Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

ARBSTRON'S DAILY CHOICES ARB Listed below are the highest-ranking televisic >n network shows for each day of the week June 9-15 as rated by the multi-city Arbitron Instant 1 ratings of America Research Bureau. Date Program and Time Network Rating Thur., June 9 Untouchables (9:30 p.m.) ABC-TV 22.2 Fri., June 10 Cavalcade of Sports (10:30 p.m.) NBC-TV 21.4 Sat., June 11 Gunsmoke (10 p.m.) CBS-TV 23.4 Sun., June 12 Ed Sullivan (8 p.m.) CBS-TV 25.1 Mon., June 13 Danny Thomas (9 p.m.) CBS-TV 20.0 Tue., June 14 Garry Moore (10 p.m.) CBS-TV 21.7 Wed., June 15 Wagon Train (7:30 p.m.) NBC-TV 24.1 Copyrighf 196® American Research Bureau for five months of 1960). Chevy passed the million-production mark in June and confidently expects to reach 2 million for calendar 1960, an alltime Chevy record. The frontoffice executives are oozing confidence as production of 1961 Chevys and the compact Corvair approaches. Chevy is especially air-minded. Radio-tv total about half the big Chevy ad budget. Jack Izard, advertising director, recalled that Chevrolet was one of the first big users of radio three decades ago. With tv, it caught the visual spirit and relegated radio to a less important role. That lasted a few years but the company quickly returned to largescale radio buying. Current radio includes an NBC news series that was due for weekend announcement: 1,047 Keystone stations, (begun last January); CBS-Bob Trout news; spot on 337 stations, nationwide. Spot radio was bought heavily starting in January after effects of the autumn steel strike had been overcome. Intensive spot coverage is scheduled for 30 days before and after introduction of new models. Some special promotion has been given the new Monza, plush version of the compact Corvair. This will increase when Monza production catches up with demand in a fortnight, according to company talk. Tv may be added for Monza at that time. Campbell-Ewald is the Chevy agency, a longtime relationship. Its Chevy tv buying includes the NBC-TV Dinah Shore Chevy Show , now on 13-week vacation with a mystery series as substitute; summer participating spots on five ABC-TV programs (The Alaskans, Adventures in Paradise, Bronco, Sugar Foot and Black Saddle). Chevy discontinues the Pat Boone Chevy Showroom on ABC-TV June 23. The autumn tv lineup includes Dinah Shore and an ABC-TV situation comedy, My Three Sons, due to start Sept. 29 and starring Fred McMurray and Bill Frawley. No spot tv has yet been signed for fall. Winding up the fall tv purchases will be a CBS-TV adventure program, Route 66, in which Chevy has the first half-hour (Fri., 9:30-10 p.m.). General Motors, which originated dealer co-ops in the automotive field, dropped this type of advertising in 1956. The vast dealer organization buys large amounts of local-regional radio and tv time, specializing in spots. Mr. Izard took over the Chevy advertising job last January, succeeding the late Bill Power. This was one of the toughest spots in the industry, Mr. Power having been called the nation’s best salesman and a fireball orator who inspired dealers and salesmen to extra efforts. Mr. Izard is proving effective BROADCASTING, June 20, 1960 in a quiet way, his fellow executives say, wisely deciding no one could hope to emulate the famed Power techniques. This is a sharp change of tactics but there’s no letup in the traditional Chevy sales pressure, as the productionsales figures show. Chevrolet had its lumps in introducing the compact Corvair with its drastic innovations — air-cooled motor mounted in the rear. Most of the normal newmodel bugs have been corrected, Chevy people say, and now they’re on fire as the flossy Monza strengthens the compact line. Chevy is far behind Ford’s compact Falcon but it makes this claim — sales of the conventional CheVy line have been maintained and a new 14% market was added with the Corvair compacts. Corvair sales are close to original predictions they would run between 15-20% of total Chevy sales, it’s stated. The Corvair is getting a new four-speed automatic gearshift, the first year of compacts having shown the public is demanding the stickless transmission in compacts. Chevy is one of the larger truck producers. Buick ■ The basic tv schedule for this General Motors division’s next model year will be built around eight one-hour Bob Hope specials similar to those sponsored on NBC-TV last season. The Bob Hope series last season, however, was augmented by four 90-minute dramas on CBS-TV. McCann-Erickson is Buick agency. Buick sponsored radio spot waves in 53 major markets last December and in April-May. More radio spots are planned when the new cars come out. Ten segments of the NBC radio Monitor will be used each week for 10 weeks to promote the new models. Buick, too, will have a new compact to be known as the Special, with promotion to be included in the Buick radio-tv commercials. Buick had a better year in 1960 than in 1959 and doesn’t plan to let the special hurt its position in the medium-priced field. Buick dealers aren’t organized, doing their local advertising on an individual basis. Cadillac ■ This prestige car of the GM line, with MacManus, John & Adams as agency, has not been in tv. Cadillac prefers radio and is buying newscasts on ABC Radio (John Daly) and news in Detroit and Los Angeles. A fiveweekly one-hour music show is sponsored on KPEN (FM) San Francisco. Cadillac is expected to continue in radio but no tv is in sight. Pontiac ■ With introduction of the 1961 models Pontiac Div. of General Motors expects to buy a strong spot tv campaign and spot radio is being considered, following last year’s pattern. A special spot radio campaign was carried last December. Pontiac sponsored the Star Parade network series last season. Possible autumn purchases will include two ABC-TV network shows No information is being divulged, but there’s speculation Pontiac will increase its advertising when the new compact Tempest is introduced this autumn. Some Detroit observers figure Pontiac, after a good model year, will not want to weaken its mediumclass position in the industry but will want to superimpose the compact Tempest just as Chevrolet did with the Corvair. MacManus, John & Adams is agency for Pontiac and will also handle the new Tempest. Ford Motor Co. — Falcon — Ford — Comet — Mercury — Lincoln ■ While Ford has a divisional structure, manufacturing is handled by Ford Division. Advertising is divided between two agencies. J. Walter Thompson Co. handles the Ford line including the Falcon compact, Thunderbird and Ford truck. Kenyon & Eckhardt is the agency for Lincoln-Mercury and institutional. Ford is running behind Chevrolet in the low and low-medium field but plans “really significant product improvements” in the 1961 line. The compact Falcon was highly successful, taking the lead in that new field. The 218,000 Falcons produced in the first five months of 1960 compare with 449,256 Ford passenger cars. Falcon’s popularity took a deep bite out of Ford sales, contrary to Chevrolet where the compact Corvair hasn’t cut sales under 1959. But Ford isn’t about to let that de (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) 33