Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

ADVERTISERS & AGENCIES continued stressed that "we in this industry have a moral obligation to find ways of accurately measuring what a dollar spent in advertising produces in sales — and soon." This, Dr. Wulfeck admonished, "means we must be able to measure with precision both qualitative and quantitative factors in audiences to all media, magazines, newspapers, tv and outdoor. It means that we must be able, reliably, to evaluate copy, illustrations, radio and tv commercials as experienced in their proper frame of reference. It means we must find ways of understanding the whole complex of consumer dynamics as it plays its part in the rapidly changing economic development for the next few years." In the afternoon session, BBDO made public for the first time a study of how Americans spend their leisure time and found them to be listening more, viewing more, reading more, and — in general — devoting more time to more activities. The report, outlined in an address by BBDO Research Vice President Ben Gedalicia, was introduced by Ford Motor Co.'s institutional advertising head Ben R. Donaldson, who said: "... Some of us have to be awakened by the rude alarm clock of progress. . . . We must recognize that we live in a changing world." He said that "the time is past" when a single broadcasting station could point "with pride to its audience and claim it as its prize possession." The outcome of the BBDO study, noted Mr. Gedalicia, even surprised the agency, for "we found . . . rather quickly . . . [that] people were not behaving quite as we had anticipated." He declared that the survey spiked the oft-quoted myth that the more intelligent the person, the more media he read or watched. Conversely, the survey also belied the contention that heavy media users axe not as active — physically — as those people who use one or two media. In recent years, he went on, there has been a noticeable upsurge in viewing, listening, reading and the do-it-yourself activities among all strata of all sexes and of all income levels. But does all this "rushing around" imply that the advertising message may be lost in the maze of activity? No, says BBDO, which finds that "the heavy media users . . . are more likely to retain what they have seen. When one considers the amount of time they spend in media and their greater opportunity to be exposed to the advertiser's message via so many different channels, it is no surprise that they can do this." Wulfeck Again Heads ARF Board; Slate of Directors Approved Dr. W. H. Wulfeck, chairman of the executive committee of William Esty Co., was elected to his second consecutive oneyear term as chairman of the board of the Advertising Research Foundation last week. Ben R. Donaldson, director of institutional advertising, Ford Motor Co., was re-elected vice chairman and Arno H. Johnson, vice president of J. Walter Thompson Co., was re-elected treasurer. William A. Hart continues as president and A. W. Lehman continues as managing director, ARF reported. Page 40 • November 18, 1957 New directors of ARF are William R. Farrell, director of advertising, Monsanto Chemical Co., and Donald S. Frost, vice president, Bristol-Myers Co., representing advertisers; Charles L. Rumrill, presidentboard chairman, Rumrill Co., and Dr. Lyndon O. Brown, vice president in charge of media, merchandising and research, DancerFitzgerald-Sample, representing agencies; Donald M. Hobart, senior vice president, Curtis Pub. Co., and John W. Hartman, president, Hill^Bros. publications, representing media. Previously elected advertiser directors are Rex M. Budd, director of advertising, Campbell Soup Co.; Frank W. Mansfield, director of marketing research, Sylvania Electric Products Inc.; J. Ward Maurer, vice president-advertising, Wildroot Co., and Paul B. West, president, Assn. of National Advertisers. Continuing as advertising agency directors are Charles A. Pooler, senior vice president, Benton & Bowles; Vincent R. Bliss, president, Earle Ludgin & Co.; Sherwood Dodge, executive vice president, Fletcher D. Richards Inc.; and Frederic R. Gamble, president, American Assn. of Advertising Agencies. ARF directors representing media also include Arthur Hull Hayes, president, CBS Radio; John C. Sterling, chairman of the board, This Week magazine; Andrew Heiskell, publisher, Life magazine; Walter C. Kurz, advertising manager, Chicago Tribune; David C. Adams, executive vice president, NBC, and William B. Carr, advertising director, McCall's. Bristol-Myers Acquires Grove Labs in Merger Bristol-Myers Co., New York, which by Dec. 31 expects to effect close to $100 million annual sales, and Grove Labs, St. Louis, which hopes to rack up $13.5 million sales by year's end, have culminated six months of secret talks and will merge pending Grove stockholder approval. Joint announcement of the merger was made last week by Lee H. Bristol, B-M president, and James H. Groves, Grove president. Bristol-Myers, which has purchased the total business and assets of Grove through a stock-and-cash deal the terms of which were not disclosed, will run Grove as a wholly-owned subsidiary. It was understood the merger already has been approved by B-M's 15,000 stockholders. Grove, a family-owned firm, has approximately 100 shareholders. They are slated to meet in January at St. Louis. According to B-M officials, no changes are contemplated either in Grove management, its sales force or its multi-agency structure. A bellwether broadcast advertiser, Grove last year billed approximately $5 million, of which $2 million was in spot tv alone. Products and their agencies are: Bromo Quinine, a $1 million account that in 1956 switched to Gardner Adv., St. Louis, from Benton & Bowles, New York; NoDoz Awakener and Shut-Eye sleeping formula, the former a radio network advertiser, through Sidney Garfield & Assoc., San account of which 30% was in radio spot Francisco; Citroid Compound, a $2 million this season [Advertisers & Agencies, Oct. 21], through Dowd, Redfield & Johnstone; Fitch hair products and Pazo ointment, and other Grove products, also radio advertisers, through Cohen & Aleshire, New York. Grove's success with radio was detailed earlier this fall at Radio Advertising Bureau's annual National Radio Advertising Clinic by Advertising Manager R. W. Testement [Advertiser & Agencies, Oct. 14]. Bristol-Myers' ad budget is considerably higher than Grove's. Last year, it spent approximately $21 million, of which over $10 million was in television, $9 million of the latter figure in network. Its agencies include BBDO; Doherty, Clifford, Steers & Shenfield; Young & Rubicam, and two other agencies servicing ethical advertising. The B-M products most often mentioned on the air include Bufferin, Ban, Sal Hepatica, Vitalis, Mum, Theradan, Ipana and MinitRub. Among tv network programs identified with B-M are CBS-TV's Alfred Hichcock Presents and Playhouse 90 and ABC-TV's Mickey Mouse Club. Bristol-Myers also is quite active in daytime network radio and makes considerable use of spot radio and tv. The acquisition of Grove follows by over a year B-M's disposal of two divisions, neither of which manufactured products bearing "a logical relationship between the present and indicated future lines" of the products and "the basic business of the company." A year ago last July BristolMyers sold to Sherwin-Williams Co., paint and brush manufacturers, its Rubberset Co. (shaving brushes) and that December, effected a stock deal with American Can Co. for Canco's acquisition of B-M's Sun Tube Corp. The corporation now has three divisions— Bristol-Myers Products Div., Bristol Labs Inc. and the ethical drug division. Grove Labs may eventually be run as the fourth. Broadcasters to Attend Meets on D'Arcy Operations Radio-tv station representatives will be invited to attend the first of a series of mediarelations meetings scheduled by D-Arcy Adv. Co., St. Louis, and announced last week by its president, Harry W. Chesley Jr. The purpose of the program, under which D'Arcy will set aside one day each month for a small group of visiting media representatives or client executives, is to personalize agency-media relations and to familiarize media people with D'Arcy operations. Brief talks by agency department heads and a tour of the company are included. Radio-tv station representatives will kick off the series Nov. 20, to be followed by representatives of other media, including newspapers, magazines, outdoor and transportation firms. Agency talks will explain DArcy's integrated operations, from conception of a product through all advertising and marketing stages to final sales at the consumer level. Special slide film will be utilized as a prologue to the talks by creative radio-tv, media, research, merchandising, copy, public relations and marketing heads. Broadcasting