The Moving picture world (November 1926-December 1926)

November 13, 1926 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 101 Question Mark Was Used to Sell Three Spaces Question Mark is The Chief Seller Putting over The Mystery Club with a liberal use of scatters was profitable to the Superba Theatre, San Diego, Calif., the question mark enclosing the eye being the chief attractor. This was largely used in single column form as an advance as shown here. Out-Bats the Bat for Thrills The Mystery Club^ THE QUESTION SCATTER This is another case of "as good as" which seldom is to be commended, but the question mark is one of the best attention getters there is. There is something arresting about the interrogation point that never seems to fail, and the all-seeing eye makes this doubly interesting. The cut was duplicated and used with a variety of copy. DETECTIVES! and POLICE Officers We Defy You To solve the mysteries of "THE MYSTERY CLUB" where every member must commit a crime THE TYPE FORM a straight being directed at the Chief of Police and other officials. These are almost teasers, though the Another form of scatter was type ad, similar advertisements use of the name prevents that classification. For the opening the same question mark was used, with very little copy. The selling had been done in advance, and it was necessary only to capitalize on the curiosity already aroused. _ You'll 1 thrill. 1 chill, ^ laugh, m gasp at I ~ Arthur Somers Roche's I "THE I MYSTERY CLUB'' I I I Ah Aesop's Fable Outbats "The Bat" for Thrills — Added Atlraclions — HIIR BEN I THE GUMPS I "Shady Rest" | News iiiiiiHBniiiiiiii|iiiiiiiiiii|iiiiiiii THE OPENING SHOT This was only a two sixes, but with the open layout it looks larger than actual size. Set full it would not have given more than Iialf the flash, and this might be credited to the advance work. This opening space would not have had the same value without the cut. It was the cut that tied into what liad gone before. The Superba seems to realize the value of repetition and we have shown other examples in which the cuts tie to each other. When this can be done it certainly heightens the value of both displays, but chiefly aids the second or later uses. In planning your displays it is a simple matter to select mats that can be re-used in whole or part, but it is too late if you get the idea after you get the mats. Lets Lon Chaney Open the Organ Lon Chaney has played many roles, but we don't recall that he ever played the organ. However, the Pantages theatre, Vancouver, B. C, selected him in Outside the Law to launch the new organ, and in one display played the organ above the star in this 60x2. But that was only one of the displays, and they send in a four fifteens in which the organ comes out a poor second with only about an inch across the space. And the house uses a good placement on tliis larger space. Usually an advertisement of this size is shoved over to the edge ot the page. The Pantages gets the third to sixth columns on an eight column page and there is straight reading for two and a half inches above and an advertisement of simi lar depth below. Tlie result is that it gets a full page display value but pays for only 60 inches out of 160. It's nice where you can IHT^^ ■ CONTINUOUS. VlCHON TILL MIDNIGHT; PaivtageS VAUDEVILE& :AWb J&AT'UKd PICTURES BIG GALA WEEK $50,606 ORGAN RLD-3 GftCATffST CAOOK LON CHANEY Suppoi'M by PRtSCIULA OCAN In a Oe Luie EdUlcm &r ''Outside The Law'' 6— MASSIVE ACTS— 6 MATtNCES 30c— CHILDREN 15c— EVEN1NQ3 Me Not«— Oraan Racltal will be broadcast >var CNRV Tonight from 8 to 9. CHANEY AND THE ORGAN persuade the paper to do it, but that's where the trick comes. Pantages got three two column ads that took up two of the col'.mms. These were from a restaurant, a lighting company and a fireproof door concern. Since they had to run next the Pantages space, they automatically shoved the tlieatre's four fifteens to the centre. A Qood Outline for a Season Ad Around September most houses break out with an announcement to cover the fall opening. Most of these follow the usual lines and few will give much suggestion, but we are reproducing this full page from Maurice A. Fox, of the American Theatre, Terre Haute, Ind., because we like the model. A GOOD OPENER The text is as good as the layout, but you'll have youi own text. The big idea is that this gives you one of the best ways of itemizing your big underlines at the same time you take most of the space to sell the current show.