Business screen magazine (1958)

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3^) part of a 60-filin library maintained by the Institute on laundries and dry cleaners for use of membercompanies in various localities. Farm equipment manufacturers have long made extensive use of the medium in non-metropolitan areas. John Deere, pioneer manufacturer, has been making theatre ads for more than 20 years. The company's 1958 series adds eicht new films, all in color, and now has a total of 25 films available for its denlers' use. About 500 dealers used the ads in 1957. Shown at "John Deere Days" The Deere commercials are produced as part of a full-length motion picture that dealers are asked to show at "John Deere Davs" in their communities. Combined with the selling messages are entertainment films. The movie, which shows the full line of Deere equipment, is then broken down into individual film advertisements to fit the needs of each agricultural jommunitv. The company makes three or four such films on many ;)f its implements to match the type of farming done in various farm areas. AllisChalmers Manufacturing Company's theatre-screen film li:irary totals 37 films, 12 new messages being added this year. Inte-lational Harvester Company, in ill lines, has 53 theatre advertisenents produced for 1958 showing, laving recentlv added five new :ommercials. Fifteen films in the ibrarv are on the International fruck line. Maytag Ads Aid Dealers The Maytag Company for more han 10 years has been promoting he use of screen ads by its dealers, rhe company pays for producing he films, and dealers underwrite ocal screenings. James B. Boyer. lealer advertising nianaL'er for Maytag, estimates that dealers have pent nearly $ 1 .000.000 for screen idvertising. The company makes 1 film on each new Maytag predict, showing its sales points. This 'ear, for example, there were 12 lew commercials, including one eaturing the local dealer's service )arts facilities. Using the same cast and props IS for the theatre commercials, the ilm producer recently completed 1 series of 10 television spot anlouncements for Maytag. These ire also available to dealers for ocal use. "Doubling-up" in this vay meant "mileage" for the com•any's advertising budget. A relatively new user of screen SCREEN ADVERTISING advertising on a national basis is the Rexall Drug Company. This company .set up its initial program in 1957 with 13 full color commercials, v\ ith black -and -white prints available for use on TV. Individual stores paid for local theatre or TV showings. To encourage the use of the series by its dealers, Rexall Drug made up a color brochure which eave them full information. During rhe first nine months of 1957, more than 550 Rexall druggists placed almost 10.000 weeks of theatre advertisements, the company said. Bankers Life Tests Medium The Bankers Life & Casualty Company of Chicago last year showed two color commercials in a test campaign to sell its "White Cross" health and accident insurance plan. Each film sold a dilTerent type of hospital and medical coverage. The first film was run for one week in 81 drive-in theatres, spotted nationally; the second ran in 50 additional theatres, both conventional and drive-in. The advertising films were tiedin with an inquiry postcard, which was handed to each driver (or to each patron, in the case of conventional theatres) as he entered. A spokesman on the film referred to the card, and told members of the audience that they would receive either a booklet on insurance or a sample policy by sending the card to Bankers Life. As a result of reactions to the test campaign, which the company said produced inquiries "of good quality, with a high ratio of seriousness of interest as well as buying power," Bankers Life is implementing a national screen advertising campaign this year. Other National Users Listed Other national advertisers who are either inaugurating or augmenting their theatre screen advertising programs this year include PepsiCola, Royal Crown Cola, and Seven-Up in the refreshment field; Carnation Company and Pet Milk Company; the manufacturers of such well known diamond rings as Keepsake, Artcarved, Starfire. and Orange Blossom; watchmakers like Bulova. Elgin. Hamilton. Gruen. Mido and Wyler; Motorola; General Electric Company; Glidden Paints; Drexel Furniture; the Underwood Corporation; N o r t h American Van Lines; the makers of Mercury. Johnson and Evinrude outboard motors; and American Can Company and Sealright. Inc.. for their "Canco" and "Pure-Pak" waxed milk cartons. fitcreon Alodium Alir«»ad: Pictures speak all languages; the screen images are understood and appreciated by audiences in all countries. The sound track can easily be converted. Long established in Europe, the screen ad playlets are also a regular program fare in the cinemas of Latin America. The market is rich and rewarding. Theatre-screen advertising is the OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF VIEWERS CHARTED OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF WEEKLY AUDIENCE 304 TOTAL US l-WALL DRIVE-IN SUMMER 4-WALL DRIVE-IN WINTER SkilU'il, scnii-skiUi'd workers and liousewives comprise lari;i sei;nu'n!\ of the iheaire screen ad audience. second largest promotion medium in Mexico. Only commercials on radio are ahead of the screen advertising films in terms of reaching the consumer public. Theatres in Mexico can provide seating capacities as high as 5.000 to 8.000 playing four to six shows daily. The "captive" audience viewing theatrescreen commercials represents a large potential market. The typical Mexican advertising film comes in a five-minute reel of four commercials, each running a minute and 20 seconds — and sandwiched in among newsreels, documentaries, educational films and other shorts. The health benefits of fresh milk — "leche fresca" in Spanish — are beintj promoted to Puerto Ricans. More than 400 theatres in Central America — some 60 of them in Puerto Rico alone — show theatre-screen ads regularly. Users of theatre commercials in this area ,.-, include Glidden Company, Buick, ri Edsel, Maiden-Form. Sherwin-Wil in Hams Co.. and others. l^' Editor's Note: This is the first of a new series on the theatre screen advertising medium. Subsequent articles will detail techniques and audiences for screen ads abroad; the nature of companies producinij and distributing these films in the U.S. Manhattan Color Lab Set For Fast Filmstrip Work > Manhattan Color Laboratory, Inc., in New York, has completed the installation of new processing equipment which will provide its clients with the fastest and most efficient filmstrip processing in the country. The new equipment, made to Manhattan's specifications, was manufactured by S. Van Tuyl Associates, of Ft. Pierce, Fla. It incorporates many features available on no other developing ma ,_ chines on the market. Manhattan, which services filmstrip producers exclusively, processed two million feet of color slidefilm last year, expects the new facilities to enable it to almost double that figure in the next 12 months. In conjunction with the new processing equipment, the lab has installed a ten-ton air conditioner, a separate refrigerator for storing a million feet of film at 50 degrees and a new Model "D" Bell & Howell printer. Negative developing of both Ektacolor and Eastman Color will be offered, and 24-hour service on color positives is guaranteed. I