Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1963)

COMMERCIAL PREVIEW: Eastern's push for winter tans Eastern Air Lines, New York, starts a new TV spot campaign today (Nov. 11) in prime and fringe time on more than 15 stations in five major markets. Its theme points up the "wonders" of Florida for a winter vacation, and of course, air travel. For the campaign — which will involve an estimated $800,000 in the initial two-month thrust — Eastern will use two "names," humorist Sam Levenson and sports announcer Bud Palmer. Fletcher Richards, Calkins & Holden, New York, is EAL's agency. Eastern will run (six one-minute and six 20-second commercials were taped) several spots weekly in prime and fringe time in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago. In New York alone, for example, the schedule will have spots running at the weekly frequency of about eight spots on wor-tv, four or six on wabc-tv, several on wnbctv and wcbs-tv, five or six on wnewtv. Also included in the campaign are announcements on the Tonight and Today shows on NBC-TV. Three one-minute commercials feature Mr. Levenson as a "spectator sportsman" who gets his exercise watching porpoises being fed at Miami's Seaquarium or Indians wrestling alligators. Mr. Levenson portrays the person who gets most pleasure out of just soaking up the Florida sun. Mr. Palmer taped three commercials, one each on golfing, water skiing and fishing. Themed in all the commercials: "Be the man with the Florida tan," and of course by flying to Florida with Eastern. Location Taping ■ Portions of the commercials were taped over a fourday period on location in Miami and interior scenes at Videotape Center in New York — Videotape handled the commercials, while Sy Frolick, the agency's director of radio and television, was producer. Tom Mullen, assistant advertising director at Easttern, represented the client on location. Eastern's push is to expand its Florida "market" and also will feature Sam Levenson and Bud Palmer in its print and radio advertising. In addition to its "Flite Facts" (announcements every hour on the hour on 10 stations in the major Eastern Air Lines cities), Eastern has a lineup of about 60 stations carrying the radio spots. Sun-loving Sam Levenson gets a reservation and enjoys exercise while in flight. advertising agencies. As "custodian of the consumer," he said, the agency is apt to be a better judge of psychological factors which affect the marketing success of a new product than is the client who originates the new product idea. Mr. Armstrong suggested a decisionmaking role for the agency in the new product area before such products reach the test marketing stage. He noted that new product ideas which are presented to agencies for further development are often not carried through to the point of practical application by those who conceive them. He said that a check on new product activities made at one point this year showed 80 such projects either in the planning or test marketing stage at IWT. Mr. Armstrong also pointed out that agencies seldom, if ever, receive com 52 (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) pensation as such for their new product services. In discussing key financial problems in the advertiser agency relationship, Philip H. Schaff Jr., chairman of the executive committee, Leo Burnett Co., noted there has been a general trend upward for agency operating expenses since 1950. In that year, operating expenses (exclusive of U.S. income taxes) were 91.6% of agency gross income; they rose to a peak in 1958 of slightly more than 95%. In 1962, they amounted to a little over 94%, according to Mr. Schaff. (The basis of his figures was the annual studies of advertising agencies' costs and profits conducted by the 4A's.) Mr. Schaff also reported on a study made recently by Burnett on the cost to the agency of helping clients develop new products. This was the cost borne by Burnett from the time it received the assignment until the first ad or commercial ran in test markets. In this study, he said, the lowest total cost for a single product was $40,000. The highest was slightly over $200,000. "How long did it take the agency to get back its investment before it started earning money?" Mr. Schaff asked. "The shortest time among the products studied was 24 months from the start of the assignment to the break-even point. Most of them paid out by 36 months." One of them took over five years. Dr. George Katona, program director, Institute for Social Research. University of Michigan, stressed that in the current mass consumption society with a multiplicity of brands and makes, repetition in advertising plays a role. But he warned that "persuasion without explanation" may backfire. BROADCASTING, November 11, 1963