Broadcasting (July - Sep 1950)

HEESECAKE, served by radio and television, is selling Hollywood Bread. National Bakers Sei-vice, Chicago, which ovms the name and formula for Hollywood Bread, spots time on more than 150 AM stations and on 17 video outlets. "We are increasing our spot schedules all the time," says Charles Byron McDaniel, vice president and director of advertising. Although radio commercials have been used to plug the low-calorie wheat bread for 10 years, television was used for the first time last November. Heretofore, National Bakers Service has relied on radio, newspapers and point-ofpurchase displays locally. A few trade and consumer national magazines are bought from time to time to establish the name. Results have been so "stai'tling" in the first eight months of TV sponsorship that many areas now use more TV than anything else. "In fact, a lot of our bakers and their salesmen are asking that we cut out newspaper budgets entirely and divert that money to television," says Mr. McDaniel. Firm Gives 50% of Its Share For Local Advertising National Bakers Service buys all advertising, using agencies when the local bakery has one. Owner of the formula for Hollywood Bread, National Bakeis issues franchises to leading bakeries in each market for 99 years without charge and supplies the recipe. The bread is baked and sold locally, and the formula-owner gets a specific amount of money for each loaf baked. Of this sum, 50% is re THIS IS A SPONSOR! Mrs. Eleanor Hansberry of Chicago displays Hollywood Bread, a product of National Bakers Service, Chicago, of which she is pi'esident. The low-calorie bread was developed 14 years ago after Mrs. Hansberry grew weary of her women friends lamenting they were overweight. turned to the area for local advertising. About $1 is returned for advertising for every $100 worth of bread sold. Eighty franchiseholders are spotted throughout the states, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii, and Mr. McDaniel is negotiating now for distribution in Mexico and Cuba. The same theme is used in all media, and suggests that women identify themselves with Hollywood stars by trimming off pounds. The bread, a 60% wholewheat mixture, has no animal fats and is a special compound of eight hydrated vegetable flours and seven milled wheat flours. The packaged slices are ultra-thin. Advertisements feature Hollywood stars, but do not include straight testimonials. The calorie content of the bread is mentioned, with suggestions that women eat the bread as a supplementary feature of a food diet and body exercise. The product was developed 14 years ago by Mrs. Eleanor Hansberry of Chicago, who decided some kind of bread should be available to women wanting to lose weight. A housewife, Mrs. Hansberry was lunching one day with a group of women friends, who lamented that they couldn't eat any kind of bread on their diets. Working with chemists and bakers for more than a year, Mrs. National Bakers' Spots Exploit 'Trimness' To Women Hansberry hit upon the formula for Hollywood Bread. She established National Bakers Service, issued franchises and began an advertising campaign which stressed the non-shortening recipe and use of the bread as a supplement to a calorie diet. Radio and TV spots offer a booklet, "Hollywood Diet and Calorie Guide," without charge to anyone requesting it. When mail returns are analyzed, the parent office can determine mathematically just how strong each type of advertising is in each area. Recent requests for the booklet were postmarked Washington, D. C, and came from two ambassadresses, the company reports. Although radio and television get a large proportion of the advertising budget in each locality, no one medium gets the entire amount. Media are alternated until a profitable advertising formula is found. Radio-wise, minute spots and station breaks are bought in more than 150 markets. Plans are being made now for a new series of six one-minute electrical transcriptions featuring indirect sanctions of the product by six Hollywood stars. The radio campaign, a continuing one, frequently calls for seven spots daily on one or more stations in each city. TV Spots Expanded To 17 Markets Although TV was used for the first time last November in Minneapolis, the list has expanded to include 17 stations in Washington, New Haven, Johnstown, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, Lancaster, Boston, Providence, Wilmington, Milwaukee, San Diego, Toledo, Columbus, Ames and Charlotte. TV spots are being added as time becomes available, although until now only about four commercials have been used in any market in one week. National Bakers Service has completed two one-minute film commercials, featuring Starlets Lois Collier, television's "Miss Emmy of 1950," and Elyse Knox. A third is in final stages of production. Twenty reprints of the second series are being released now, and film spots eventually will replace all live and slide commercials. The firm attributes numerous sales successes to video. In Minneapolis, for example, sales of Holly wood Bread showed an overall increase of 122% in the six months from Jan. 1 to July 1 as contrasted with last year. In 1949, radio was used almost exclusively, with a few point-of-sale displays. This year, radio was favored with 64% of the Minneapolis budget, and TV got the rest. A 20% increase was reported in Milwaukee for the same period. Last year the vast majority of the ad money went to newspapers. This year television was used also, and was so successful that only television was bought in April, May and June. In Cleveland, radio and newspapers were bought the first six months of last year, television and papers this year. Sales were up 1149c. And, although Akron, Ohio has no television station, National Bakers credits sales hikes there to TV. Last year and this, most of the money went to local papers, yet 1950 sales soared 77% the first six months. Company advertising men think the reason is that Akron people are watching television transmitted from nearby Cleveland. Mr. McDaniel, one-time commercial artist who also worked as advertising manager for Three Sisters chain stores, places TV advertising on every available station when the product is introduced in a market. Schedules are revised every four weeks on the basis of sales, and are made up two or three weeks in advance. Actual buying is done by Mrs. McDaniel, the former Sidonia von Kessell, who directs all media. HOLLYWOOD stars Mono Freeman (I) and Lizbeth Scott chat on location with Charles Byron McDaniel, vice president and director of advertising for National Bakers Service. Page 70 • September 25, 19^50 Telecasting • BROADCASTING