zealand in the 1940s and 1950s. These ads associated having a Capstan cigarette with relaxation. During the Second World War they were often promoted to women who had just entered the workforce as a way of unwinding after a workday.

During this time the cinema interval was long enough to catch up with friends, restock your confectionary and have a cigarette. As a result of the increasing evidence between smoking and cancer, cigarette advertising in cinemas ceased in 1973.