Business screen magazine (1938)

* Some pretty sage advice for the industrialist considering the use of films will be found in the observation of one public relations counsellor in Chicago who, in summing up his company's latest production for the dealer field, says: "Our last picture cost us a little money, perhaps a little more than the "average" film of this type. But we can't help remembering that the folks who will see it are used to seeing movies for a quarter in their neighborhood theatres that possess the utmost in technical perfection and you can't drop below that standard without their noticing the difference." * Dean Towner, the Business Screen "reporterat-large" brought in the yarn below and will have to vouch for its accuracy. To those of us who have forgotten that this business has a humorous side (after so many "prevues") it has a nice, light touch of human interest we've been needing. ■"^ Back in the days before the sound slidefilui was so widely used, a prominent stoker manufacturer had a dramatic slidefilm made for salesmen to use in direct selling. The idea was then a novel one and the stoker sales manager as.sured his men that the proper use of this medium would bring miraculous results. "All you have to do," he told the boys, "is to let the prospect see and hear your complete story from the slidefilm — and then take his order for a stoker! No talking, no selling, just let the machine do the work!" So each of the men. armed with full equipment started out. One young salesman was especially enthused over the possibilities of this "commercial machine gun". He had been SCREEN uc^e with the force six wicks without making a sale but this stoker film held dynamite, and he knew the power of the screen. First he gave a home demonstration to a wealthy widow and spent the fifteen minute ftovf U % a\ ^V^' EASY v/iv'^s *c..y-'rB:°-L""''.oS nd direct .v:^-;:,sr..i.»' -" the p'°° 3. Cost? at that). let y°"' r a couple h "*-ir^d:nfsoif.ce „1p hundred a co'^PlL^iot the i'';-5«;*v»»,'»....* If necessaryDictureaivee,.p'enty°^^^ ■^^'Todcastisi-P ^^^''^'S.tyol selling. A«er all it s for their benefit and besides they can ■^iranyway. ,,elf Besides y°" °^^ .f L to this yourselt. find a attend to Be sure and have presio □rtant so > '■ ^ '^Z yo -^^^■^'/"Ss" in y,r:ir ■ "" ^ ...„.e scenes here part for y°"^ "" -big shots "'/^dress. , ^^^ change see.- showing time in planning the destiny of his commission check on this sale. However, for some reason known only to the widow, the sale was never born. Disheartened, he gathered his paraphernalia and himself together. His miracle worker had failed him. but he would give it another trial. Another demonstration before a housewife; a third to an elderly couple — and still the stokers refused to move. Only his own optimistic writing adorned his order book, this scientific panacea had not cleared his name of failure! Going into a corner tavern to get a little courage he set the machine down by the rail and gave it a stern kick. The bartender asked what the contraption was. "Oh, just a blankety picture machine", he said, "supposed to be used for selling." "Yeah?" The bartender grinned. "What kind of pictures does it sell? Souvenir post cards?" "Oh, no. They call it a slidefilm machine. There's a film in there that was made to sell stokers. But it's the bunk!" "Well, let's see how it works", the bartender suggested, "things is kind of slow in here right now." The .salesnum set the machine up on the bar, rather diffidently, and proceeded to run the film and record. By this showing he was completely bored with the story but the bartender seemed to enjoy it. "By golly", he exclaimed at the conclusion, "a stoker would be a good idea for a tavern, wouldn't it?" "Maybe." The salesman started to put the equipment away. This, for the fifth time that day and the task was becoming borcsome. "Yeap. They must save a lot of firing", the bartender continued. "Uh-huh". the salesman mumlilid as lie hurriedly folded up the snuill screen and shoved it in the carrying case. "Well, how much would a stoker like that cost?" the bartender insisted. "Oh. they're not cheap — ", then the nature of these light remarks came to the salesman with the shock of a crisis. THE MAX WAXTED TO BUY! With a nervous look the young salesman glanced behind him — and there stood three men who had watched the film from the start. Two of them asked him to take the film over to their homes to show tluir wives the story of his stoker and the third helped him write down I hi' bartender's order! there to get 8. Take ber that Tissue to get >n '" ^ „xpla'n'"9 ""■ ,he mentan'y .„kie 1 is^" 'K/^s'-r*-sr»5^;Mfnr.r, Romance the p icture .,p everybody ■ inaW enough ^rt;:tr,WiS'^^S:^'^'^' tiltns area i CV