Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1959)

A new shape seen for programming and buying Television programming will see a renaissance of half-hour situation series, Robert L. Foreman of BBDO, New York, said Monday (Dec. 21) at an American Marketing Assn. luncheon in New York. Mr. Foreman said he believes advertisers will pick shows carefully from now on to intensify product and company identification. Mr. Foreman, BBDO executive vice president, who shared a speaker's platform with Carl Spielvogel, advertising columnist of the New York Times, said sponsor identification is at a low ebb and that the trend is away from cowboy and private eye stereotypes on network tv in this season of government investigations. He said it is "difficult if not impossible" to tell the difference between shows with 28 westerns and 19 private eye shows on network tv. The magazine or spot-carrier concept of sponsorship is no bargain in Mr. Foreman's book. (His agency billed around $73 million in television this year.) He showed a battery of slide graphs based on BBDO research for various products showing how poorly advertisers fared in "participation situations," as compared with "sponsor's own program." Another set of slides demonstrated low memorability scores for mystery and adventure (western) shows against other types of programming. If / Remember Mama were on the air today, it would be one of the most successful in terms of cost-perthousand and rating, Mr. Foreman said, adding that it would have PTA and government approval and perhaps even that of the Audubon Society. Government investigations not only are adding impetus to a trend toward a new program "balance," they also may be speeding a return to "another avenue of wisdom," Mr. Foreman thinks. This is in the evaluation of ratings. Sponsors will buy television more in the manner they buy magazines, he thinks, choosing a vehicle for "what it is" rather than its circulation alone. This implies qualitative values, taking into consideration a sponsor's specific market, his "rapport" with the show and other factors. "The tv numbers game is not good citizenship and it is not good business," Mr. Mr. Foreman Foreman believes. He offered the CBS Reports documentary tv series co-sponsored by B.F. Goodrich as one which has lost the network rating race in its three installments so far but which BBDO thinks has done "great things" for client Goodrich. He showed audience studies concluding that viewers received the show well and got a great deal out of commercials. On the latter point, Mr. Foreman observed, "When I was working on The $64,000 Question, which I'd just as soon forget these days, I found that people do react this way. They're aware of what a sponsor is trying to do." (Revlon, $64,000 sponsor, is a former BBDO account). Furthermore, "no businessman can ignore the fact that each program carries with it more than an advertising goal," Mr. Foreman warned. Aiming for the lowest common demoninator in the tv audience will bring more investigations and government restrictions, he said. But by giving attention to qualitative values, "We will save this medium for the country and for business," Mr. Foreman summed up, concluding: "It's later than we think, but we are thinking and it's not too late yet." Mr. Spielvogel, whose assigned topic was "The Deep Significance of the Investigations," said he is convinced viewers are still watching television and still buying sponsor products. Any damage to commercial believability is minute, he feels. The columnist generally minimized business effects of the investigations but predicted, "We're going to hear more from the [New York] District Attorney," saying that District Attorney Frank Hogan is currently looking at books of a couple of companies. The fact that official inquiries have thrown "a little scare" into those who make television commercials, Mr. Spielvogel feels is leading to a healthy re-evaluation of advertising. The Federal Trade Commission at best can't do much policing, so responsibility remains with advertiser and agency, he reminded the marketing group. Accountability of the agency still has not been clarified, however, he noted. The fact that television concerns the top level of advertiser management has been underlined by recent business developments, Mr. Spielvogel said. He sees promise of a "more sophisticated" approach from the fact that advertisers are drawing executive talent more and more increasingly from among agencymen. that tv continues to be "an effective medium, particularly for those advertisers who have not abused the tremendous power of this medium." Mr. Cohen contended that the advertisers, in general, have "a very beneficial influence" on tv programming and noted that "the fact that a few participated in the giveaways does not indict advertisers and their influence on tv programming." He said the spot carrier concept can be effective and reported that several of the agency's clients have bought time on Jack Paar Show and Today on NBC-TV. Mr. Cohen indicated that some of the networks, in an effort to convince the public of their integrity, have swung far wide of the investigations; he insisted that the public is "after all, more interested in the intrinsic values of the programs rather than whether they are filmed, taped or pre-recorded." McCann-Erickson • C. Terence Clyne, senior vice president in charge of radio-tv at McCann-Erickson, finds one area that persists in nibbling at the broadcast media's stature. To Mr. Clyne the problem is "overcommercialization and bad taste" wherever they exist. He says he hasn't seen any evidence of network (or station) policy that "hits at the roots of this evil." The leadership in bettering the situation, Mr. Clyne offers, must come from the networks. Their must be rules on correction of abuses wherever found — "I'm hopeful the networks will stop fretting about insignificant things," he comments. The "insignificant things" in his view include network rules or policy discus sions on canned laughter and taped programs. "Nobody cares" about these, he says. There'll always be advertising which is in good taste, he points up, intimating that general rules and standards on overcommercialization and commercials in bad taste would serve to protect these advertisers' interests (by association). Mr. Clyne disclosed that M-E has had internal meetings to caution its writers and producers of commercials that they must guide themselves on matters of good taste both in terms of product appearance and in copy. Mr. Clyne noted, however, that "we've had no critical situations" at M-E. He also is on record as opposing the spot carrier concept in -network advertising and as -believing in the retention of advertising influence in 24 (LEAD STORY — BROADCAST ADVERTISING) BROADCASTING, December 28, 1959