Broadcasting (July - Dec 1936)

Agency Executives In West Confer on NewDevelopments Radio and Hollywood Included In AAAA Meeting Agenda ABOUT 100 advertising agency executives and as many guests from all parts of the United States, attended the second annual Pacific Coast convention of the American Association of Advertising Agencies held at the Del Monte Hotel in Del Monte, Cal., Oct. 29-30. All sessions of the convention were invitational, and behind locked doors, with outsiders barred, the first day business sessions for members and agency guests only were informal and unrecorded. At these "off-the-record" sessions agency men and guest speakers aired their views on the changing factors affecting agencies and their work, stressing the dynamic side of advertising with no thought in mind that the essentials of agency practice are changing. New opportunities in the field and agency activities which reflect changing conditions were studied. Radio and Hollywood EVERARD MEADE, from the Hollywood offices of Young & Rubicam Inc., read the paper titled "Radio Goes Hollywood", which was written by Tom F. Harrington, manager of the agency's offices in that city. Harrington, originally scheduled for the talk, was unable to be present. John Benson, president of the AAAA from New York City and Paul Cornell of Geyer, Cornell & Newell Inc., that city, who is chairman of the AAAA board, were among the principal speakers, addressing both the closed and guest sessions. Dana H. Jones, president of the Dana Jones Co., Los Angeles agency, was another executive to bring a message to those at the closed sessions. A dramatic-dialogue analysis of modern advertising, titled "Who Holds the Pencil?" was presented by Walter Doty and Fred Ludekens, both with Lord & Thomas, San Francisco, during the closed session. Prof. James W. Young, University of Chicago, speaking at the guest session on Friday, had for his subject "A Technique for Producing Ideas". Joseph Sinel, New York industrial designer, and a former San Franciscan, discussed "Visual Impacts". John Benson's thoughtful address was titled "A New Working Principle for Business". The guest session was concluded by Paul Cornell, speaking on "Advertising in a Changing World". Broadcasters attending the guest sessions included Donald W. Thornburgh, newly-appointed CBS vice president in charge of west coast operations, from Hollywood; John M. Dolph, CBS Pacific Coast salesmanager, San Francisco, and Harry W. Witt, Southern California sales manager for CBS. NBC was represented by Harry F. Anderson, western division sales manager, San Francisco, and Sydney Dixon, assistant sales manager from Hollywood. Ralph R. Brunton, general manager of the Northern California Broadcasting System (KJBS, San Francisco, and KQW, San Jose), attended as western chairman of the National WHEN QUAINT HUMOR MISSES ITS MARK HORRORS NO! screamed the staid Saturday Evening Post a few weeks ago when it was accused of letting its editorial columns be on speaking terms with its advertising department. But hardly had the echoes of that stirring denial faded into the distance than the Post utilized its editorial pages 25 and 95, Oct. 17 issue, to deliver a below-the-belt attack on sponsored football games, a promotion device which it obviously fears may divert some advertising dollars from its columns into the time schedules of broadcast stations. Hired for the Post's attack against radio was H. I. Phillips, glib painter of verbal fantasies, who with readily apparent difficulty tried to carry out his assignment. Over and over Phillips injects "Pertwinkle's veal spread" and "Blodgett catsup" into end runs and college budgets until the repetition becomes hopelessly boring before the first 500 words have been survived — a sorry predicament for a commentator whose pieces ordinarily make pleasant reading. Since the Post article pays particular attention to sponsorship of Yale games, a comparison of Phillips' fancy and Socony-Vacuum's facts will supply an answer to this attack on radio, delivered under the guise of humor. Says Phillips in the Post: "What a battle, folks! What a battle! It is up to the best traditions of the Blodgett Tomato Catsup Corporation in every respect! Mr. Blodgett, president of the corporation, is in the stands here today; and if this touchdown goes over, he will step to the mike and give you his impressions of the strategy used in putting that ball over . . ." Here are facts: SoconyVacuum makes no mention of its product or name while the ball is in play. The few commercial announcements are of this type: "It was way back in 1879 that these two great universities met for the first time. Those were the days of the first automobiles . . . chugging, awkward, horseless carriages . . . that bore little resemblance to the sleek, high-powered cars of today. In all those fifty-odd years, Socony, the makers of Mobiloil, have kept step." Ben Franklin's paper tripped over its own eagerness on that one. Association of Regional Broadcasting Stations. On the evening of Oct. 29 agency executives welcomed arriving guests and mingled in informal groups. AAAA members and guests participate in the golf tournament over the famous Del Monte course Oct. 30 and attended the President's Dinner, honoring President Benson and Board Chairman Cornell, which was given in the Del Monte Hotel auditorium that evening. Sessions was presided over by three chairmen: Dan B. Miner of Dan B. Miner Co., Los Angeles agency, who, besides being chairman of the convention committee on program, is chairman of the Southern California Chapter of the AAAA; Joseph R. Gerber of Gerber & Crossley Inc., Portland agency, and chairman of the Oregon Chapter of the AAAA, and Burt Cochran of McCann-Erickson Inc., Seattle, chairman of the Washington Chapter, AAAA. Douglas G. McPhee, San Francisco advertising writer, was convention executive in charge of arrangements for the conclave. NEWS TRAINING M issouri U Offering Course In Radio Reporting PRACTICAL instruction in news broadcasting is given by the Missouri U School of journalism in cooperation with the Columbia Missourian, published on the campus, the United Press and KFRU, of the St. Louis Star-Times. It is the first time such training has been given by a university. Actual broadcasting of news reports provides the students with laboratory instruction, a feature of Missouri School of Journalism training. Demand for such training arose with the rapid growth in popularity and frequency of news broadcasts. The school broadcasts at least three times a day and may add other periods. U. P. news is supplemented by local items. Brooklyn Cases Deferred ANOTHER postponement of the hearing date of the so-called Brooklyn cases, involving competitive full-time applications of the four time-sharing stations on the 1300 kc. channel, from Oct. 26 to Jan. 14 was authorized Oct. 21 by the FCC at an en banc meeting. Stations involved are WARD, WBBC, WLTH and WVFW, as well as the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, an applicant for the facilities. The Day, Jewish language newspaper, also is involved through options to purchase two of the stations, and the case, pending since the days of the former Radio Commission, was ordered for rehearing several months ago by the FCC. WGNY to Newburgh WGNY, Chester, N. Y., owned and operated by Peter Goelet, son of the New York banker, shortly will move to Newburgh, N. Y., according to an announcement Oct. 22 by Mr. Goelet. Authority already has been procured from the FCC. The new officers and studios will be located at 161 Broadway. Studios were designed by Johns-Manville Co. Technical features include high fidelity RCA speech input and transmission equipment. A Lehigh vertical radiator also has been installed. AlkaSeltzer in Demand By Canadian Listeners To American Broadcasts BACK from a trip to London, where he arranged for the advertising of Alka-Seltzer in England, Holland, France and Switzerland, Walter A. Wade, president of the Wade Adv. Agency, Chicago, reports that, despite the ban on radio advertising in Great Britain, many proprietaries are being advertised via radio to English listeners. Radio Luxembourg, he said, is the most popular station and Sunday the most popular day. Most of the programs, he added, are recorded. Although radio is largely responsible for the exceptional success of Alka-Seltzer, which in just four years has become the leading product of its type in drug store sales, and although it was due to the demand for Alka-Seltzer by Canadian listeners who had heard it advertised on American stations that its manufacturer first became interested in the foreign market, no immediate use of radio is planned abroad, Mr. Wade stated, as the distribution is as yet too incomplete to permit use of broadcasting without too much waste coverage. Test campaigns have been started in six cities in England and in Holland, using newspapers and street car advertising, and a newspaper campaign has been launched in three provinces in France, with a similar campaign scheduled to begin in Switzerland next January. In each country the AlkaSeltzer advertising is being placed by a local advertising agency, which acts under the general direction of the Wade organization. "Despite the fact that the average English family has an income much lower than that of the average American family, nearly every home has its radio," Mr. Wade stated, "and just as soon as our English distribution is complete we expect to begin broadcasting English programs on foreign stations." DRUG TRADE PRODUCTS Co., Chicago (Peruna) has taken 182 transcribed quarter hours of the Pinto Pete series from the Radio Transcription Co. of America for placement on WJR, Detroit, and XEPM, Eagle Pass, Tex. Benson & Dall, Chicago, is the agency. MAINE USES RADIO IN POTATO DRIVE MAINE Development Commission in a few weeks will start a spot radio test campaign in the New England, Middle Atlantic, and Atlantic Coast states on behalf of Maine potatoes. Announcements will constitute the initial radio campaign. The Commission seeks to widen the market for Maine products and also increase their consumption. Dorrance Sullivan & Co., New York, has been appointed by the State of Maine to handle the account. Sturges Dorrance, president of the agency, will service the account personally, and will work directly with Everett F. Greaton, executive secretary of the Commission; Frank P. Washburn, commissioner of agriculture; C. M. White, chief of the markets division; Rodney Feyler, commission of sea and shore fisheries, and other marketing groups and producers throughout the state. The Commission, in addition to the potato campaign, plans to work out advertising schedules for Maine apples, sardines, live lobsters, eggs and poultry products, blueberries, and possibly dairy products. Page 46 • November J, 1936 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising