Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

MONDAY MEMO from HANK BOORAEM, vice president, radio-tv, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather JOHN VERY WELL MAY LOVE MARY— BUT DOES THIS MOOD MATCH YOUR COMMERCIAL? We're 13 minutes into the show. A poor, innocent thing opens the door to her apartment. Little does she know — you guessed it — wham! she's all in a heap. A pretty sad looking heap, too, right in the middle of the floor. A sadistic juvenile delinquent smooths down his ducktail, flips his switch-blade and we go to a quick musical curtain as the commercial rolls. Now, this is a commercial in which gay little animated figures whiz across the screen while an announcer who is the .soul of affability does a loud and cheery voice-over. You have the fate of that poor, innocent creature on your mind. The announcer has a product to sell, It's a little bit like having a friendly puppy nip your ankles while you try to tie your shoes. You like him, but he bothers the beejeebers out of you. There is nothing wrong with this commercial. It's a dandy. There is nothing in bad taste or particularly incongruous about its appearance at this particular climax on our show. What is wrong is that no effort has been made to match moods. Equally unfortunate would be an institutional commerical following on the heels of a bright comedy scene. Or a hard-hitting deodorant commercial following a love scene. THE COMMERCIAL'S IMPACT IS DILUTED So this is not a plea for integration of commercials into programs, although I am a firm believer in that. Rather, it is an observation that advertisers and agencies should give thought to the mood created by their program vehicles. It is my guess that a commercial which breaks the mood of the preceding program material is about one-third as effective as one which successfully matches it. This goes on the assumption that the commercial itself is an absolute "zinger," loaded with sales persuasiveness and creative ingenuity. The complexities of the television business and of a large advertiser's marketing problems often make it difficult to integrate each commercial in every situation. The Sid CaesarImogene Coca show for Helena Rubinstein will be live and the commercials will be live. That gives us a good opportunity for solid integration which other advertisers with all film commercials and film shows cannot hope to achieve to the same degree. But there is much they can do to match mood. The Alfred Hitchcock lead-ins for Bristol-Myers do a good job of switching mood from suspense-filled drama to light-hearted commercial. Mr. Hitchcock in brief seconds gently conducts the viewer from mayhem to merchandise, holding our hand, as it were, while we shake off the horrors we have seen and get ready to watch "A" and "B" fight those swinging doors in our viscera. I imagine this brief lead-in by Hitchcock is not considered commercial time, but if it were, it would be the best six or seven seconds Bristol-Myers ever spent. Many other advertisers could use a similar device. DON'T LET YOUR MESSAGE BECOME OVERLOADED Unfortunately, too often when the creative department comes up with a wonderful mood-matcher, a small voice pipes up, "You mean you're not going to put in that our product also can be used to sanitize birdbaths?" The harried creator points out there is only a minute in which to make this sale. It's right then that any device to bridge the show and the sales message is quietly asked to leave the room. That's how otherwise effective commercials are put in a straitjacket. The mood-matcher ought to be considered the most important part of the commercial, like the first stage of a rocket — essential to getting the sales message into the proper orbit. If the viewer is psychologically set, he will give you the chance to tell your sales story, providing you have anything worthwhile to say. But if you don't take the time to get him in the mood, you are asking for it. He may make the supreme effort and switch you off. What's worse, he may just sit there and loathe you. Hendrik Booraem Jr.; b., March 27, 1911, St. Paul, Minn. Entered agency business in 1937 with Arthur Kudner Inc., now Kudner Agency, as assistant to vice president in charge of radio, after a career on Broadway as playwright ("The Sky's The Limit"), director and stage manager. In 1938, joined Young & Rubicam, N. Y., and became director and radio supervisor on such programs as We The People (General Foods' Sanka), March of Time (Time Inc.), Screen Guild Theatre (Gulf Oil) and Burns and Allen (Lever Bros.). Left Y&R in 1943 to join U. S. Navy, was chief of operations, American Forces Network, ETO (Armed Forces Radio Service). As independent radio packager in 1946 he engineered Philco-Bing Crosby deal, packaged program which subsequently led to his appointment as manager of west coast office, Hutchins Adv., Philadelphia (Philco's agency). In 1949, Mr. Booraem joined McCann-Erickson as executive producer of radio; left M-E in November 1955 as vice president in charge of radio-tv programming to join C. J. LaRoche & Co. as radio-tv vice president; left that agency last September to join OB&M. Broadcasting 'Si