Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

Radio Tieup for Good Will Found Effective By W. G. HIL D E B RANT President, Gotham Advertising Company Jack Frost Program Changed Style of Continuity to Call Attention to its Advertising in the Newspapers IT SEEMS to be the fashion in certain broadcasting circles to say that there would be no serious problem of commercial credits in programs if the sponsors were not so bent on getting all they possibly can out of each and every program. I think of this in connection with the request from the editor of Broadcasting, asking me to write an article about the new style of the commercial announcement in the programs of the Jack Frost Sugar Melody Moments. The sponsors of this program, the National Sugar Refining Company of New Jersey, makers of the Jack Frost line of package sugars, would certainly be an exception to the fashion, if there were such a fashion. When we first suggested the new style of commercial credits, they embraced it so completely and so wholeheartedly that I began to wonder whether much of the objectionable radio advertising that has been going on these last few years was not due more to the radio people themselves in their desire to please a customer than to the sponsors in their desire to please themselves. From the beginning of the Jack Frost radio program, it was never offensive in its content of advertising matter. I do not think there exists any network program similar to the Jack Frost program which had as little commercial credit in it as our program did the first two years. But it is often possible to improve even on a good thing, and that is why we started what we did on Septembar 2 when we practically eliminated the entire commercial credit. AD APPEAL THERE NOW it stands to reason that the sponsors of this program are not spending thousands of dollars every week in an altruistic enterprise. Neither are they doing it for the sake of art. The entire purpose on which this program rests is to aid the sales of the prod i uct made and merchandised by the/ corporate entity behind Jack Frost Sugar. There simply came up the question whether the program could be made even more attractive to its listeners and more resultful to the merchants who are patronized by those listeners. It AN INTERESTING new departure in radio advertising technique, in which extended announcements and shop talk are virtually eliminated, was recently inaugurated in the Jack Frost Melody Moments programs. What impelled the company to change is here narrated by the head of the agency handling the account. W. G. Hildebrant was decided affirmatively and the method chosen was practically to eliminate the commercial advertising. In so doing there was no thought of soft-pedaling the advertising. On the contrary, we intended to make the advertising more emphatic, and we did this by drawing a closer link between the newspaper advertising campaign and the radio than had heretofore existed. In the first two years that Jack Frost Sugar was on the air, the newspaper campaign and the radio program were mainly independent of each other. Now we have made them inter-dependent. We place most of the responsibility on the newspaper campaign advertising, where it belongs, and we use the radio to make this newspaper advertising fully productive. We frankly tell our listeners each Wednesday evening that we want only their good will, and that if they are interested in the products of the sponsor, they can find complete details about these products in the advertisements in their home newspapers or at their cer. This accomplishes a threefold purpose; we are sure of the good will of the listeners because we know we have a marvelous musical program and we allow no extraneous note to spoil the spell of that program; the reminder about our newspaper advertising focuses an enormous amount of attention upon it that it would otherwise not get; and finally, the mention of the grocer brings the thoughts of the listener to an immediate point of contact with the (Continued on page 32) How Jack Frost Program Changed Style NEW TYPE CONTINUITY 1. Theme. HAVRILLA (Announcer) — The National Sugar Refining Company of New Jersey presents the Jack Frost Sugar Melody Moments. Eugene Ormandy conducts the orchestra with Oliver Smith, tenor, and Steffy Goldner, world-famed harpist. We open our program with some of the tunes that made "Oh Kay," the hit of shows on Broadway a few years ago. Oliver Smith will sing for us the most famous of that bright array of Gershwin songs. It was called "Maybe." 2. Selections prom "Oh Kay" Gershwin Orchestra and Vocal Solo: "Maybe" Haendel's ever popular "Largo" is usually heard as an instrumental composition. Oliver Smith, however, gives it a new beauty as he sings the tenor air which was first introduced in the opera "Xerxes." 3. Largo Haendel Oliver Smith The Jack Frost orchestra plays one of the most beautiful and best-known works of Tschaikowsky, famed Russian composer. It is the lilting "Sleeping Beauty Waltz." 4. Sleeping Beauty Waltz Tschaikowsky Orchestra Few harpists have won such fame as Steffy Goldner, artist extraordinary. Miss Goldner for several years has been associated with the finest symphonic groups in America and Europe, in addition to her concert work. As guest artist on the Jack Frost program she will play Rubinstein's lovely "Melody in P." 5. Melody in F Rubinstein Harp Solo : Steffy Goldner Orchestra (Theme) . Announcer — You are the guests of the National Sugar Refining Company of New Jersey, makers of Jack Frost Packaged Sugars. Because we feel that we are your hosts we are not going to talk shop. You will be more interested in the advertising story of Jack Frost Packaged Sugar as it appears regularly in the newspapers or as your grocer will gladly tell it to you, than if we told it at length here. It is a real story for all who are interested in home making. ( Station break ) . We continue the program with the orchestra playing a fastmoving number from "Shoot the Works." It's not a mammy song and it doesn't thank anyone's father. It simply asks "How's Your Uncle." 6. How's Your Uncle from "Shoot the Works" Fields Orchestra Next the Jack Frost orchestra will play "The Sunshine of Your Smile." This delightful jewel of another day is given a new beauty by the special string orchestration which was arranged by Eugene Ormandy, conductor of the Jack Frost Orchestra. 7. Sunshine of Your Smile Ray Orchestra Again we hear from Oliver Smith, the Jack Frost tenor. This time he sings "Lady of Spain." 8. Lady of Spain Evans Oliver Smith Noel Coward has become the symbol of excellence in many things, but in looking back over his fullsome career, it would be hard to miss the success of his popular musical play, "This Year of Grace." The Jack Frost Orchestra plays selections from this bright production. 9. Selections from "This Year of Grace" Coward Orchestra So ends another program of Jack Frost Sugar Melody Moments. We hope you enjoyed it and will be with us next Wednesday evening at this time. This is Alois Havrilla announcing for Jack Frost, the WOty Pure Cane Sugar — the Quality Sugar of America. Good-night ! OLD TYPE CONTINUITY 1. Theme. HAVRILLA (Announcer) — Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. As August fades away and we anticipate the coming of September, we usher in another program of cheerful music, an assortment of Jack Frost Sugar Melody Moments, sponsored by the National Sugar Refining Company of New Jersey, makers of Jack Frost Packaged Sugars. Tonight we open our program with music by that master musician and composer, Victor Herbert. Let us turn back the pages of time to 1905 and the first performance of the season's most popular operetta, "Mile. Modiste." We hear selections from this Victor Herbert gem played by Eugene Ormandy and the Jack Frost orchestra. The tenor solo, "The Time, The Place and the Girl," will be sung by Oliver Smith. 2. Selections from "Mlle. Modiste" (Vocal: "The Time, The Place and The Girl" . . . tenor). Orchestra Herbert Oliver Smith picks this late summer evening to reflect on the beauties of another land. As he sings "That's How I Spell Ireland." 3. That's How I Spell Ireland McConnell Oliver Smith And now the Jack Frost Orchestra catches the continental (Continued on page 3S) October 15, 1931 • BROADCASTING Page 11