Business screen magazine (1938)

NEW DIMENSIONS IN ADVERTISING use movies, easily the most perfect of all modern advertising media. The advertising man is a keen student of psychology, both experimental and applied. He knows that a light is the first stimulus that can attract and hold the wandering eye of a very young human infant. If the light (or its embodiment in a brightly colored object) is set into motion, the attraction of the human eye toward this stimulus becomes irresistible. If sound is added, we complete the trinity of primary attention-getters — light, motion, and sound — which enjoy a virtual monopoly of sensory approach all tluough life. The talking motion picture combines these three prime movers of the human mind in a degree that is not possessed by any other medium. The printed page uses the attractive power of light through speed lines, cartoon sequences, and successive motion picture stills — the highest compliment, attempted imitation of the motion picture. The radio uses only sound, and its groping in the direction of television is in itself a confession of a realization of its primary shortcomings. The talking picture is the only medium that combines all three primary lodestones of attention — light, motion, and sound. Some results reported by devotees of the "business screen" will probably be of interest. A large steamship line reported that 3,379 showings of its films reached 975,000 persons. An automobile manufacturer topped this attendance by showing a baseball film to two million persons in a year. In some lines, specialized coverage means more than mass attendance. A pharmaceutical house set out to "detail" 107,884 members of the medical and allied professions; at the end of a year they had reached 105,873 — 98 percent of the quota. By spending $67,232.93, all told, on a film program, they did their job at 62 Vac per head; other-than-film methods had previously cost $2.13 per head for the same job. An anti-freeze manufacturer spent $18,500 for a direct-sales film, and sold $600,000 worth of his product at net prices at shows arranged by his dealers and jobbers. A motor manufacturer spent $5,000 for a film, featuring an item selling at only $70 — but added 11 per cent to his profits on that item alone — besides the indirect benefit of general advertising and dealer recognition. To get good results, it takes a good film — well made, properlv shown, and well adapted to its purpose. The question of quality is a difficult one to discuss. It is just as hard to say what makes a "good" business film as it is to say what makes a good cigar. Too many factors enter into the question. The tobacco itself, the blending, the workmanship, packing, and merchandising, all play their part. But in the last analysis, a lot depends upon the smoker — and upon "audience." The smoker's own preference and "technic," and the extent to which he "harmonizes" with those around him, all contribute to a composite idea of what makes a "good" or "bad" cigar. Similarly with pictures; the product to be presented, the way the story is prepared, the showmanship routine worked out to bring it to its audience, the effectiveness with which die sponsor's story is told in terms that will be favorably received by its audience, all must be considered in judging the quality of a film. A survey also indicates that in most liusiness films direct advertising is kept at a minimum. There are exceptions, certain films made specifically as direct advertising media. A few pictures are as direct in their invitation to buy as a department store advertisement in a daily newspaper; and a considerable number of pictures, growing in importance, are devoted solely to teaching salesmen how to sell. There have been business films almost since the birtli of the motion picture. Some producers boast of more than 20 years of continuous production of industrial films. But it is a far cry from the early "factory run-arounds'' and" good-will" productions to the smart, fast-moving, subtly dramatized sales "punch" that goes i)y the name of "business film" today. The modern producer of industrial films has a staff comparable to those of theatrical studios in ability, imagination, and often downright genius. His job is really much harder; whereas the studio men strive solely to pick an appealing story and dish it out in a way they hope the public will like, the industrial producer nuist take the other fellow's story of cheese or pig-iron, and dress it up in such a wav that the public not only will like it, but will spend their money, not for the film, l)ut for the product plugged by the film. Editor's Note: This is the first oj two articles from an address to tile Society of Motion Picture Engineers made b\ Mr. W. F. Kruse. The next will appear in an early issue, together uitli interesting charts and tahles. 18