Business screen magazine (1961)

n house" and as the workmen jct the first sheet of Masonite. t| scene again reverts to full (ten color. .ogic Behind the Story Line fhe success of retail building nierial sales hinges on satisfyr customer needs, which the I \iiiaii must uncover. A man 1. ' comes in to buy some nails )l lously needs a hammer, ivlasonitc produces a large vai|y of hardboard panels suitfe for both exterior and interior \. A story line was necessary jf. would enable the producer to iict as many "needs"" as posije, thus reminding the salesman ipll the potential uses of Mason, boards. Naturallv, all these i B m -HiB M y ^.-r remodeling, rooms are spoEiljs, modern, bright with color. ''feds and uses"" are seldom found i^hin one home. A situation was Bfded that would permit some il(ht exaggeration. The old fashic|ed silent movie technique was It] perfect solution. The film was written and Ji'cted by Norman Tolson: phoIcraphy was handled by John Bes and Hans Ueckeroth. TV Distribution by Sterling I I whoppinv; success along the ti s front. The Shriiikini; House ^ iild do well as a public-service |E vision offering. Sterling Movies y ^ will handle t"he T\' version, q ^1 the first panels of Masonite icSdboard begin to rise, film's trges resume their color hues. B^ Selecting a new and "honest"" brand of commercial as tops in almost every category this year, the advertising-industry jurors of the American TV Commercials Festival have given good indication that TV"s next cycle of spots will probably be documentary low-sell and natural-looking. Animation fared poorly this year, and optical effects were used only moderately, though sometimes with telling impact. Award winners were screened last month in New York (May 4) at a luncheon in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Later Festival screenings were presented in Chicago. Toronto. Dallas and Los Angeles. Edie .\dams and Stan Freberg New York's gala affair — a full house — heard featured speaker Edie Adams ( "best spokesman" ) say that commercials were a real challenge for an actress because the performances were often seen over and over again — and had to be perfect. She said the pay was fine, however. Stan Freberg (Best: Packaged Foods, and a Special Citation, to boot ) took more pot shots at the "hard sell"" practicioners — his long-time favorite target. The American TV Commercials Festival — the third annual event directed by Wallace A. Ross — awards gold satuettes to 30 "Best of Product Category" winners plus seven citations for .Advertising Achievement in specific areas or markets, plus Citations for Craftsmanship in 14 categories. Several of the awards were made in the name of prominent industry suppliers — Eastman Kodak Company. Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, the Motion Picture Editors Union, the Screen Directors International Guild, and others. Judged by Leading .-^d Execs Winners were selected by a TV Commercials Council of prominent advertising executives voting in five regional advertising centers (East. Midwest. Southwest. West Coast and Canada), who judged 12.'54 entries. Videotape producers withdrew en masse from the Festival two weeks before awards day. They protested that while their product would be shown on smallscreen TV sets, film winners (some in color) would be projected on a large screen, and the comparison would 'De unfavorable to the taped winners and finalists. 160 of the entries (out of 1254) were on tape. Tape winners were shown on Coosl-to-coast American TV Commercials' ceremonies followed the N.Y. program. Here director Wally Ross addresses luncheon at Chicago. The Year's Best Television Commercials Jurors Cile 51 at Third American TV Coninierrials Festival TV monitors — as scheduled — despite the disagreement. In the morning, prior to the Awards luncheon, a workshop on techniques — part of the Festival activities — featured members of the Film Producers Association of New York, and informative talks by Stockton Helffrich. Manager of the National Association Marc Asch is introduced at N.Y. Workshop by Robert Bergmonn. of Broadcasters New York Code Office, and TV Consultant Harry MacMahan. Robert Bergmann (Filmex). FPA Public Relations Chairman, conducted the producers' seminar, and introduced speakers who described such technically complex commercials as Maxwell House"s Ciip-and-a-Halj (TV Graphics) .a Sweetheart Soap spot (Robert Lawrence ) . Ford"s Seascape ( F i 1 m w a y s ) . Chevrolet"s City (EUE). United Brewer"s Foundations / Like Beer (MPO). Carter"s Pills" Butterfly (Fihnex), and Sinclair's Dinosaur (Van Praag). Most fascinating was Bob Bergmann"s own entry in the seminar discussion. The Carter"s Pills' commercial called for a butterfly to fly in a window, land on a pill bottle and fly out again. Production had to be live, and shooting had to be done in November, well past the local season for butterflies. Van Praag Productions" Marc Asch demonstrated two of his own creations — dinosaurs — which play an important part in Sinclair Oil's TV campaign for Dino gasoline. These small beasts were originally commissioned to the best model makers in New York — with no success. With deadlines zooming up. Asch finally turned model-maker himself — constructed a dinosaur that is self-powered, walks realistically, swings its head and tail, and lights up its eyes. On television, this realistic creature is seen walking down Times Square and on the Grand Central overpass. Filming was done with the blue matte process. These demonstrations illustrate the dedication of skilled film producers in carrying out the fanciful demands of imaginative copywriters. R Kellogg's Howard list receives a trophy for best Cereal spot from Festival Director Wallace Ross. Nmber 3 • Volume 23 • 1962 39