Broadcasting Telecasting (Jul-Sep 1959)

ANACIN NO. 1 — continued Lasting as well as The Silver Gate Savings & Loan Assn. of San Diego will challenge the joke that the break for the tv commercial is a signal for the break to the refrigerator, the powder room or other places, where a minute might be better spent. Silver Gate Advertising Manager Robert D. Aston documented this last week in reporting on the aftermath of a special onetime show carried on KFMB-TV San Diego, Calif., two months ago. The advertiser last June had sought a special vehicle to announce that it was raising its interest rate to depositers to 4Vi%. An Hour With Andre, starring Academy winner and MGM Musical Director Andre Previn, was presented as a local live spectacular. "The business produced by the Previn show contributed to a highly successful transfer period for the month of July and the results are still felt," Mr. Aston reported last week. "A large volume of unsolicited mail was received at the office subsequent to the program and in every instance the comments were favorable, leading us to feel that the program also created a great deal of goodwill for Silver Gate with the thousands of immediate results viewers who watched the program." An Hour With Andre represented one of the more ambitious productions of KFMB-TV and the Don Larson Advertising Agency (on behalf of Silver Gate). Scheduled for telecast July 1, Mr. Previn's work at MGM prevented his meeting with other principals in the production until less than three days before airtime. However in just 61 hours, the team rehearsed, staged, blocked and polished the entire one hour live production. Mr. Previn, a pianist in his own right, was the cornerstone of the show that had him perform at the keyboard and as a personality. The program was split in three segments: "The Piano," "Music for Motion Pictures" and "Jazz," the last named built around two pianos and a harpsichord. The idea was conceived by the Larson agency with KFMB-TV Program Supervisor George Stantis handling station production. The show drew wide local and regional response and, according to the station, there have been inquiries from national clients on sponsorship of the re-runs on tape. Estimated Expenditures of Top 15 Network Brand Advertisers June 1959 1. Anacin Tablets $869,905 2. Chevrolet Passenger Cars 643,113 3. Kent Cigarettes 635,022 4. Tide 627,378 5. Ford Passenger Cars 549,414 6. Phillies Cigars 510,715 7. Camel Cigarettes 500,052 8. Dristan 489,779 9. Colgate Regular & Aerosol Dental Cream 487,508 10. Gleem Regular & Aerosol Tooth Paste 445,625 11. Viceroy Cigarettes 433,959 12. Winston Cigarettes 431 161 13. Crest Tooth Paste 427,727 14. Bufferin 424,607 15. Salem Cigarettes 394,052 Top 15 Network Company Advertisers June 1959 1. Procter & Gamble Co. $4,814,629 2. Lever Brothers Co. 3,063,265 3. American Home Products Corp. 2,427,974 4. Colgate-Palmolive Co. 1,788,045 5. General Foods Corp. 1,694^687 6. General Motors Corp. 1,608,660 7. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. 1,325 265 8. General Mills, Inc. 1,139,905 9. Bristol-Myers Co. 1,109 027 10. P. Lorillard Co. 1,042,592 11. Sterling Drug, Inc. 992 667 12. Gillette Co. 953685 13. Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. 900^506 14. Ford Motor Co. 837,922 15. American Tobacco Co. 729,201 Renault's radio-tv moves to Kudner Adv. Kudner Adv., New York, which is recovering gradually but surely from the loss of the $18 million Buick business in mid-1958, last week added the radio-tv portion of the Renault Inc. account effective late September. The Renault account for 1959 will approximate $5 million and is expected to be enlarged in 1960. The radio-tv portion is expected to amount to about 60% of the budget. Needham, Louis & Brorby, Chicago, which has been handling the entire account, will continue as Renault's print agency. The Renault radio-tv business is the second substantial account to be acquired by Kudner in the past two weeks. Earlier, the agency was named to represent Sylvania Electric Products, whose billing is estimated at $5 million (Broadcasting, Aug. 24). Jack G. Kent, general sales manager of Renault, said Kudner was selected because of "its extensive experience in the field of automotive advertising." (The agency had handled Buick for 23 years.) Mr. Kent said that both national magazine and tv advertising will be expanded in the October-December period and national radio will be used for the first time. Tv expenditures in this single quarter, he said, will be "greater than for the entire first nine months of this year." On tv, Renault will sponsor the special 90-minute Ed Sullivan telecast from Moscow over CBS-TV on September 8; a new half-hour western. The Plainsman over NBC-TV, starting Oct. 1 and the 90-minute color special. The Moon and Sixpence, starring Sir Laurence Olivier, on Oct. 31 over NBC-TV (RCA is a co-sponsor). On radio, Renault will sponsor NBC News on the Hour, a five-minute across-the-board program carried over 1 85 stations. Saturday is best day for auto buys — Petry A 29-market survey completed by Edward Petry & Co., New York, station representative, reveals that Saturday is "overwhelmingly" the best day for new car sales and concludes that auto advertisers should consider this in planning their spot radio drives. The survey was conducted by personnel of the 29 Petry-represented radio stations. Commented Ben Holmes, vice president in charge of radio for Petry: "An automobile manufacturer can effectively pinpoint his target. Spot radio, with its unique flexibility, has always allowed an automobile advertiser to hit his audience, no matter where it is. whenever he wants — on a market-tomarket basis. This study tells him when." The study indicates that all day Saturday is the best time, followed, in order, by Monday evening after working hours; Friday evening, and in some markets, Thursday evening. Chevy dealers' tips A six-point plan designed to help Chevrolet dealers "squeeze more out of their advertising dollar" was outlined by Kevin B. Sweeney, president of RAB, d uring a talk last week in New Orleans before the Chevrolet School of Merchandising and Management. Mr. Sweeney's talk spotlighted these recommendations to improve dealers' advertising, especially in radio: assess the ability of advertising media to cover the suburban segment; sell the customers who are the prospects for your make; recognize "the long incubation perod of a new car sale" and therefore buy advertising for every-day coverage or at least every-week coverage; recognize that three-quarters of new car prospects are reached initially through advertising; automobile advertisers look to men for a brand decision; auto advertising requires showmanship and attention-getting devices. 50 (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) BROADCASTING, August 31, 1959