Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

FR.IDA.Y AT 5 Ward Quaal Calls for Code Action On Political Broadcast Advertising Atlanta, Ga. — Charging that the "spot announcements carried in the current presidential campaign are viciously distorted," Ward L. Quaal, executive vice president and general manager of WGN Chicago, declared that there is a need for the implementation of sections in the radio and television codes dealing with political broadcast advertising. In an address before the Atlanta chapter of the American Women in Radio and Television, and the Advertising Club of Atlanta, Quaal said: "It is rather silly if we apply certain standards for shaving creams, dentifrices, gasoline, detergents, pharmaceutical products and intimate apparel and ignore an area which involves the election to an office of the man who will lead this great republic in the months and in the years to come." Quaal said that if broadcasters can address themselves to the control of piggybacks in the commercial scheduling of anything in the area of "excesses," how can they ignore political salvos that are unfair, that represent half-truths and that are partially or Western Electric Sponsors College Election Coverage New Haven, Conn. — With Western Electric, Inc., picking up the full sponsorship tab, a network of nearly 50 college radio stations will be reporting tomorrow night's election returns on their local campuses. At the hub of the coverage are the eight member schools which comprise the Ivy Radio Network, headquartered at Yale University. Other Ivy schools include Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth and the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, the election night service will be carried by nearly 40 more colleges in the Northeast and Midwest extending as far as Chicago. Coverage begins at 7 p.m., with a team of college broadcasters standing by at the network's election central in New York. Western Electric created a new ad campaign for the program aimed specifically at the college student. fully distorted and, in fact, in some cases, are the most vicious messages of advertising in the history of electronic communication. Quaal pointed out that WGN and WGN-TV do not air political spot announcements for candidates or issues because "no candidate can address himself adequately to his program or platform in the course of one-minute's time." ABC Renews Three 20th-Fox Shows New York — In a display of confidence in its tv programing, ABC has renewed three shows produced by 20th Century-Fox for the balance of the 1964-65 season. Industry sources point out that renewals are normally not made until three or four national Nielsens have been released. In this case, it came after the initial Nielsen. Shows involved are 12 O'clock Hii>h, Valentine's Day and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Strouse Sees Specialization as Threat To Creativity in Advertising Field Los Angeles — Citing the "dichotomy that still exists in many places in our business since the advent of television" as a threat to advertising creativity, Norman H. Strouse, chairman of J. Walter Thompson, last week declared that specialization in a single medium "must necessarily restrict growth." Speaking before the Western Region convention of the American Assn. of Advertising Agencies, Strouse pointed out that in the beginning "tv was a strange new medium, and because of the highly technical aspects of production the early writers and directors tended to come from outside the agency business." The print writers and art directors tended to shy away from something they didn't understand, Strouse continued, and "to believe that if they paid no attention to tv it would go away." "It didn't," he added. Strouse said that for several years the print and tv so-called "creative departments" were separated. "Only later was a forced marriage consummated." The agency head warned that there are still too many creative writers who look at tv and print media as different worlds, "not recognizing that like our great artists from Michelangelo to Picasso whose talent expresses itself in every medium, our outstanding creative people should find themselves equally at home in print, broadcast or skywriting." Strouse concluded: "The versatility developed by dealing with var ious media stimulates and broadens creative talent — specialization in a single medium must necessarily restrict growth." In his overall discussion of creativity in advertising, Strouse also had a word about research. Over-dependence on it, he said, is certainly one of the great threats to creativity. "Put enough into research, and creativity will take care of itself, is the insistent call." There is a temptation on the part of the researcher, Strouse added, "to go beyond his proper role and dictate both the consumer proposition and the form of its execution into campaign themes." ABC Sues Union For $5 Million New York — In the wake of a strike by 40 page boys, the American Broadcasting Co. has filed a $5 million suit in Federal Court against the Na"~ tional Assn. of Broadcast Employees and Technicians. The complaint charges that the Union influenced its members not to cross the picket line set up by the page boys. With technicians refusing to cross the picket line, supervisory employees have been pinch-hitting in studioes and control rooms. As a result, ABC reports that all shows and commercials have been aired on schedule. Also, supervisory employees have been rehearsing daily for election night, in the event the strike continues. SPONSOR Nive.