Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1963)

A huge mechanical billboard has been put up by Universal on top of a building at the corner of Hollywood boulevard and Highland avenue in Los Angeles for "The Birds," where an estimated million persons pass each week. The giant crow on top of the 54x25-foot display, with illuminated eyes, moves its body, flaps its wings and pecks at a terrified "Tippi Hedren." Fine Patron Response To 'Tamiko' Contest Walt Guarino of the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans gave the national “Win a Trip to Japan’’ contest a fling on radio, ad mention and via lobby displays in promoting “A Girl Named Tamiko.” He also made sure the newspaper columnists knew about the trip contest. Guarino reports the results were pleasing. Saenger patrons showed a lively interest in how they could win the vacation, and frequently depleted the entry blanks kept in a special poster cut-out container in the lobby. The display was adorned with colorful oriental windbells and open miniature parasols. Overhead were criss-cross rows of alternating Japanese lanterns and bell chimes strung from wall to wall. A large open parasol hung directly over the entry blank display. Contestants are asked to complete in 100 words or less, “I believe ‘A Girl Named A mounted three-sheet, cut in pieces to form a jigsaw puzzle, proved a novel attention-getter as it was repeatedly assembled on street corners in Washington, D.C., as part of the campaign arranged for "Five Miles to Midnight" at RKO Keith's Theatre by Max Miller, United Artis'S publicist, and Jerry Baker, Keith manager. Tamiko’ (was right) (was wrong) to break with tradition because . . .” The filled-in blanks are to be mailed to Paramount Pictures Corp. in New York City. The New York office of Paramount reports more than 100,000 entries had been received by March 15 in the contest which offers six free trips to Japan, five for theatre patrons, and one for exhibitors, plus 257 other prizes. Exhibitor entries will be judged on the basis of the most effective promotion of the contest. Complete details are featured in the Paramount pressbook. Report Cards Passed Out For 'Carry On, Teacher' Fabian’s Plaza, in Schenectady, N.Y., made a wide distribution of “Carry On, Teacher” report cards. A little larger than postcards, they listed eight subjects — lined off, with space for “Comment” and “Grade.” The entries after “Reading” were: “So Who Reads?”; the grade, “recommended,” for writing: “Just Gags!”; grade, “Hilarious.” Others were: Arithmetic: “Such Figures!!?” Grade, “Plus.” Physical Education: “Plenty! Wow!” Grade, “Yes.” Biology: “No Secrets Here!” Grade, “Spicy.” Anatomy: “Va Va Voom!” Grade, “The Most.” Deportment: “Complete Havoc!” Grade, “Laughable.” Home Economics: “Cheesecake!” Grade, “Umm Good.” The comments were printed in large, heavy black type. “Nothing But Nothing Is Funnier Than ‘CARRY ON, TEACHER,’ ” read the cards, which listed the opening date. The cards were distributed at the Plaza and through other channels. Gene Gannott manages the Plaza. Eight Children's Films Series 1 of the Children’s Adventure Series includes eight features and a serial of eight 15-minute episodes. Three Fur Coats Are Day Fashion Prizes E. C. Carter, manager of the Odeon Theatre in the eastern Ilford section of London, England, was impressed by a mat block featuring Doris Day in some of the high fashion costumes she wears in “Lover Come Back,” and he immediately contacted the fashion editor of the Ilford Pictorial. His first effort was a failure ; he received a turndown. Then he tried another approach— through the daughter of one of the directors of the company which publishes the Pictorial and several other papers in the area. After a lot of negotiation, the publisher agreed to use the mats in the Pictorial if Carter could come up with a worthwhile prize. After several phone calls to the publicity department of the Odeon operating circuit, he was assured of a fur coat for a prize in a contest involving the Doris Day fashion block. With the coat assured, Carter set his sights higher and demanded that the contest be used in the company’s two other papers in the east London area, the Dagenham Post and Guardian and the East London Advertising. There was some 24 hours of haggling, but Carter finally won out, and the fashion mat promotion appeared in the three papers with a combined circulation of 140,000. The result was the greatest number of entries ever received in an Ilford Odeon Theatre promotion — over 2,000. Due to the “fantastic” response. Carter arranged to give away three fur coats, and the paper printed and distributed 250 double-crown circulars to all its distributor agents. Readers were asked to rate the six “Day’s Fashions” shown in the mat block “in the order in which they would be of most general use to the average smart woman living in this area.” Women entering the competition were required to use printed fashion contest blanks published on the woman’s pages under large headlines. Imprinted Letter Cards' Useful in Resort City Resort visitors always are writing “wish you were here” notes, etc. Capitalizing on this practice is a “letter card,” which reaches Boxoffice Showmandiser from L. A. L. Moneypenny, manager of the Odeon Theatre at Jersey, city in the English Channel Islands off the coast of France. The “letter card” is simply a strip of paper, suitable for writing, measuring 51/2x121/2 inches, one side left blank and the corners at one end diagonally cut. The end is strip glued. Theatre copy appears at the top and bottom of one side. In direct mail advertising, it’s known as a selfmailer. Moneypenny had a batch of these self-mailers prepared and distributed for “Waltz of the Toreadors.” Beer Mats Imprinted Among head office aids used by R. Reay of the Odeon in Sunderland, England, for “Waltz of the Toreadors” were imprinted beer mats, approximately 3^-inch square cardboards. 2 — 50 — BOXOFTICE Showmandiser :: April 1, 1963