The Exhibitor (Jun-Nov 1941)

Selling Pictures "Penny Serenade" Harrisburg, Pa. (Population, 80,000) — Em¬ phasis on the “penny” angle and a spe¬ cial tie-up on Victor records were fea¬ tured in the campaign of manager Jack O’Rear, Colonial. Small envelopes, im¬ printed with copy from the picture, were handed out by cashiers. These envel¬ opes contained pennies as customers’ change. Special penny post cards were mailed, out two days before opening. Lucky pieces were given out as prizes in “Lucky Penny” contest at a local public dance. Screening was held two days before open¬ ing for press and local Victor record deal¬ ers. Lucky pennies, imbedded in an alum¬ inum disk containing advertising on the picture, were handed out as souvenirs after the screening. Tickets were given as prizes to winners of a “Penny” slogan contest in the Harrisburg Telegraph. Local Vic¬ tor agency secured displays in eight music stores in the city where numbered record envelopes were distributed with appropriate copy on picture. Twenty-five of these numbers were posted on a spe¬ cial Victor display in lobby and two tickets were given to persons holding lucky envelopes. Boston (Population, 770,000) — Joe Dipesa, publicity director, Loew’s State and Orpheum, recently announced the following campaign for this picture. A bowl of pen¬ nies was planted in a downtown window, with guest tickets to those guessing the correct amount. The parents of the first baby born on opening day were sched¬ uled to receive a bag of pennies. A thou¬ sand penny postcards were to be mailed to regular patrons. It was also planned to admit free on opening day those who presented a certain period penny at the boxoffice. A feature story was planted on a penny collector in the city. Syracuse, N. Y. (Population, 206,000) — Manager Frank Murphy, Loew’s State, in¬ vited 30 Gold Star mothers to participate in a Mother’s Day program and see the film. A cooperative ad used by a music company featured Victor records. An art¬ ist in a store window sketched heads of onlookers and of the stars, Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. A grand piano flanked by two harps was on display for two weeks, with a well-known local pianist rendering selections on the piano after¬ noons and evenings. Cumberland, Md. (Population, 40,000) — Richard L. Schuette, publicity director, Grace M. Fisher’s Maryland, arranged for the cashiers at the house to dispense change in envelopes reading, “Don’t Forget the Pennies and Don’t Forget to See ‘Penny Serenade’.” Five thousand of these were distributed from the box office, arous¬ ing much comment. Many customers re¬ ceived additional pennies in their change, thus creating much good will. Large post¬ ers were put out, featuring a reproduc¬ tion of the first page of the story, “Penny Serenade,” as it first appeared in McCall’s Magazine. Complete records of arbitration eases in your area are carried each issue. May 21, 1941 BETTER MANAGEMENT "Men of Boys Town" Boston (Population, 770,000)— Joe Di Pesa, publicity director, Loew’s State and Orpheum, planned quite an extensive cam¬ paign for this feature. He arranged for the Mayor to proclaim a “Boystown Day,” turning the official duties of the day over to the younger generation. A radio con¬ test was planned, with the audience asked to name all the pictures that Rooney and Tracy, respectively, have appeared in for the last five years. A young boy and a dog were secured to parade the downtown streets with appropriate copy. A Father and Son Night was planned for the open¬ ing of the film. Endorsements were solic¬ ited. from Catholic Diocese, PTA, and re¬ ligious groups. Harrisburg, Pa. (Population, 80,000) — Two contests were planted in local weekly papers by manager Bill Elder. One was a marquee maze contest in the Harrisburg Booster and the other was a charm circle contest in the Sunday Courier with heads of Rooney, Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, Jimmy Stewart, and Lana Turner, the latter three for “Ziegfeld Girl.” Two boys with copy on their backs rode city streets on tandem bicycle. Special lobby board featured the advice of Peter Rabbit to enjoy “Men of Boys Town” by checking parcels. Amsterdam, N. Y. (Population, 34,000) — Bill Burke, Rialto, assisted by Metro exploiteer Jack Walsh, staged a contest in which deserving Boy Scouts were elected to the posts of mayor, councilmen, etc., for a day. Father Flanagan wrote a letter to BM-23 Burke, wishing the boys success in their venture. Although the local newspaper ordinarily shuns free theatre space, this got a lot of attention because of its news angles. "Ziegfeld Girl" Harrisburg, Pa. (Population, 80,000) — Much of manager Bill Elder’s campaign at Loew’s was affected a week or more in advance through the visit of two touring Ziegfeld Girls and music tie-ups at public dances. One of the highlights was a color contest through a page of co-op ads in the Harrisburg Telegraph. Readers were in¬ vited to color a different girl in each ad for one cash prize and ten tickets. A columnist on the same newspaper wrote about his contacts with Ziegfeld and plug¬ ged. the picture. Window displays were obtained in two hosiery shops; music store with Tony Martin and Hedy Lamarr at a piano; beauty shop with Lamarr, Lana Turner, and Judy Garland featured. Materials distributed included 1000 door hangers in apartment houses describing the picture as “The Year’s Biggest Musi¬ cal,” 50 bumper strips on automobiles and taxis, 100 cards at newsstands tying in with Life Magazine’s layout, 50 soda streamers for “Ziegfeld Zip,” record streamers advertising numbers from the picture, 3,000 record bags and 3,000 music wrappers for a large music counter. Badges were worn a week in advance by all employees, and girls at lunch counters wore ribbons imprinted with “Ziegfeld Zip” and “Ziegfeld Girl.” ( Continued on page BM24) "I’VE QUIT KIDDING MYSELF! “When changes do occur to sound, I know where to turn for advice on what 1 should do. Altec has consistently shown me how the sound in my theatre can be made to keep pace with improvements in recording. 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