The story of the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation (1919)

•U«BS«]—- t * * « a* jit 'J'* *.= ,* |~ m te *: *iiiu * t — -ftu „ «r *«» ^e u» _vfe " S' >«* » kM 2 »»i It* Jfi. J: -ft >> a Hi tfc The Third Division, Publicity, is under the supervision of Peter Smith. This depart- ment writes and places stories in newspapers, magazines, house organs, etc., and issues all announcements. It also arranges advertising "tie-ups" with national advertisers, obtaining endorsements from organizations, and invents and carries out all exploitation "stunts.' Samuel Palmer, formerly with Universal Film Company, the New York Evening Mail, the Ben H. Hampton Advertising Corporation, is in charge of trade paper publicity. A recent addition to this department is Peter Milne, probably the best known of all motion picture reviewers, who has been on the staff of the Motion Picture News for five years. Mr. Milne will work on trade paper stories and exploitation ideas. Also in this department is James Hood MacFarland, who has been with the company since 1914, and Miss Gwen Sears. James Creelman is in charge of supplying material to New York newspapers and newspaper syndicates. Magazines are handled by Morrie Ryskind, formerly of the New York World, and a magazine writer of prominence, Miss Dorothy Nutting, and Charles Gartner. Arthur Brilant, publicity, newspaper and advertising man of nine years' experience in all parts of the world, is in charge of arranging tie-ups. The tie-up consists of co-operating with other national advertisers in their campaigns. On many of the productions of this company there have been written and published special songs, titled with the name of the picture, carrying on the cover stills and photographs of the star, and featuring the company trade-mark. These songs, published for mutual advertising by the song publishers, are distributed to all the song dealers in the country. The dealers are instructed to arrange with their local exhibitors to conduct window displays of the song during the run of the picture at the theatre, and to send singers to the theatre to sing the song between pictures. Among the pictures on which songs have been published are "The Woman Thou Gavest Me," published by Al Piantadosi; "Secret Service," published by Waterson Berlin & Snyder; "False Faces," Waterson Berlin & Snyder; and "Fires of Faith," by the same publishers. More of this sort of advertising will be done in the future. A similar plan is carried on with book publishers. When this company produces a picture made from a novel or play, the publishers often are induced to issue a special photoplay edition, illustrated with stills from the picture, and carrying the star's name and an announce- ment of the picture on the cover. Books have been issued on "Fires of Faith," "Arizona," " Poor Little Rich Girl," " Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," and many other Paramount-Artcraft pictures. Phonograph records are also issued by the various companies on the songs written around Paramount- Artcraft pictures, and the local phonograph dealers co- operate with the exhibitors at the time of the showing. The same is done with player-piano rolls. New avenues of approach to the public are constantly being discovered and opened up, and from the newly organized Publicity and Advertising Department is to be expected in the coming year some of the most revolu- tionary and significant advertising smashes in history. Paramount-Artcraft pictures are so good that it pays to tell the truth about them. screen slide Some Foreign Publicity placed by this Department [ 62 ]