Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1960)

CBS' CLOSER AGENCY CONTACT Sales group reorganizes for tape liaison CBS Television Productions Sales is reorganizing its staff in order to establish and maintain closer liaison with advertisers and agencies on the creation and production of taped commercials. The realignment, which takes effect in a few weeks, calls for the assignment to each agency of a specific contact in the various categories of CBS Television Production Sales' services. For example, each agency will be assigned an account executive, a producer, a unit manager and a designer. An effects service supervisor and quality control engineers will be assigned to each individual commercial production. The net effect of this move, according to Tom Judge, director of the CBS unit, is "to assure the agency of the availability of an expert in each area who becomes increasingly knowledgeable of agency policies, practices and creative philosophy, as revealed through successive commercial production projects." The approach, he said, enables the CBS account executive to familiarize the agency account man with the con McCann's own • A Spree commercial for McCann-Erickson is worked out on the set by the agency supervisor and the CBS Tv Production Sales team set up to work with him. Representing M-E is Robert DallAcqua, director of television and radio commercial produc cept of tape and the CBS producer to work out the creative interpretation of the commercial so that it coincides with that of his agency counterpart. SHULTON'S 'RACE' Network reject to run on 1 1 0 stations Shulton Toiletries proved last week that it's possible to place a television program in prime evening time on a national basis — without depending on existing networks. The company, which had tried without success to sponsor the hour-long Race For Space on a network, found 150 stations which indicated they were willing to clear prime evening time including, in some cases, pre-emption of network shows. Shulton expects to use about 110 stations to carry the program at some nighttime hour during the week of April 24-30. The package was reported to involve tion (seated right). Conferring with him are Lou Tedesco, CBS producer (seated left) and (standing, 1 to r) Robert Foster, account executive; George Snowden, unit manager, and Robert Bleyer, director representing the CBS Television Production Sales Division. more than $300,000 in time, talent and other expenses. The Success • This special "network" coupled with similar though much more limited break-throughs in placing special programs in prime time on a spot basis recently, prompted speculation as to how seriously, if at all, the area of network option time was being invaded. Network officials maintained that they were encountering no more difficulty than usual in getting clearances. They pointed out that stations might be (1) scheduling these special shows in periods outside of network option hours or (2) putting them in periods which, for them, are open because they were not ordered by the network sponsor. It was clear from a partial list of the Shulton stations, however, that this was not universally the case. The limited schedule available last week plainly showed that in some important markets Race For Space was slotted on network affiliates at times when they would normally be carrying network shows. Other spot specials which have invaded high-audience viewing times in recent weeks include Way Back in I960, an hour-long program sponsored on some 70 midwest stations earlier this month by the Gamble-Skogmo store chain (Broadcasting, Feb. 22) ; WNTA-TV New York's Play of the Week, which currently is being seen on some two dozen stations, and several special one-shot documentaries that have been sold in from 24 to 58 markets. BBDO, agency which cleared Way Back in 1960, said that six network programs on an undetermined number of stations were pre-empted by that purchase. Reports on placement of Play of the Week indicate many stations are moving the two-hour property around their schedules as best they can, avoiding pre-emptions if possible and if necessary holding them to minimums. Shulton and its agency, Wesley Move postponed Advertising Federation of America announced last week it had postponed its plans to move AFA headquarters to Washington this year. Officials said the importance of convenient liaison between AFA and other New York organizations in developing better self-policing procedures made it desirable that AFA headquarters remain in New York "for the moment." They also noted that the AFA branch office in Washington was already operating as a successful Capitol listening post for AFA members. 54 (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) BROADCASTING, March 28, 1960