Moving Picture World (Dec 1917)

1940 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD December 29, 1917 that the very form of display is in itself an advertisement for the house, It is best to vary the form as much as possible, that each piece of advertising may be distinctive. Of the two pieces of copy, that on the right seems the better, yet the upper and lower case name to the left Is more easily read than the all-capital line, just as the punch line is more easily followed. But "Vowed never to lose her heart," is simple and direct, therefore better than the similar line with the prefix of "The story of the girl — " A better line for that would have been merely, "She could not tell the truth." The line used is that from the company press work, but the shorter line tells the same thing more strongly In fewer words and therefore is to be preferred. We know it is a story. The left-hand advertisement is better in that it gives the times of performance, but the one on the I Marguerite Clark IN "MISS GEORGE WASHINGTON" The Story ol a Girl Who Could Not Tell The Truth Commences 7:45 9:15 Pncei 10 and IS Cent* AIRDOME OJ TON1CHT TUESDAY. JULY 10th MARGUERITE CLARK "The Pretty Sister of Jose" VOWED NEVER TO LOSE HER HEART AIRDOME TUESDAY JULY 17th >917 "Nanette ol the WMT J right uses fewer words to describe the story. This descriptive matter Is apt to be read by but few of those who get a throwaway and the shorter the paragraph the more likely it is to be read. One hundred words that will be read are better than a thousand that only ten per cent, will read. This holds equally true of the throwaway and the newspaper advertisement. The brevity that is not gained at the expense of clearness is the thing most to be desired in any advertisement from the 28 sheets down to liners. In preparing copy it is always a question as to whether the star or the attraction should bo played up. Generally it is the star, unless the play is so well known that the mention of that title is apt to draw better business than the star. Broadway Jones without George M. Cohan should be featured above the chief player, but ■ Broadway Jones with Cohan should name the author above the play. Both advertisements are well displayed in type, but the Hardwickes have their printers trained and well trained. The next reproduction shows six small slips about two by six Inches each, though some are slightly wider than others. Compare first the two Fairbanks advertisements on the left. The first of these is a jumble of type. Nothing stands out distinctly and there is far too much to be read. You do not know what to read first to get the Information and so nothing Is read, but the slip is apt to be thrown down. On the other hand, the second example is almost ideal In that it permits the reader to see at a glance that Douglas Fairbanks in "Flirting with Fate" is to be seen at the Lyceum theater. Here the word theater seems to have been added to the house name to give balance to remainder of the advertisement. The rest of the display is In double lines. A single line for "Lyceum" would have spoiled Douglas ES H~/£Hz. Flirting With Fate -M.nK.ll.n Mvlr-et.' LYCUJM THEATRE The Ctrl Phitifrpa" the effect. In general the word "theater" is supposed to be under stood, but here it gives balance, and so its use is good form. The copy for the second advertisement is also more direct. The lines run "Douglas Fairbanks hired a professional assassin to end it all when the girl he wanted to marry became engaged to another man in Flirting with Fate'," and goes on to tell how the girl changed her mind and Fairbanks had a lively time sidestepping his hired murderer. In a few lines it gives a good idea of the story, an idea that will tell the person of average intelligence that the story should be a good one. It will make him want to see it that he may tell how it came out. The Lxilrd example uses a stock cut. Note how the black "today' and "tomorrow" hide the titles. It obscures the name of Miss Pickford, almost wholly obliterates the title of her play and reduces the other title to nothingness. As a general thing it is a mistake to advertise two attractions on the same throwaway, and it is always an error to use the same paper for two days with different programs. Get them the Pickford today and get after them on the screen for the next subject on the morrow. If you cannot afford two throwaways, at least get them in for the Pickford and then tell them on the screen, of the fine attraction for the following day. Do not offer a choice lest Indecision cause the prospect to stay away from both. The fourth example also uses a stock frame, and in an effort to make the use of the frame plain, it features the minor attraction above Chaplan. This would serve if the name of Chaplin were played up more strongly, so that it stood out above the other, but this is not done and the value of the advertisement is almost negative. The fifth display is too much small type for a throwaway. It is good copy if it is read, but unless the throwaways are sent into the residential district few will have the time to read all the copy. It would have been better to have played up "If your Father" in larger type, even at the cost of pulling the leads from the Roman. Then, by breaking the title to two lines, interest could have been roused to get some, if not all, to read in between. As it stands, the full face Is too nearly the size of the body type to attract. The last specimen is about the poorest of the lot. The type is jumbled and the use of the small cut is even worse than the square of Fairbanks. A cut that size might work well with considerable copy and other cuts in a half or quarterpage layout, but it is too small to be impressive on a small sheet. It looks unimportant. It will convey the subtle suggestion that the subject is unimportant. A cut is an attractor only when it is large enough to seem worth while and a thumbnail cut has no place on a throwaway of any size, even when used in combination with others. It is too small to stand out and, therefore, too small to be used. Where it could be used, the name should fall below the cut and not above it. A cut four times that size (twice as wide) might have worked well, for then it would look like something, but this is too small to be used for any throwaway work. This does not apply with equal force to the trade-mark cuts, for a trade mark is not supposed to be as important as a star, but the mind instinctively argues that if Fairbanks or Miss Stewart were important they would have largei cuts. The next display offers three samples, each about five by eight inches Here the cuts are large enough to look important and so serve their purpose as attractors. That on the right has an odd use of rule DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS /3C MOMf Or GOEATEn. STAfV GaeATirx nusvj GtUAiTA VfTAGOAPM Doug hired a professional assassin to end it alt when the girl he wanted became engaged to another man She changed her mind, and then Doug wanted to live. He and the assassin sure have ore great time. YOU'LL UKE IT Lyceum Theatre TUESDAY. JUNE 12 Price* 10 and 15c Two Sbowi 7:45 ftiS E.H. SOTHERN Th* MoJ Frnwui Aaot ol ir. Modwn Stag* m "The Man of Mystery" Tha dram* ol • man wfw returned trivn the .*!!•> of ihadow LYCEUM AT THE AIRDOME M iht LYCEUM TO-NIGHT Saturday, Jui TOMORROW Chai. Chaplin in "The Cure" If Duslin Farnum "A Son of Erin" YOU'LL ENJOY IT! work, but to some extent It isolates the name of the house and the date from the name of star and attraction. On a throwaway this is less important than it would be in a newspaper space, but it is best to enclose all of the matter within the same rule if it all relates to the same subject. The arrangement of type is good in both of the outside examples, but Fairbanks Is better connected with his portrait than is Farnum. It would have been better had the Farnum text kept up in 36-point through two more words, making the display line read, "If Dustin Farnum Isn't Irish," dropping to twelve for the matter that follows. The important line is not "If Dustin Farnum," but if he is not Irish, and the display should be kept up to carry the message over. By doing this the value of the line would have been increased many times. The middle example is all right as to copy, but the printer went wrong on this. The honor of offering Sothern is not worth what is virtually an eighteen-point face. The honor would have LYCEUM Two Showi 7:30 ■ 9 00 Admimo.i 10 an i 15c TODAY— MONDAY, MAY 7 VALENTINE GRANT, in "The Daughter of MacGregor" £vrr)bed> admlrw Ihr -orl of a trlrl (hot flehts h-r own haul.-, and aafca 00 quarter* from anyone And if «h* i piquant, full ot tun — and Srotcb. tb* immrdiafrir bcromn fasrlnilinir. Surh >> ihr rase with Jmh', Th* DauthMr uf ils^t.n i">r." who rebels at hrr falhcr>.,ur\rvo.M>oable d".>ir>d. thai ah* (tw up fount Winston. Jran rum awa) to \ir.erlra where btr lirrut-m save* btr imrie's lunJbrr ramp from a band of ihi< ..-. and she win* r\er>hody's tmrt. In .'- pt.-nm and out. Tlv Scotch utmcMptirrv which hah b*ra tnjrrt*d into the picture 1* -l-lirhihil nitli re Ji-m. and "Th* NiueIk.t of HarGrreot" »« rank a* a rrallv oVUshtfitl onr among the many lhal yon halt MM Wednesday and Thursday— Frank Keenan m "The Phantom;" Rosco* "Fatty" ArfeticJuein "He Did and He Didn't." been as great in an eight-point italic, and this would have given about twenty-four points for the name of the star, using a condensed letter to get the same width and a greater height. Similarly, the line that follows could have been cut down to give greater display to the play title. As it stands the lines are too nearly of equal value for any one of them to get the proper display. This is a matter that calls for personal care. The printer will not do it for you. You must tell him. If he knew enough to always play up the most valuable lines, he would be in a position to get a job as advertising man that should pay him better than sticking type. Here, too, it is a tactical error to announce Chaplin on the Sothern bill. They should be coaxed