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296 Building Theatre Patronage
Conviction.
Convincing the busy reader in the very short space of an advertisement is difficult. Usually you can only whet an appetite or develop a curiosity. You have no room to convince with so-called "arguments.** If you try to say too much, curiosity is satisfied and patrons won't buy tickets to feel suspense or because of a curiosity which you have already satisfied.
Remember that many readers are not regular fans. The regular fan no doubt knows about the coming attraction from the house program or the screen trailer — and knows more than you can tell in a newspaper advertisement. The prospects you are aiming at include those who seldom buy a theatre ticket and would not buy if they were not sold by this particular advertisement. A large percentage of your profit from the newspaper advertisement lies in selling those who were not already sold on a particular program but whom you can persuade to come.
Exaggeration.
Conviction does not depend on noisy, boasting, exaggerated statements. Superlatives are easy to write. A complete supply is available in any dictionary. Skill is not required to set down such exaggerations as the following: "The most stupendous production of the season,** "The greatest photoplay ever made,** "The photoplay that has made moving picture history,** "The greatest cast that ever appeared,*' "The screen's leading masterpiece,** "Acclaimed by critics unanimously,'* "The greatest picture since 'The Birth of a Nation',** "The most wonderful screen play ever produced.** These are a few samples from a list of 1,376 meaningless exaggregations collected from amusement pages of the country during one month.
Now, it may be that a particular picture deserves superlatives. But, even then, superlatives have been so worn out on inferior photoplays that, even for the exceptional photoplay, it would be wiser to use something else. People are not convinced by brag and exaggeration, especially if previous expe