Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1958)

PROGRAMS & PROMOTIONS continued KCOP (TV) Boosts Medium Via Institutional Promotions On-air promotion of tv as an advertising medium has been started by KCOP (TV) Los Angeles. Station personalities deliver one-minute and 20-second spots, telling the audience that, with more than three million tv sets in the area, television advertising will produce results at "the lowest cost per sale." The KCOP promotional spots are largely institutional, designed to sell tv itself. Each personality, in a message written and delivered in his own personal style, urges viewers with anything to sell to call one or more of the seven Los Angeles tv stations. Only at the end does KCOP get in its own plug: "And I hope one of the ones you call will be my station, KCOP." Alvin Flanagan, station manager, said that the idea for using tv to sell tv stemmed from a realization that every popular tv show must have at least 100 local advertisers in its audience. Other personalities will make filmed spots for the series, which will be aired three or four times a day during the evening hours, "when the people we want to reach are most apt to be watching," Mr. Flanagan said. KCOP plans to continue this campaign for three or four months, "until we've either proved or disproved the idea." As the campaign continues, successful tv advertisers will be used in the film spots, delivering capsule testimonials. WBBM-TV Show Is 'In the Bag' A panel comprised of local radio-tv personalities, including guest celebrities, is a feature of a new series started by WBBMTV Chicago under the aegis of Frank Atlass, program director. Titled In the Bag, the program is built around a guessing format, with panelists seeking to determine what each studio contestant is concealing in a bag. The panel is composed of Paul Gibson, WBBM-AM-TV personality; columnists Irv Kupcinet of the Chicago Sun-Times, Janet Kern of the Chicago American and a guest celebrity, with John Coughlin as moderator. A contestant who stumps the panel receives $50 plus his choice of two bags from the "Grab Bag Rack." TARS 1ftM7 YOUR STATION A BLACK EYE was given to Jack Parr, host of his own show (NBC-TV, Mon.Fri. 11:45 p.m.-l a.m. EST) by the shadow of a lamp on a WBUF-TV Buffalo billboard there. A WBUF-TV staffer noticed the effect on the ninefoot high cutout of Mr. Paar and sent him a photograph of it. Mr. Paar showed the picture on his show with the comment "what Buffalo sunshine did to me looks like what Sugar Ray did to Basilio. . . ." Chamber Buys Day on WOAP A whole day of remotes was sold by WOAP Owosso, Mich., to the local Chamber of Commerce for the chamber's annual "Sidewalk Sale." Each year Owosso merchants move as much stock as possible in front of their stores to promote a spending spree. For a week prior to the event, it was promoted by participating retailers in special spot packages sold by the station. WOAP originated all its features from the back of a wagon parked on a main street with staffers dressed in t-shirts marked "WOAP . . . Hot Radio." Egg, Matchbook Contests on WCPO A citywide Easter egg hunt has just been concluded on WCPO Cincinnati. An egg was hidden within the city and clues to its location were aired each hour. The egg was redeemable at WCPO for a 14-pound ham. In another contest launched today (Monday), models are touring the city giving out numbered WCPO matchbooks. Winning numbers are announced by disc jockeys throughout the day. A total of $1,230 (the station's frequency is 1230) will be divided among the people handing in the winning matchbooks. D. C. Headlines Featured in 'WWW NBC-TV's Wide Wide World (Sun. 4-5:30 p.m.) will present "Headline City" the story of Washington, D. C, "as the news-making and news-gathering capital of the world" April 13. Scheduled for participation are James C. Hagerty, presidential press secretary; Benjamin M. McKelway, president of Associated Press and editor of the Washington (D. C.) Evening Star; Lyle Wilson, vice president and bureau chief of United Press, and James R. Wiggins, executive editor of the Washington Post & Times Herald. NBCTV cameras will visit official and unofficial centers of news. Teen Talent Converges on WBZ So many phone calls were received at WBZ Boston following the announcement of Westinghouse Broadcasting Co.'s "American Youth Talent Search," that WBZ changed the message within five minutes to a "write-in only" policy. Teenage singing groups are being auditioned through April 12. Prize for the winning group includes a trip to New York to compete against other WBC station winners. An RCA Victor recording contract is the grand prize. New Job Promoted by WKMF D. J. To publicize a move from WBBC Flint, Mich., to WKMF there, d.j. Bill Lamb asked listeners to his programs on the new station to write "Bill Lamb— 1470" (WKMF's frequency) as many times as possible on a regulation-size postcard. The winner submitted a card with the words written 4,538 times and was awarded a hi-fi radio-phonograph combination. Other prizes included a transistor radio and LP phonograph record albums. Editors Join in WOR-TV Promotion WOR-TV New York invited news editors last week to "join our treasure hunt" as a promotion for its Million Dollar Movie presentation of "Sinbad the Sailor" which will be shown twice daily for a week beginning tonight (Monday). Entrants must trace a route on a map of the Near East by following a list of clues. Winners will receive a Zenith Overseas receiver. K. C. Mayor's Two-Way Marathon Kansas City's Mayor H. Roe Bartle, scheduled to appear for a half-hour on WHB there to answer constituents queries on city government, ended up being on the air three hours. The mayor was kept busy answering questions via the station's "Multiphone System" in which the questions and answers can be heard over the air. WSAZ Gives Trip to Oscar Guesser WSAZ Huntington, W. Va., made Academy Award judges of the station's listeners when it asked them to guess the winners in its "Oscar" contest. A prize of a trip to New York over the Easter weekend was awarded to the listener who guessed the most movie stars to win Oscars. United Press Facsimile Newspictures I and United Press Movietone Newsfilm r^_h Build Ratings Page 88 • April 7, 1958 Broadcasting