Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

ADVERTISERS S AGENCIES continued RADIO-TV GET BIG AAAA PLAY • Two-day conference points up media's forcefulness • Hypothetical campaign leans heavily on broadcasting Radio and television commercials got a big play at the American Assn. of Advertising Agencies' annual eastern regional conference in New York last week. They got a heavy share of the "allocations" in a "campaign" for a hypothetical cigarette, and techniques in their production were the subject of an afternoon-long workshop session. The forcefulness of radio and television as sales tools also was pointed up in other sessions of the two-day conference, held last Tuesday and Wednesday with an estimated total attendance of 2,500. . Three agency executives, asked to plan media strategy for a hypothetical cigarette, came up with campaign plans that relied strongly on the broadcast media. Newman F. McEvoy, senior vice president and media director of Cunningham & Walsh, gave tv and radio a little more than half of the load to bear in a 17-week introductory period and slightly less than that for the rest of the campaign. Robert H. Boulware, associate media director of Bryan Houston Inc., put primary emphasis on radio and television — especially tv — as did G. Maxwell Ule, senior vice president of Kenyon & Eckhardt. Out of a $7 million "budget," Mr. McEvoy allocated $595,268 to spot television, $437,000 to spot radio, $672,270 to out MR. ULE MR. BOULWARE PLANS BOARD FOR CIGARETTE 'x' door and $329,373 to newspapers for the introductory period and $762,265 to network radio, $595,268 again to spot tv and $1,829,079 to magazines for the rest of the year, leaving $1,779,035 to take care of rate increases, production, etc. Mr. Boulware allocated $4,331,353 for spot television, $525,018 for network radio, $125,000 for commercials production and $2,064,236 for Sunday newspaper supplements. Mr. Ule depended heavily on both radio and television, making network tv the major medium (44%). Television tape recording as a medium for commercials was pointed up by Ross H. Snyder, manager of the special products division of Ampex Corp. which is slated to begin delivery of commercial models of its videotape recorders this month. He said Page 50 • November 25, 1957 the tapes will be "interchangeable" — that is, those recorded on one machine may be played on another — and can be spliced or edited. In addition, he noted, color conversion kits "positively will be made available." Mr. Snyder said that "more than one purchaser of the equipment is planning to produce commercial material on an independent basis, away from the facilities of the broadcasting stations which will use it, well in advance of release, and to make copies available for release at selected times on stations or networks which have videotape recorders for their reproduction." He estimated the cost of videotape operation at $6.90 an hour for recording or replay. A tv critic's opinion of commercials — not good — was developed in an interview by Mike Wallace, of ABC-TV's Mike Wallace Interviews, with Marie Torre, tv-radio columnist of the New York Herald Tribune. Miss Torre said she didn't review commercials because most of them, in her opinion, "don't warrant criticism." The audience of 250-300 agency executives split approximately half and half when Mr. Wallace polled them on whether tvradio critics should carry "perhaps a little box" criticizing commercials. Radio commercials — and especially the quality of those being turned out by agencies throughout the U. S. — were appraised by Kevin B. Sweeney, president of the Radio Advertising Bureau. "Without any question," he said, "advertising agencies in Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Washington and several other cities are now producing some of the very best jingles done in this country. And what is even more important, stations in cities of 10,000, 50,000 or even 30,000 are producing with the aid of jingle specialists and their own local creative talent radio sales messages that have a professional sheen very near that of commercials produced by the great commission houses in this neighborhood." Mr. Sweeney said commercials for radio, "the only non-visual advertising medium," must have a different approach, and he predicted that "ultimately the more specialized and sophisticated agencies will have a sub-department that does nothing but write or edit for the ear alone." Use of the "seven lively arts" as a base for the presentation of commercials was urged by Howard J. Doyle, tv-radio copy chief of Cunningham & Walsh. "It's easy to restrict ourselves to the use of animation — the art of drawing — or live action — the art of drama. But let's remember that as creative people, the job of im MR. McEVOY proving the standards and widening the landscapes of commercial television falls directly to us." To show how the arts may be employed effectively, Mr. Doyle cited a Stopette commercial using the dance to "sell"; Aluminum Co. of America's commercial employing architecture; Eveready Flashlight's use of poetry; Schweppes quinine water's use of drama; Folger coffee's use of sculpture; Schaefer beer's use of music, and Chase Manhattan Bank's and General Motor's use of art. In the account management workshop, meanwhile, James N. Harvey, McCannErickson tv creative group head, asserted that "there is no excuse for an advertising man to plead ignorance of television technique." Too often, he said, "management fails to assign responsibility for the total job of building a commercial to a qualified creative man." He said "the need for this man" should be impressed upon agency management. Then, "once you get him, work with him closely. Give him the full story — a detailed outline of your commercial objectives. Be sure to tell him what you want to achieve, not how to achieve it. Third, give him his head. Be sure he has the authority and responsibility needed. Of course he'll check with you each step of the way. But let him do the job." AFTRA Meets With Ad Agencies To Discuss Strike at WCKY American Federation of Television & Radio Artists held a closed-session meeting last Wednesday with executives of about a dozen New York advertising agencies for a discussion of the AFTRA strike at WCKY Cincinnati [Personnel Relations, Nov. 18]. Donald Conaway, executive director of AFTRA, later said the meeting was "very pleasant" but declined to give details. It is known that for the past month AFTRA has sent memoranda to agencies on the strike and has suggested that commercials for their clients be taken off the air. It is reported that Mr. Conaway invited agency representatives to the meeting so that he might make a similar presentation of a more persuasive nature to the agency executives personally. Seven announcers, members of AFTRA, have been on strike at WCKY since Aug. 28. The dispute originated largely over a demand by the announcers for an increase in wages. R. J. Reynolds Reshuffles An executive shuffle at R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem, N. C, described by a spokesman as a move to "strengthen" the company's organization, was announced last week. In the changes, E. A. Darr, 67, president of Reynolds since 1952, was elected to a new post of vice chairman; Bowman Gray, 50, executive vice president since 1955, was elected to succeed Mr. Darr and H. H. Ramm, general counsel since 1955, was elevated to a vice presidency. Mr. Darr reportedly will continue to be active in company affairs. Broadcasting