Showmen's Trade Review (Oct-Dec 1939)

October 7, 1939 SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW Page 21 ^^CW\ps' Campaign Makes Louisville Take Notice Neither George N. Hunt, manager of Loew's Theatre, Louisville, Kentucky, nor Harold H. Marshall, M-G-M exploiteers were shy when it came to the showing of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" which they subtitled, "A Romance of a Bashful Man!" Publicit} in the newspapers was planted over a month in advance. Two one-half page spreads and a series of articles on the picture, Greer Garson and Robert Donat, as well as signed articles by Howard Strickling, Howard Dietz and others, were used. Other breaks included the planting of the pictorial romance of a bashful man strip and a special letter written to the editor of the "point-of-view" column (editorial page) commending the motion picture industry and M-G-M especially for their attempts at producing such splendid entertainment. Stressing the bashful man angle again. Radio Station WHAS featured a humorous but valuable contest on the man-on-thestreet broadcast. The contest idea was continued by means of a special imprint on the back of the regular herald which was distributed from house to house. Tickets and cash were awarded. Events, a special magazine distributed through the important restaurants with a circulation of 10,000 carried a special halfpage story on the picture. Schools were contacted and furnished with individual bulletin board displays. Teachers proved very helpful by putting "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" on the must-see and must-read list. A special screening of the picture was held about two weeks in advance of the opening with the result that a city-wide "whispering" campaign operated with very successful results. Other exploitation features included the distribution of 100 Jumbo cards, 250 window cards, 1,000 book marks, 1,000 blotters and 5,000 special hotel dresser cards welcoming guests to Louisville and inviting them to see the "romance of a bashful man." Several hundred letters were sent out to women's clubs, educational outlets, luncheon groups, etc. A number of prominent citizens who were formerly newsboj's played host to a number of outstanding newsboys of today. For ballyhoo, three boys and three girls paraded the streets two days in advance — the boj's wore college cap and gowns while the girls wore caps and shorts. Appropriate copy was used. Special tieups included twelve bannered trucks, special window displays in the leading stores and 40 x 60 displays in the lobbies of all of the downtown hotels. The Advertising Clinic Manager Rose Uses Song Title Contest to Sell Double Program Entertainment for a song! With this as his motif, A'lanager Harry Rose, Loew Poli Globe, Bridgeport, Connecticut, promoted a one-hour program over Radio Station WELL Contestants guessing the correct song titles were given guest tickets to see "Lost Atlantis" and "Wolf Call." Another feather in Manager Rose's cap was the securing of 100 street ash can cards located on the main thoroughfares. This was the first time any local theatre received them gratis. Other special paper included 1,200 window cards posted throughout the town and suburban districts : 6,000 heralds distributed from door to door; 75 bus cards; 4,000 Carroll Perfume bags imprinted and distributed by two local stores. Another stunt that proved its effectiveness in an outstanding manner was a classified contest in the Times Star. Winning letters posted in the lobby were photograplied. The picture, together with the names of the winner, appeared in the paper for an extra break. Doc Gets Some Pointers On Advertising From An Expert BY "OLD DOC LAYOUT" IF YOU only knew where old Doc was when this was written. We told you the last time that we were going to the repair ward of the hospital to get our joints oiled. Well, we did just that, and then we went to celebrate. And did we get oiled up! Now we feel like a million dollars — well, at least like a couple of hundred thousand. We're in dear old Indiana giving our bones a rest and seeing what is being done in the way of newspaper advertising. Yesterday we discussed the problem at length with the advertising manager of a newspaper edited and published for a typical Hoosier community. We wanted to get his views on the ads brought to him day after day from local theatres, and he had quite a bit to tell us. He had found, through his long years of experience, that those who create layouts are not too reliably informed anent the problems of the man in the composing room. Were it not for the fact that the printer has a head of his own and can often get attractive results from a piece of badly made-up copy, he pointed out, the manager would be up in arms. Naturally, such ability is taken for granted, and even though the printer does his best, once in a great while the result is not just what the manager expected. In this connection, we asked about the distribution of type specimen and border sheets or books to all advertisers. Wasn't it a good thing? Weren't better layouts to be expected when the advertiser had the book in front of him and could choose the proper type and borders? Unfortunately, the answer was in the negative, especially in the case of the average community. And this, was the explanation. To use a type book correctly, one should have at least a partial knowledge of printing. He should know what types will look well, what size to use. He must be able to determine just how much type will fit into a certain amount of space. Not all advertising managers know this. They may consider themselves good layout men; they may be experts at writing catchy copy, but unless they know the fundamental rules of printing, they're apt to cause the man in the composing room countless headaches. For example, an advertising man would have a line he wanted set in a certain type face. It had to be that — or else. Either he didn't bother to count the number of letters and spaces, or he miscalculated because of "i's" and "m's" and "w's." Again he would place his copy flush against the border, and there must be a slight margin all the way around to allow for "shoulder" and to prevent the ad from having that crowded look. With so many type faces from which to choose, the inexperienced ad man would have his layouts looking like type specimen sheets themselves. He would crowd eight-point type into a space that wouldn't even accommodate six point. Accordingly, it was found best not to distribute type specimen books to advertisers. We were assured, however, that the theatreman is always welcome to discuss his ads with the printer; that by getting together on the matter they can solve any problems that might arise. The printer knows his business and is therefore in a position to advise what is practical and what is not. Spieaking of Unusual Layouts Our conversation then turned to unusual laj^outs. The composing room man is willing to create any effects within reason, but often the brilliant layout man will make a cockeyed effect which is virtually impossible for the printer to duplicate. It takes time to set up an odd-shaped ad or one with unusual typographical or border effects, he continued, and yet without taking this time limit into consideration an ad man would bring in his brain-child only an hour or two before the amusement page was to be "put away." Before you go in for the unusual, he admonished, consult your printer as to its practicability, and then give him ample time to do a good job of it. Well, that ended our interview. Of course we discussed this and that, but you wouldn't be interested in either this or that, so we won't record what was said. Racing Car Ballyhoo for "Indianapolis Speedway" This racing car was pulled through the streets of Springfield, Ohio, during the peak rush hours George Suterm.\ster, manager of the Majestic Theatre, engineered the stunt.