Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

ADVERTISERS & AGENCIES continued TEXT CONTINUES FROM PAGE 27 Co's motor products (estimated $3 million budget) to William Esty Co., and American Home Products' Whitehall Pharmacal Div. (number of products in test stage, Dristan sinus cold tablets and Neet hair remover for an estimated $500,000 billing — Dristan went to Bryan Houston). EWR&R's trouble spot: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines with a $1 million domestic billing. The client had announced last August that it would appoint Erwin, Wasey as its agency effective Jan. 1, 1958. Last week, KLM "postponed" the effective date of takeover from Charles W. Hoyt Co. Said Dirk J. Koelman, vice president and general manager in the U. S., and Jere Patterson, EWR&R's executive vice president: Hoyt will continue to service KLM's advertising in the U. S., with EWR&R "to proceed with future planning for advertising in this country." Mr. Koelman asserted that KLM wants to give EWR&R "a further opportunity to complete the reorganization of their business resulting from the recent merger before having them proceed actively with the handling of our account as originally planned. "Since we have had a high regard for the Hoyt agency and our plans to change here in the U. S. were prompted by the desire to coordinate our advertising on a worldwide basis, we have naturally taken the logical step under the circumstances of asking them to continue with us at this time." (EWR&R directs KLM advertising in the Caribbean and Central and South America and its London office handles KLM in other world markets outside of Holland, where it is serviced by Smit Advertising Agency.) Reasons for account switches — that is, those made public — vary. Buick, for example, stated only that it is in the best interest of both client and agency to part company. Unspoken were some irritations: Buick had lost third place in auto sales in 1957 to Chrysler's Plymouth; friction had developed in August when during a heavyweight championship bout telecast, a Buick commercial was inserted at the instant the bout was stopped and the decision of the winner not yet announced. With Revlon. the termination of BBDO's services was characterized as a "mutual agreement" but it has been pointed up that the Revlon departure from Norman, Craig & Kummel early in 1956 bristled with a difference of opinion, the agency claiming that some of the disagreement was over commission on talent (this flatly denied by Revlon, which said the fall-out centered on a conflict of programs) . There was speculation that a similar fall-out occurred between Revlon and BBDO. In another instance in the summer of 1957, BBDO resigned the $1.8 million Reader's Digest account after 28 years in what appeared to be a force play by BBDO's $17 million American Tobacco Co. client. The Digest had carried a two-part series, "The Facts Behind Filter-Tip Cigarettes," which singled out (among others) American's Hit Parade cigarettes as being in effectual in screening out tars and nicotines. Charles H. Brower, then BBDO vice president and general manager and now its president, called the resignation "completely voluntary" and a matter of "conflicting interest and business ethics" rather than due to "client pressure." The Digest, an intermittent and never heavy user of broadcast media, promptly appointed J. Walter Thompson as its principal agency with $1.3 million of the magazine's billing. The rest, covering the Digest Condensed Book Club went to Schwab & Beatty, New York. At times, the account moves indicated some indecision on the part of the client. For example, Jacob Ruppert Brewery, New York ($1.5 million in tv), originally appointed Compton Adv. after it had left the former Biow Co. in January 1956, but instead moved its business to Warwick & Legler. But his month, Ruppert announced that next Feb. 1, the account will go to Compton. In one shift — the $4-5 million Tidewater Oil Co. account from Buchanan & Co. to Foote, Cone & Belding — the reasoning [according to J. Ronald Getty, vice president and marketing director of Tidewater], was to be found in "part of the aggressive new policies that are making Tidewater the most widely discussed company in the industry." In other words: company expansion. A relationship of 12 years by Duffy-Mott Co. ($1 million account) with Young & Rubicam ended when the agency resigned the account and D-M appointed Sullivan, Stauffer, Colewell & Bayles. This shift was occasioned by product conflict: Y&R had acquired the Beechnut Div. of the newly consolidated Lifesavers-Beechnut Co. from Kenyon & Eckhardt. Both Duffy-Mott and Beechnut manufacture baby food. J. B. Williams Co. moved all of its $2 million billing from J. Walter Thompson Co. and Doherty, Clifford, Steers & Shenfield to the new Parkson Adv. agency (formed by some of the principals of Edward Kletter Assoc.). In back of this change: Pharmaceuticals Inc., already serviced by Parkson, purchased the Williams company. P. Lorillard Co., New York, in August consolidated its advertising ($19 million billing) at Lennen & Newell. New York, until then handling only Old Gold cigarettes. The company switched its Kent and Newport cigarette brands from Young & Rubicam in a change understood to have been prompted by the cigarette maker's wishes to establish a corporate image and have all its products serviced under a single agency roof. Often, an account switch is triggered over a personality conflict between executives handling accounts for the client and agency or agencies. The classic case, of course, is that of an account executive leaving and taking an account with him to the newlyjoined agency. But more often, the changes are occasioned by the dynamic U. S. economy, itself changing and creating in its expansion new marketing conditions and demands on servicing. As expressed by Brown Bolte, Benton & Bowles' executive vice president, a few weeks ago: the unparalleled and unprecedented growth of companies and coincidentally of the agencies is basic to breakups in long-term agency-client relationships [Advertisers & Agencies, Dec. 23]. Or, as in the Buick situation, sales may be down. Again, in the case of the airline shifts from the smaller and local to larger and national agencies, companies find that with expansion they outstrip the facilities and service ability of their original local agency. Cosmetics Marketing Faces Changing Makeup "Big-time" television, a necessity for survival among major cosmetic manufacturers, is forcing them to change marketing strategy and they will do so at an accelerated rate during 1958, according to F-D-C Reports — published weekly in Washington for drug, cosmetic and allied industries. As "one-by-one, the 'big names' have decided to put their money on the tv line," manufacturers are developing mass-selling techniques to meet a pre-sold demand induced by tv, the trade paper says. This is forcing them to re-evaluate payments for display, promotional and other specialized services in chains and department stores. Chains have a display and traffic advantage over department stores but "are faced with developing a convincing story on why a manufacturer has to buy display space for tv-pre-sold merchandise," it goes on. In the tv marketing evolution, the cosmetic house is "rediscovering" the drug store in its drive for widest possible distribution, says F-D-C Reports. "Even the retail druggist, who could never be taught to sell cosmetics on their own, can be pushed into displaying the fast-sellers," it explains. "The continued pressure of competition from those already committed to the hilt in tv will force additional manufacturers" into the medium, the newsletter forecasts. Revlon "seized the reins in the tv-dominated cosmetic revolution from Bishop," other houses have had to follow in an effort to maintain the pace — Curtis, Factor, Shulton et al., F-D-C Reports states. It adds that "Rubinstein and Coty have indicated they are ready to break from the starting gate." The report notes that while tv is a "must" for the above-$20 million cosmetic houses, those in the $10-20 million bracket are facing "the question of whether they can afford to stay out, while the heavy spenders widen the gap. To them, tv may represent shooting the works on one turn, with a 50-50 chance that when they play the black, the red will turn up." For the under-$10 million category, "big-time tv is obviously out," and "even spot tv may represent a strain," the report says. Among cosmetic giants turning to tv selling, experience has shown that "promotion of names or whole lines has not been successful to date," F-D-C Reports says. "With product obsolescence high in the cosmetic field, a cosmetic manufacturer must have a whole string of products to follow up on an initial success." Page 30 • December 30, 1957 Broadcasting