Canadian Film Weekly (Jan 31, 1968)

MISCELLANY Commercial Comment By ANNA LISZT WE are extremely interested in the spate of new corn snack products which has lately flooded into the food market. And by the torrent of advertising which accompanies it. This is a classic case of a number of companies apparently hitting on the same product idea almost _ simultaneously. It would, of course be supremely naive to suppose this is accidental. Although we do not know the inside story of this particular happening, we have and first-hand experience with similar happenings in other food product groups. The race to be first into a remunerative new product area may reward the winner with the market leadership for years to come. What happens is usually triggered by some one company getting the idea for the new brand. It may come from the laboratory or be suggested by some similar product, perhaps the potato chip in this case. The company be gins to develop an entire marketing plan. First, the product itself, its shape or shapes, its flavor, the name, the package design, the contents, the price structure. They may then hire a consumer research company to test alternative forms as to consumer acceptance and preferences. They may then test market it in several areas. Finally, the real entry is ready to be made. Up to this point, the company will try to preserve as much secrecy as possible from potential competitors. But so much of the preparatory work has to be in public, so many people have to know what’s happening, that it is extremely difficult to prevent the plan from getting about. And so the race to be first into the market begins. In the new corn snacks market, we don’t know which brand actually came first. We first became aware of Flings advertising. Then we were struck by Bugles. Rather vaguely we seem to recall ads for Screwballs and Whistles. But we do not remember how these two latter products were advertised. Strangely enough, we do not remember any ads at all for Kellogg’s Pokes. And it is most unlike this king of cereals advertisers to let anyone be unaware of their brands. Far the most pleasing is the Bugle campaign. This one “declares war on the potato chip”. It asks, in a plaintive, tear-jerking way for “a chance to get in your home — to get in your mouth”. It accuses the potato chip of unfairly barring Bugles from the potato chip section in the store. It shows the “u” in the Page 6 name Bugle on the _ package being covered over by an “a”, thus changing it to Bagle. It is a most engaging and attractive campaign. Flings, on the other hand, simply repeat the exhortation “Have a Fling” as often as they can within the commercial interval. They have rightly reasoned that, as the products are all quite new and not well-known, the one which has been dinned into their ears oftenest, is the one they’ll think of and pick up in the store. The video is nothing more than a series of soaring figures of guys and dolls in mod clothes to give a mood of youthful exuberance. We like the Bugles “Potato chip war” campaign best of all of them. And we think it will sell. But we have a sneaking suspicion that the Flings campaign which is far less imaginative will sell as well, perhaps better. That’s what can sometimes be so hellish about advertising. So often, ads which make one choke with distaste are extremely effective; like the Carling’s Red Cap Forever ads. Fortunately. there are enough of the tasteful ads, like the Carling’s Biack Label travel series, the Grape Nuts Flakes ads, to offset the unpleasant taste of the others. Se en eG MHE new “We Worry” campaign for the Construction Safety Association of Ontario is a model of convincing sincerity. Everything about it is well thought out and well executed. We liked their previous campaign and we like this one even better. A crane carrier bucket (sure it must have a tradename) topples off the high steel-work of a building under construction and be gins a slow motion fall down past the steel skeleton. In slow motion we follow it as it strikes a cross girder in passing and dislodges a pile of rivets which join it in its head-long plunge. All this time, a narrator’s voice is telling about the need for strict observation of safety rules like the wearing of helmets, safety glasses and goggles, safety belts, safety boots. It ends by saying that the safety record is improving but—“We Worry.” This commercial is, as it should be, completely devoid of gimmickry of any kind. It is so square, it’s cubistic. But it should not be done any other way. The narrator’s voice has an almost Presbyterian quality of solid reliability. I’m sure that, if one did fall off a building, the owner of that voice would be sure to be underneath to catch one. We also like the Carnation In Charles Chaplin Elected Vice-President WB-7 Arts Charles Chaplin, for the past few years head of the Seven Arts organization in Canada, has been elected as a _ vice-president of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Limited, the parent organization regrouped last year following a takeover of Warner Bros. by Seven Arts. Chaplin’s appointment was made official at a recent board of directors meeting in New York, at which time Eliot Hyman was elected chairman of the board and chief executive officer; Benj. Kalmenson, president; Samuel H. Haims, vice-president and treasurer, and Norman Soloman, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer. The New York meeting followed closely the company’s annual meeting of shareholders held in’ Toronto’s Park Plaza Hotel where all proposals submitted by the board of directors were ap proved. The shareholders, after voting to decree the number of directors from 17 to 15, elected the following directors: Charles Allen, Jr., Alfred Bloomingdale, Armand Deutsch, Samuel H. Haims, Alex L. Hillman, Alan J. Hirschfield, Eliot Hyman, M. Kenneth Hyman, Benj Kalmenson, Jerome A. Newman, Marwell M. Rabb, Denniston L. Slater,“Edgar B: : Stern, Jr.; Anthony R. Tyrone and Jack L. Warner. : The corporate by-laws were amended to change the powers and duties of the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the President, the former being chief executive officer of the company and the latter being chief administrative officer. The meeting also voted approval of the adoption of the Board of Directors of the 1967 Key Employees Qualified Stock Option Plan, permitting the granting of options for 200,000 common shares to key employees. Shareholders also heard an optimistic statement from Eliot Hyman, board chairman, who was unable to attend but who was represented by David Lubart. “The merger of Warner Bros.Seven Arts is nonw history and, as in all similar situations, there is a period of adjustment, readjustment, of change in people, logistics and procedures,” MHyman’s statement said. “We are happy to say that this has been effectively accomplished and that the future holds every. promise of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts being a most important company in every phase of the entertainment field, but not necessarily confined to: it; stant Breakfast ad which shows the eighteenth century family at breakfast in the castle garden, stuffing themselves in a most Dr. Johnsonish way. The one out of place person is a contemporary announcer also sitting at table, with a packet of Carnation Instant Breakfast in front of him. He talks about the people who can eat a hearty like his table companions. But for those who don’t have the time—why Carnation Instant Breakfast, of course. j We like this ad. But we are not convinced that it is very good advertising for that particular product to the audience we fancy it should be aimed at. Surely, the audience for his product is clearly the bachelor business guys and dolls and the high school, university crowd. They are the ones who are most likely to be short of time for a proper nutritional cooked breakfast. Only on weekends do they take time for a leisurely satisfying morning (or early afternoon) meal. As a class, this group began to come into existence during the second world war, when so many women started to man industry. (Can a women, “man” anything). And _ interestingly, the word “brunch” entered the slanguage about this time. This class has CANADIAN FILM-TV BI-WEEKLY not been eating a decent midweek breakfast for over a generation. Hence the growth of an enormous demand for ready-toeat cereal, instant hot beverages, instant or quick cooking hot cereals, squeezed fruit and vegetable juices, vitamin supplements and so on. This group have been skimping on breakfast for so long that we don’t think they can identify with eighteenth century types who gorge. We really do hate to knock this one because it is light and amusing and quite a relief from such horrors as the ad for Palmolive liquid showing Madge the manicurist. It is so wearied from overplaying that we actually do go to the effort of rising and switching the sound off the minute it appears. It wasn’t a very good ad to begin with and now it’s nothing short of dreadful. Talking of repetition; Kraft really have it made with the format they have used for so long. These must be so inexpensive to make. The simplest of table settings; a hand model needing perhaps twenty or thirty minutes of rehearsal time; the voice of Bruce Marsh. Man, that’s really getting mileage for your buck. No wonder they can produce a new one every week. January 31, 1968 Ne oare se nati menrornes venteerrensaehinnltns Saeapreet ee nt tee SEES SDE AERP chi Sake ee SINR IS a