Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1956)

Corp. nearly doubled its 1954 expenditure for network tv, for a more than $17.2 million total that placed the firm in third place, and General Motors Corp. spent $5.7 million more, a total of $14 million, netting it the fifth spot behind Gillette. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco and American Tobacco Co. once again were the tobacco industry's blue-chip network tv advertisers, Reynolds investing about $400,000 and American about $1.2 million above their 1954 expenditures. In foods, General Foods and General Mills upped their spending on the medium, General Foods by some $4.1 million and General Mills by $1.8 million. Record spending by the top national tv clients carried into December, the second month (the first being October 1955) that nine of the 10 spent $1 million or more. GM and Chrysler together that month surpassed the big $3,131,267 in network tv time purchases of Procter & Gamble. Their total came to more than $3.9 million. The select $1 million, or more, group in December 1954 was made up of six advertisers compared to last winter's nine. The 10th advertiser, General Mills, came within $92,000-plus of the $ 1 million level. Tv network gross time sales in 1955 totaled $406,899,059, more than a $86.7 million increase over the previous year. Top Ten Tv Network Clients in Full Year 1955 1. Procter & Gamble 2. Colgate-Palmolive 3. Chrysler 4. Gillette 5. General Motors 6. General Foods 7. R. J. Reynolds Tob. 8. American Tobacco 9. General Mills 10. Lever Bros. $33,822,228 18,698,318 17,272,769 15,740,246 14,077,573 13,839,211 12,230,666 10,703,825 9,456,259 9,444,752 Top Ten Tv Network Advertisers in December 1955 1. Procter & Gamble $3,131,267 2. Chrysler 2,077,988 3. General Motors 1,912,532 4. Colgate-Palmolive 1,521,179 5. General Foods 1,324,430 6. R. J. Reynolds Tob. 1,254,708 7. American Home Prods. 1,232,629 8. Gillette 1,230,676 9. American Tobacco 1.031,103 10. General Mills 907,131 BBDO, NBC-TV PLAN 'COLORTOWN' STUDY A JOINT color tv study, financed by NBC and BBDO, New York, to be known as the "Colortown" project [At Deadline, Feb. 27] was announced officially last Monday by Hugh M. Beville Jr., NBC vice president of planning and research, and Ben Gedalecia, director of research, BBDO. The "Colortown" project will be conducted by Advertest Research. Culminating a year's preparatory work, "Colortown" will be a continuing poject. Current plans call for two surveys a year with a "probability sample" panel of 4,000 families. The panel already has been selected and the first interviews completed. Mr. Gedalecia, said that "the first study will begin to take on significance only in light of the results of the second or third survey." "Within the next few years earmarked for color television's most rapid expansion, we believe that 'Colortown,' which will enable us to chart the growth and analyze the impact of the medium, will be of invaluable benefit to the future growth of color," Mr. Beville explained. The survey work, under the immediate guidance of Dr. Thomas Coffin for NBC and Mrs. (Teddy) Anderson for BBDO, is being supervised by Seymour Smith and Richard Bruskin, directors of Advertest Research. Results of the first study, originally slated for release last week, are not being disclosed pending further study. Barton's Ad Criteria: Short Copy, Big Pictures FOR DECADES, Bruce Barton, chairman of BBDO and dean of American advertising men, has called for "shorter copy" in advertising. Last week he revised this admonition: "Make pictures bigger and copy shorter." he said at a Washington Ad Club luncheon. Television is making people picture conscious, Mr. Barton said. A new generation is growing up which knows no other advertising medium but pictures. Mr. Barton prophesied that the next decade would be, barring war. the most exciting and rewarding in advertising history. He pegged this estimate on rising population (high birthrate, older people living longer), rising productivity (new industries not even known 10 years ago are now an important part of many manufacturing companies), the full employment philosophy of both major political parties, and finally what he called "pyramid building" (rebuilding "horse and buggy" cities, highways, schools, hospitals, etc.). In discussing television, Mr. Barton said BBDO was now spending more than one-third of its $162.5 million billings in the visual medium — "yet we're spending more money than ever in newspapers, magazines, billboards, direct mail, etc.," he added [B«T. Feb. 27], Four Buy Participations In 'Film Festival' Shows FOUR national advertisers have signed for 93 participations in ABC-TV's two Film Festival shows, Slocum Chapin, ABC-TV vice president in charge of sales announced Wednesday. Effective with yesterday's Famous Film Festival, (Sun., 7:30-9 p.m. EST), Dow Chemical Co. (Saran Wrap), Midland, Mich., signed for six spots through MacManus, John & Adams, New York; Evinrude Motors, Milwaukee, has bought seven participations starting April 8 (except for the April 22 program) through Cramer-Krasselt Co., Milwaukee. For the daily Afternoon Film Festival (Mon. Fri., 3-5 p.m. EST), Sterling Drug Co., New York, began a 13 -week, 32-participotion campaign for Bayer's aspirin last Tuesday and will launch a nine-week, 20-participation campaign for Philip's Milk of Magnesia on March 27. Both products are handled through DancerFitzgerald-Sample, New York. The other afternoon sponsor signed last month was Coats & Clark's Sales Corp., New York, which Feb. 20 began an eight-week, 28-participation campaign on behalf of its Crown slide zippers. Agency is Kenyon & Eckhardt, New York. Advertising Faults Discussed by Kobak IN DISCUSSING advertising shortcomings, Edgar Kobak, business consultant to advertisers and station owner, said last week that a current tendency of some large advertisers to demand rebates from their agencies is "nothing short of chiseling." Mr. Kobak, speaking Tuesday at an Assn. of Advertising Men & Women's lecture period in New York City said that "deals are unhealthy — for the people making them as well as for the industry as a whole." He expressed alarm at what he saw as a resurgence of the "house agency," saying networks and stations as well as other media groups would do better in doing business with agencies which have "no stake in the client" other than due commission. Other "bad tendencies" pointed out by Mr. Kobak included: • That of claiming too much in advertising copy: "To undersell is in your favor, since the consumer will, in many cases, come back to you and say how good your product really is." • That of imitation: "Anybody can imitate another copywriter's idea. Not enough agencies try to do it better. . . ." • That of spending too little time listening and seeing: "Clients will approve a budget, a piece of copy, a program, but strangely, they no longer seem to pay attention to the finished product. They're too busy doing other things to look over their investment." • That of premium advertising in all media; bait advertising in broadcasting: "I am glad to see at least one advertiser (Ralston Purina Co.) tell its customers, 'all we have to sell is a good product'." Mr. Kobak, whose own credits include ownership of WTWA Thompson, Ga., and past presidency of Advertising Research Foundation, urged people in the advertising business to underplay credits: "They mean nothing. The best credit you can get in media selling is that paycheck. Don't ever let the other fellow know you sold him anything. Let him feel he bought something." West-Marquis Plans Offices In Chicago, New York, Texas WEST-MARQUIS INC.. veteran west coast agency, plans to open offices in Chicago and New York and another one in either Dallas or Houston, it was announced last week by President John R. West. No dates have been set. Now in its 20th year at Los Angeles, the agency also has branches in San Francisco and Seattle. "Although many eastern agencies have opened west coast branches, West-Marquis becomes one of the first large western agencies to reverse this pattern," Mr. West said. Promoting from within the ranks, the agency plans to make use of members of its present staff to manage the new offices. Headquarters will remain at 1220 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Broadcasting • Telecasting March 5, 1956 • Page 35