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WRAPS OFF! These pictures appear for the first time in any magazine. They were taken by Willard Hanes, of Campbell-Ewald Hollywood office, during filming of Chevrolet and Corvair tv commercials at Warner Bros, this summer, but were never developed until now for security reasons. "There has never been a security leak on new cars through production of tv commercials at Chevrolet," says Phil McHugh, who, as C-E vice president of radio/tv, is responsible for all Chevy air activity
out a compact car was still pretty controversial."
It might be noted that research of one kind or another is a continuing thing around Chevrolet and C-E. The day before shooting of new tv commercials this summer, scripts and storyboards were revised according to a last minute motivational research report. Post-testing of every tv show and commercial influences new offerings.
The preliminary market research satisfied both client and agency that the compact, economy car was in demand. If they needed any further convincing they had only to view the climbing sales of the small foreign car companies (which bv now, along with American's Rambler and Studebaker-Packard's Lark, control about 15% of the U.S. car market).
Prototype of the Holden 25 was first seen by the agency in May 1958 called Del Ray until the name Corvair was finally decided upon.
Now for C-E and the Chevrolet ad
vertising department, began the Herculean task of preparing the product for market under the tightest security. Only international politics and military developments surpass the automotive industry in espionage and counter-espionage. Any leak can be costly — if not fatal.
In its tour of Campbell-Ewald and the Chevrolet Division, sponsor saw plenty of evidence of this fanatic dedication to secrecy : Media charts and story boards but under lock and key every night. In agency corridors, locked doors marked "Security Area." Only a handful of typists who have been "cleared," permitted to type radio and tv commercial scripts. In GM Photo Center, an entire sealedoff area where "classified" photographs are developed and printed.
The production stills, shown on this page, taken during the filming of Chevrolet and Corvair commercials at Warner Bros, were never even developed, for security reasons, until today when sponsor asked for them.
Why all this cloak-and-dagger secrecy ?
"Your readers in the advertising business will understand it best by this simile," said Phil L. McHugh, C-E. vice president in charge of radio/tv. "Just suppose the big soap companies all changed their products in the same week every year!
"The auto industry has had its leaks." McHugh went on, "but this I can say : Here, we"\ e never had a leak through the production of a tv commercial. That's a tribute to the tv film commercial studios." It also is a tribute to Chevy and C-E whose own precautions will be detailed later.
As "Operation Del Ray" went into effect last year, C-E began buzzing (it hasn't stopped buzzing yet).
Campbell-Ewald has a total personnel of about 700 employees. Tlie majority of them are in headquarters in the GM building in DeirML. The rest are spread across the country in 11 branches: New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeli-s, Chicago,
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3 OCTOBER 1959
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