Marketing in Theater

In reading and listening to the ideas on marketing found in the resources I was not surprised by the techniques that they employ.  Although as I started thinking about it in terms of the art of theater it scared me.  I have known about companies advertising within feature films, but what if it doesn't stop there what if the advertisement was to make its way into theatrical and operatic productions.  I think that this would easily destroy the magic and art that the performing arts offer.  With the economy as it is today I don't see this as being a stretch.  It also think about what if advertisements were carried out as productions of their own in a live advertisement scenario.  I think that is an interesting possibility.  I also think it's interesting that many of the techniques marketing professionals are using captivate their audience are the same techniques that the performing arts have used for centuries.  I hope that the line between art and advertisement does not become further blurred in the future.