Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

..travel turns to tv sound attached. As a result, current travel commercials are among the most exciting and attractive on the air. They capture the romance of travelers' destinations by making use of local customs, people and places, and by playing up such evocative scenes as rushing waves, marching palace guards, cool Japanese gardens. Such smooth-sell advertising is very different from the traditional print ad promoting speed, price and convenience. Of the nine tv commercials chosen to complement the TvB presentation, all but two highlight the romance of the destination. Included in this group are commercials by National Airlines, Pan American, BOAC and Eastern Air Lines; by Hertz rentals; by the country of Jamaica and the island of Lucaya. (Northeast commercials on Florida could also have been included in this category. ) It's worth noting that romantic excitement appeals to a broader segment of the population than travel's heretofore dcmi-god, the businessman. Airlines, for example, decided they had to broaden their appeal because many seats were going unsold; and one way to reach the crosssection they seek is, of course, via television. In addition to using the excitement of locale as a lure, airlines promote such conveniences as family discounts, vacation package plans, charter flights. New York agency executives chose two travel commercials as exceptional in the 1964 travel season, according to TvB: the Jamaica Tourist Board commercial by Doyle R3Clio strengthens Anriericsn Express The American Express audio logo connotes a pleasant kind of urgency, according to Eric Siday, designer of the music track. ■ For over a year, a heavy saturation of radio spots for American Express Travelers Cheques has featured such "headlines" as "California couple robbed on Hawaiian vacation." "New York executive loses $400 in London." "Tidal wave sweeps away $240 from Seattle woman." Such ear-catching openers to a commercial might well be followed by fatal closings, but all these episodes have happy endings. Luckily, the people in trouble all have American Express Travelers Cheques. The idea for such news-oriented commercials was recommended by Ogilvy. Benson & Mather in 1962, soon after the agency took over the account. AmExCo says the radio commercials have been a great suc cess. The sale of travelers checks is at an all-time high. Credit cards, also advertised on radio, break records every month, both in number of card holders and total amount of billings. American Express admits there is no accurate way to measure the effectiveness of its radio campaign, which last year cost over $1.25 million. However, the company does say that "many thousands of people who have not previously identified travelers checks and credit cards with AmExCo, now do." Certainly some of the increased awareness of AmExCo's services can be attributed to the radio campaign, voted one of the 12 best campaigns inl963byRAB. One of the unusual features of the commercials is the sound logo created by Eric Siday, an Englishman well known for the musical designs of many radio and tv commercials. AmExCo calls the sound logo the "Siday effect." Now owned outright by American Express, the sounds were produced with the use of electronic equipment. Siday was commissioned to create a logo representative of the American Express image. "Ogilvy wanted a music track that would express travel — American travel, business — American business, and also be distinctive, simple and have a trademark quality." Siday explains. "I analyzed the copy platform and said to myself: 'What can I do with travel?' The obvious thing would be sounds like boat whisdes, trains and so on." says Siday. "This is out or you're into the cliche area. But you can still express travel and business if you dig a little deeper and look at communications, for example. Communications are part of American business. You look for a sound that represents the broad highway. You think of America and some sounds that are strongly American; this is rather easy to do. "Electronic music could best express these ideas, I felt. Ogilvy was not afraid of using electronic music, as David Ogilvy had had great success with it in the Maxwell House coffee commercials. "What I worked out. I suppose, is actually subliminal. The opening is a xylophone record at a high sDeed synchronized with a typewriter, designed to connote a pleasant kind of urgency in life. This gives the commercial its true individuality," Siday believes. The sound not only acts as a memorable and identifiable image for American Express, but also adds continuity to the commercial series. By using the same announcer in each commercial, the agency was able to provide further continuity and identification. Radio was recommended to American Express because it provides a very high frequency of message at a relatively low cost, according to Elliott Detchon, Ogilvy's 36 SPONSOR