Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1963)

UVCRI I3CR3 RESPOiNalBlLlTY tor niaintaiiiiiiu uttvvork program and comiiKrcial standards lies witli Herbert A. Carlhorg (1), director of program practices, CBS; Carl Watson, director broadcast standards (c), NBC; Grace Johnsen (r), director continuity acceptance, ABC. at NBC. Today, similar claims generally are considered harmless "puffery." "At least toda\' it's a lot better than the situation that existed at one time in advertising where the advertiser would claim that his product could cure anything from asthma to falling arches," says one industry man. Permitting competitive claims was possibly first supported by Milton Blow of Biow Advertising who talked of the hypothetical "mudpie case." The idea was, if a man can sit down and find the finest mud in the world and shape it in the finest plate he should rightfully claim that he has the best mudpie in the world. In the area of tv commercials there are three general approaches to the competitive message. ONE: Reference to category. The advertiser states the disadvantages of a general competitor, such as alumiimm against wood. Alcoa commercials recently showed pictures of wooden windows and fences, making comments on the disadvantages of both. With a scene of a wooden window copy reads, "A window is not for pushing, tugging, prying, scraping, painting, banging, screening. Haven't you heard of aluminum windows?" A Rinse Away commercial pointing out disadvantages of alcohol heair tonics and creams is another. TWO: References to specific brands. By emphasizing a wellknown slogan, statistics, or showing an identifiable picture of leading competitors, even though names are not mentioned, the astute viewer is able to fill in the blanks. Good examples are Bayer Aspirin, American .\irlines, and All detergent commercials (shown on page 29). THREE: Direct claims against identified competitors. The most brazen of all, such commercials are first to be challenged. Examples of the direct claim are currently prevalent in the compact auto field. Valiant commercial ( left ) points out the results of a test by an independent institute showing 74.5% of drivers interviewed rated Valiant the best value over Falcon, Chevy H, Rambler, and Corvair. Volvo has been running a commercial in spot t\' which shows a race against Cor\air, V^olkswagen, Valiant, and Renault, in which Volvo is the runaway winner. The names and horsepowers of the cars are given at tlic beginning; at the end the statement "\'ol\o also gets 25 miles to the gallon." Renault has also entered the fight picture on tv. Commercials compare the auto favorably with V'olkswagen for size, gas, and turning radius. Volkswagen, undisputed leader in the foreign-car compact field, has not come out with strong competi tive advertising though it frequently cites the timelessness of its models. Helmut Krone, key man on Volkswagen account at Doyle Dane Bernbach, says the client still feels like a guest in this country and will not permit the agency to do downbeat ad\ertising. "They bend over backwards to a fault," says Krone. "It often bothers us." The art director feels the attitude is a ciirryover from extremely moral advertising in Germany where even superlatives are outlawed. The agenc\' recently prepared a print ad showing five American and one foreign competitor with the copy "Can you tell the ages of these cars?" — but the client shot it down. Similar idea was reportedly considered for commercials. Another hotly competitive area on tv is analgesics. The NAB and different networks consider claims in this area — or any area concerning health — of primary importance. Bayer Aspirin came out with a commercial this spring which gave the slogans of its top three competitors. The talent assumes poses and attitudes which poke fun at their claims, then says "All I need to kno\\' is what it said in an article I read in tlie Journal of the American .\ssociation in my doctor's office." A case against Bayer by the FTC is now pending. Other headache relievers take i milder approach but still touch on competitors. Bufferin, Excedrin and .\nacin all claim extra ingredients. Excedrin sa\s "Even the heavilyadvertised combination of ingredients tablet merely adds cafi^eine to aspirin. But Excedrin has more quantity and more kinds of ingredients.' Anacin says product "is a combination of ingredients with a particular ingredient missing from aspirin. Commercial also states, "milHons get fast relief . . . and no upset stomach," possibly implying that with other cures an upset stomach could occur. There has also been friction between Dristan and Contact. Contact recentK challenged Dristan for attacking a so-called "all-day capsule. Strong competiti\e claims have frequently been made among shavers and blades. A Honson commercial some months back showed other electric shavers at work making a comparison indicating it was 30 SPONSOR/7 OCTOBER 1963