Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1962)

Candy Bar Keeps Abreast of New Dance Fad Proof that theatre promotion lies not only in the ballyhoo of films, but also in the general physical area of the theatre, is brought to Showmandiser pages by George W. H. Spratley, manager of the Odeon Hyland Theatre, Toronto, Ont., with this picture of his snack bar. To keep abreast of the latest craze, the Twist, the candy counter was renamed the “Peppermint Candy Lounge,” complete with red and white striped canopy and cut-out Twist figures. The purpose was twofold, to create interest, of course, and to tie in with the theatre’s various licorice lines, Red and Black Twisters, and Allsorts. The background mirror, as shown, carried the candy names and colorful caricatures of Twist figures. Spratley said the effect is quite startling and that the merchandising effort has paid off in customer interest and amusement. Huge Margarine Tieup for 'Lover Come Back' A national tieup designed to reach into 23,000,000 homes in the U.S. and involving expenditure of over $1,000,000 has been set up on “Lover Come Back” with Lever Bros, by Universal and Arwin Productions. The tieup features an offer of a special Doris Day record album of songs from the picture and other Day favorites to users of Lever Bros.’ Imperial margarine. On February 5, 10,000,000 packages of Imperial margarine in grocery stores will carry a coupon with the record offer and the “Lover Come Back” plug, reading, “Be Sure to See the Funniest Picture of the Year — ‘Lover Come Back.’ ” Lever Bros, will furnish point of sale display material to the grocery stores, and starting February 19, will use a saturation radio spot campaign comprising 6,000 special announcements in all major markets featuring the record offer and the plug for the picture. On February 25, 122 Sunday newspapers in the top 100 metropolitan areas, with a circulation of 35,037,600, will feature a color ad in the comic sections. A two-page full color ad in TV Guide will appear on March 3, and on March 12, 23,000,000 direct mailing pieces will be sent out. Big Coloring Contest The renovated Roger Sherman Theatre in New Haven, Conn., reopened with “Babes in Toyland,” with the event being promoted by a coloring contest in the New Haven Register. The prizes started with a $25 savings bond, and included a pass for four films for the runnerup and passes to 23 third prize winners. Bonus in Bus Promotion All advertising space, inside and out, of 30 buses of the Cleveland public transit system was devoted to “King of Kings.” The three-week paid promotion created such an impression that the transit officials extended the use of the 30 buses three more weeks without cost. Free 'Millionaire' Platters At Holyoke, Mass., the Suffolk Theatre, playing “Teenage Millionaire,” distributed free records to teenage patrons. El Cid • • (Continued from preceding page) a promotion schedule with announcements seven weeks in advance of playdate — offering listeners a special “El Cid” brochure. The response was almost unbelievable. The theme music from the film was widely A played by the Cincinnati radio stations, ^ using the Liberty, Verve labels, and the MGM soundtrack album. An airplane, carrying a seven foot banner acclaimed “El Cid” over the entire Cincinnati area for three days before the opening date. Cincinnati’s famous Spanish Inn added “El Cid” to its title, and redecorated the restaurant interior with color stills and special reprints of paintings. Literature on the film is free to all patrons. The popular Stein’s Hideaway restaurant, next door to the Valley, is doing a remarkable business with a package combination of dinner and “El Cid.” The restaurant advertises extensively in the daily papers using special “El Cid” logo. Many restaurants, who feature dinner music, are playing the “El Cid” music for the duration of its run. Nemo’s wife Esther was delegated to do group sales, and concentrated her efforts at first on the schools. Special buses bring the children for the Wednesday and Saturday matinees. She lectured and talked before PTA, business groups, social clubs and church groups. Her work has been very successful. The preliminary work over, the Nemos are not resting on their laurels, but are continuing to beat the drum, adding fresh material, such as eye-catching signs on the buses and trucks, feeding new material to the newspapers and the radio stations and TV, adding new window displays, and using at fresh promotional stunts to help keep the “Sorry, Sold Out” sign in front of the theatre for many a day. Wiethe reported that advance group sales started out in excess of the advance figures reached for previous hard-ticket attractions, including “Exodus,” “The Alamo,” “Porgy and Bess,” “South Pacific” and “Around the World in 80 Days.” Knife Under Marquee Scores for #Naked Edge' Manager Bob Lipe of the Piqua Theatre, Piqua, Ohio, went into the carpentry business to build his own display for “Naked Edge.” He built a wicked looking knife to hang under the theatre marquee, illuminated with a red blinker and with a speaker concealed inside. The speaker was used to plug futux-e attractions. A cooperative merchant “gagged” one of his window mannequins to plug the film, with a sign l-eading, “If I Wasn’t Gagged . . . I could tell you moi-e about the last 8 minutes of ‘The Naked Edge.’ ” Poetry Tells of Closing Richard Buzzell, E.M. Loew’s Hartford, Conn., drive-in, closing for the remainder n*; of the winter, took to poetry in newspaper nd display space, running the lines: “Closed for the Season! When Spring Has Sprung, and the Grass Is Gi-een, This Is Where the Movies Will Be Seen. Thank You for Your Patronage!” 2 — 26 — BOXOFFICE Showmandiser :: Feb. 12, 1962