Moving Picture Age (Jan-Dec 1921)

February. 1921 MOVING PICTURE AGE 11 These eight sketches tell the animated cartoon story of the Goodrich film trailer The Film Trailer and What It Will Do People are impressed favorably more easily when happy. An advertising trailer with a sugar coating puts them in a good humor to receive a sales message By Francis T. Kimball WHEN the doctor slips little Willie a sugar-pill, little Willie tastes it and lets it slide down with a smile because he likes the taste. Pretty soon results prove there was something in that sugar pill that was good for whatever ailed little Willie. Why? Well, partly because the doctor had spent years in technical study and expert practice so he was able to diagnose little Willie's case correctly. Then again, partly because, having diagnosed little Willie's trouble, he had the right idea about what was good medicine to help little Willie. And lastly, he knew how to slip it over on little Willie so that all the time he was getting something good for what ailed him, he was smiling at the enjoyable taste in his mouth — didn't really know himself what had done him all the good, did he? That is just about how it is with the so-called "trailer" film in up-todate practical advertising. For the benefit of those who are pleased to think the trailer is a dead proposition, without even knowing what it is, the trailer is a short-six of films, about 100 to 150 ft. long, which is hitched on to the last and slightly shorter reel of one of the features. It is the exposition of just one "corking" comedy idea, built so as to lead up logically and inevitably to the dealer's imprint at the end, giving his name and any important facts he wishes about his business specialties. Simple? Yes, But It Gets Full Attention For example, the story of a trailer film put out recently by The B. F. Goodrich Rubber Compamr is as follows : Two spare tires are spooning together on the back of a moving auto ; he asks her to say she loves him; she says she cannot until he gets a regular job and works like other tires ; he runs up to the front, accosts the driver, and asks "When may I have a job on one of those wheels?" The driver says "When one of those other tires gives out" ; spare tire complains "You told me that a long time ago" ; the driver answers "Yes, but you must be patient ; those are — " and then, Flash ! go the words "Goodrich Tires," and then "sold by" and the dealer's imprint. It doesn't sound like much, does it? And oh, so easy to do! Yes, just like being able to slip over an insignificant sugar-pill on little Willie ! In both cases, it takes lots of constructive idea and lots of skill to turn the trick. The lots of constructive idea and lots of skill make all the difference between a job done by the veriest medical or surgical tyro and that by one of the Mayo brothers ! Or, between the kind of trailer motion picture theatre managers are wise not to touch, and the kind they write things like this of : "Best advertisement ever seen" ; "Better than any other films shown" ; "Great"; "Applause each time exhibited"; "Delighted." And dealers who have come into the fold, perhaps somewhat skeptical at first, are constantly sending in letters more enthusiastic yet. Sometimes they even say they have had to take on extra help to tend to increased business. Occasionally they have been known to refuse the return of their print after the allotted time was up, claiming their local theatre wanted to run the little laugheliciter right straight along— but always they say that the abbreviated messenger, or screen sugar-pill, as you choose, is a constructive piece of advertising, and worth many times its weight in goodwill ! How the Trailer Helps the Dealer The way it helps the dealer is just this. The dealer gets the use of a print of the current trailer without paying one cent toward the actual production of the original negative. He simply sends in his order, together with directions about the wording of his imprint, and then pays a nominal fee to cover the cost of his own personal imprint and the shipping costs. Of course, "first-run" theatres in a few of the larger cities will not put even the most sugar-coated trailer on their screens, but the trailer is a valuable tie-up in the thousands of cities and towns and hamlets of the United States which are not among the leading few, and also in some where there are no newspapers, and in many more where few people "meet up" with any medium but the screen. In this connection, it is interesting to note that the United States Commissioner of Education, Mr. P. P. Claxton, finds that seventy-five million folks in this country never read books of any kind, so it is likely to be a good guess that the majority of the said seventyfive million never read much of anything at all. (Turn to page 18)