Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

Radio’s public image aids ad effectiveness Advertisers and agencies “are quite conscious of the atmosphere and background in which their commercial messages are delivered to the public,” Robert F. Hurleigh, MBS president, said in advocating development of strong service images by broadcast stations. Addressing the Washington Ad Club May 17, Mr. Hurleigh summarized results of a mutual survey of its 450 affiliates. He said the most revealing results of the survey centered on the importance of a station’s community image to the effectiveness of advertising messages. The MBS proposal that FCC issue “a set of minimal standards” for licensees was repeated by Mr. Hurleigh. He made the suggestion at the FCC’s hearings on its regulatory powers. Noting MBS was observing the third anniversary of its new public service type of network operation, he said stations have welcomed the broadened presentation of news, special events, special interest, service and major sports concept. These are types of programs the stations cannot do as well or as economically, he said. Mr. Hurleigh said Americans are keenly aware of world and national affairs, with a whetted thirst for knowledge which radio can meet because of its flexibility and immediacy. He said A slice of advertising’s image McCall’s Magazine , which has bought a half-hour segment of David Susskind’s Open End show on WNTA-TV New York (Sun. 10 p.m.conclusion), is devoting its commercial time to a series of messages about the role of the advertising profession in the American economy as expressed by different agency executives each week. Guest speakers are introduced by Arthur B. Langlie, president of McCall Corp. William B. Lewis, president of Kenyon & Eckhardt Inc., opened the image-building series on May 8. He offered three reasons “why advertising earns more notoriety for its few sins than acclaim for its many virtues: (1) Even some perfectly honest advertisers have not yet learned that . . . they are guests in the viewers’ homes and must conduct themselves with exceptionally good taste; (2) it’s the very few dishonest advertisers who color the public’s view of us all, and (3) advertising people have been so preoccupied with advancing other people’s products and services that they have had little time to talk about their own.” On May 15, during the Open End interview with Vice President Richard Nixon, McCall’s called upon John B. Cunningham, board chairman of Cunningham & Walsh and George Gribbin, president of Young & Rubicam. Mr. Cunningham spoke of advertising’s value in terms of what life would be like without it. He pointed out that not only would knowledge of new products be extremely late in reaching consumers, and that their cost would be much greater, but also that many factories would have to close down because “advertising wasn’t telling people every day about the things the factories were putting out.” Mr. Gribbin said it’s true that “advertising does sell people things they don’t need.” Quoting a Young & Rubicam advertisement which won an Arthur Kudner award for excellence in creative writing for institutional advertising, Mr. Gribbin said: “All people really need is a cave, a piece of meat, and possibly, a fire.” It’s the products sold through advertising that “enhance life to whatever degree they can,” he said. But, he Off and running ■ Ready to fire questions, David Susskind, host of Open End on WNTA-TV New York, and Vice President Richard M. Nixon are pictured above at the start of their marathon conversation on foreign and domestic issues. The newsmaking talk began at 10 p.m. May 15 and concluded 3 hours and 45 minutes later, when they as well as viewers were ready to call it a added, “advertising has never been able to sustain the sale of shoddy goods or bad ideas” because the public has “too much common sense to be fooled.” McCall’s also sponsored the complete Nixon session on WTTG (TV) Washington, D.C. night. WTTG (TV) Washington, D.C., and WHCT (TV) Hartford carried simultaneously the live, unrehearsed telecast. More than 15 other tv stations accepted WNTATV’s offer of supplying tapes at a nominal fee for unsponsored, public service presentation. Many of the stations planned to simulcast the program as WNTA-AM-FM do in New York. 44 (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) BROADCASTING, May 23, 1960