Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1959)

TV: KEY TO CAMPAIGN WINNER Unknown defeats Tampa mayor via exposure A political unknown, who threw most of his money and efforts into television after deciding it would be impossible to meet the thousands of voters personally, has been elected mayor of Tampa, Fla. Julian Lane, a successful businessman but a newcomer to political life, and his agency, Hilton & Gray Advertising Agency Inc., credit his appearances on WTVT (TV) Tampa (ch. 13) with causing the upset of the incumbent political machine. Faced with the need for exposure of Mr. Lane before thousands of people in a short time, the agency, together with Paul Jones, WTVT's senior account executive, and Charles Fuller, Mr. Lane's tv advisor, decided to present the candidate to tv viewers as a competent and successful businessman rather than as a political professional. They also decided that short, informal appearances on a program with a high audience would give him the needed exposure and not interrupt the continuity of the program. Although the agency bought spot saturation schedules on WTVT, fiveminute periods preceding the 6 p.m. news and half-hour programs on the eve of the primary and run-off elections, its most powerful tv vehicle was a series of two-minute tv appearances by Mr. Lane on WTVT's Wednesday night (7-9 p.m.) The Big Movie, featuring top movies. CBS-TV affiliate WTVT's The Big Movie was opposite two strong NBC-TV programs, Wagon Train and The Price Is Right. The two-minute messages were taped on WTVT's new Videotape recorder, which permitted instant playbacks for reviews of each session. Some featured answers by Mr. Lane to questions and others showed citizens who supported him. G. William Gray of Hilton & Gray, in a letter to WTVT Manager E. B. Dodson, gave most of the credit for Mixing the right formula • Candidate and his advisors rehearse before taping one of two-minute spots on WTVT (TV) Tampa which are given bulk of credit for winning mayoralty election. L to r, Julian Lane, who was elected mayor of Tampa; Charles Fuller, his tv advisor, timing video tape announcement, and G William Gray of Hilton & Gray Advertising Agency Inc., which directed campaign, furnishing copy directions. 60 (THE MEDIA) the election to the station. Noting that other types of time periods had been bought on the station, Mr. Gray said: "But in our estimation, the payoff was in buying two-minute commercials within your The Big Movie, in prime time on Wednesday evenings. We had these movie spots for the last four weeks of the campaign and, believe me, they were tremendously effective. Julian told me that every day during his normal campaign rounds he received dozens of comments from persons who said they had seen him on The Big Movie." The clincher, according to WTVT, was election night reports on political battles other than the mayoralty race. In almost every instance, WTVT said, the candidates who were leading were those who had conducted their campaigns primarily on television. BPA announces convention agenda The agenda for the second and third days of the Broadcasting Promotion Assn.'s fourth annual convention, at Philadelphia's Warwick Hotel, has been set. Scheduled for Tuesday (Nov. 3) are five all-day panel sessions. Topics and panel moderators are: Audience promotion, Robert V. Freeland, KOTV (TV) Tulsa, Okla.; sales promotion, Jack L. Williams, WBZ Boston; trade paper advertising, Kirt Harriss, KPRC Houston; merchandising, Heber E. Darton, WHBF Rock Island, 111.; and publicity and exploitation, Elliott W. Henry Jr., WBKB (TV) Chicago. The panel sessions will be "shirtsleeves" in format, and will involve a round-table exchange of ideas, according to James M. Kiss, WPEN Philadelphia, convention program chairman. Scheduled for Wednesday (Nov. 4) is James T. Quirk, publisher of TV Guide on "The Role of Promotion and Promotion Managers in the Future of Radio and Tv." H. Preston Peters, Peters-GriffinWoodward, and Adam J. Young, Adam Young Inc., station representative, will discuss "How to Equip Your Representative." The BPA meeting opens Monday (Nov. 2) with a keynote speech from NBC Board Chairman Robert W. Sarnoff (At Deadline, Sept. 14). Introductory remarks will be made by BPA President Charles A. Wilson WGN-AM-TV Chicago. Meanwhile, Janet Byers, KYW Cleveland, chairman of BPA's membership group, reports 70 new members have enrolled, bringing total membership to 276. BROADCASTING, October 5, 1959