Broadcasting (Jan - Mar 1950)

All Radio Film (Continued from page 11) sidering a request that NAB lend it the services of C. E. Arney Jr., NAB executive secretary, for a month to assist in the organization of the big premiere. Tentative plans for the first showing are on a grand scale. It is proposed that it be held in the Waldorf-Astoria's Grand Ballroom. The showing will be preceded by a cocktail party, a lavish dinner, and entertainment by top netwoi-k stars. A thousand guests — top advertisers and agency men predominating— will be invited. As preparations were proceeding for the New York premiere, the All-Radio Presentation Committee reported that 545 subscriptions to the promotion project had been received. Three of the subscribers are ABC, CBS and NBC which have contributed a total of $50,000, five are national station representatives — Avery Knodel, The Katz Agency, Edward Petry & Co. Inc., Weed & Co. and The Branham Co. — and the rest are individual stations. Total subscriptions to date amount to $135,000, Mr. Mitchell said Thursday. Subscription fees are based on station income and range from $25 to $1,000. The final cost of the promotion film, made by the Independent Motion Picture Producers Society, cannot be exactly calculated. The contract price for the finished picture with one 35mm print is $85,000, but additional 85mm and 16mm prints will cost extra. Subscribers may obtain the film in either 35mm or 16mm size. The film when finally edited is expected to run 45 minutes showing time. Shorter versions will also be made for special local purposes. Mr. Mitchell pointed out that the All-Radio committee will make arrangements for the projection of the picture at subscribers' requests. Two Firms Retained Two film companies, The Jam Handy Co. and Modern Talking Pictures Inc., have been retained. They will provide projection equipment and operators anywhere the pictures are shown, Mr. Mitchell said. No subscriber needs projection equipment of his own to display the film. The 45-minute film is described as a documentary, with all members of the cast acting themselves, except for a professional actor who appears in one sequence. Four radio sales successes are the backbone of the film, it was said. They pertain to local radio campaigns of a department store in Columbus, Ga., a chain of super markets in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a dairy in San Jose, Calif., and a •network show. No call letters are used in the film, it was reported. The adver 5 0,0 0 0 WATTS MlAdU 0/ tUe JbicuL, SOO he. THE DETROIT AREA'S better-than-ever Best Buy Coverage of a 17,000,000 population area in 5 states CKLW Guardian BIdg., Detroit 26 National Rep., Adam J. Young, Jr., Inc. GSTTING the bird is MrS. C. L. ThoKias, wife of Chef Thomas, general manager of KXOK St. Louis. The traditional Christmas goose, awarded by Ed Hunsinger of the St. Louis Advertising Club, was one of more than $8,000 in gifts presented to members and guests during the organization's 47th annual Christmas party held in the Jefferson Hotel. More than 1,000 persons attended. tisers involved, however, are identified. The Columbus case was a campaign on a local station by a jewelry concession in the Davidson's Department Store. After a history of unsuccessful advertising in newspapers, the jeweler turned to radio with such prodigious success that the entire store undertook a campaign on radio. What's more the case encouraged R. H. Macy Co., owner of Davidson's and other stores in the South, to use radio. The film documents the original placement of the radio campaign, shows actual customers, prompted by the commercials, buying diamonds at the store — all scenes reenacted by the actual people. In Cedar Rapids, the Me-Too super markets cooperated with the film producers by running a special radio campaign to sell a carload of peaches — a duplication of a success story that had occurred earlier. The film shows customers flocking to buy the peaches. San Jose Case In the San Jose segment the film shows how the Marin Dell Dairy, with headquarters in nearby San Francisco, achieved distribution in local stores through its use of radio. The network program covered in the film is the Jack Berch Show, sponsored by Prudential Life Insurance [Broadcasting, Oct. 31, 1949]. The film illustrates how a Prudential salesman is welcomed by a housewife who has been made Prudential-minded by the program. Another sequence in the picture shows a bull session of agency men and Mr. Mitchell at the Poor Richard Club of Philadelphia. In the course of the discussion, Mr. Mitchell manages to get across his now famous "Mitch's Pitch." Mr. Mitchell said that some newspaper-owned stations, prospective subscribers, had inquired whether the promotion film was too competitive as regards other media for them to show locally to the embarrassment of their newspaper associations. He said he believes this is not so. The All-Radio Presentation Committee is preparing full instructions on the mechanics of showing the film as well as complete publicity and promotion kits which vdll be distributed to all subscribers. Officers of the committee ar^ Gordon Gray, WIP Philadelphia, chairman; Mr. Mitchell, secretary; Herbert L. Krueger, WTAG Worcester, treasurer; Eugene S. Thomas, WOIC (TV) Washington, assistant treasurer. Victor Ratner, former vice president of CBS and now a vice president of R. H. Macy Inc., New York, was producer of the film. DEC. PULSE Benny, Lux, Winchell Lead JACK BENNY, Lux Radio Theatre and Walter Winchell continued to hold the first three places among evening programs in the December combined Pulse report on the radio audience, released for Boston, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Cincinnati and Los Angeles. TOP TEN EVENING AND DAYTIME SHOWS EVENING PROGRAM AVERAGE RATING NOV. SEPT. DEC. OCT. Jack Benny 21.0 19.0 Lux Radio Theatre 18.5 15.5 Walter Winchell 15.7 15.4 Amos 'n' Andy 15.0 Godfrey's Scouts 13.8 Edgar Bergen Bob Hope 12.8 Suspense 12.7 My Friend Irma 12.2 11.6 Fibber McGee & Molly 12.1 DAYTIME— FIVE A WEEK PROGRAM AVERAGE RATING 12.5 13.5 Arthur Godfrey Grand Slam Rosemary Big Sister Helen Trent Ma Perkins Our Gal Sunday Wendy Warren Aunt Jenny Young Doctor Malone NOV. SEPT. DEC. OCT. 10.0 8.4 8.4 7.5 8.3 7.6 7.9 7.7 7.6 7.5 7.6 7.5 7.5 7.7 7.4 7.0 7.4 7.1 7.3 7.0 ABC signs American Arts Orchestra, under baton of Karl Krueger, for series of Tuesday concerts, scheduled for 10-11 p.m. Group, not exceeding 35 players, will specialize in presenting American orchestral music. Engineered by the World's Oldest and Largest Manufacturers of Professional Magnetic Recorders. ^/i^' Magnecord, Inc., 360 N. Michigan. Chicago, III. PT6-P A portable, combination record play backremote amplifier. Exceptional fidelity for use with PT6-A recorder. Page 42 • January 9, 1950 BROADCASTING • Telecasting