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Vol. 44, No. 10
JULY 12, 1950
IN OMAHA, COLUMBIA'S SPECIAL GOOD HUMOR MAN, BEN D'ANGELO, DISTRIBUTED ICE CREAM TO THE PATIENTS AT THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL.
It Was Timed For The Flot Weather
Columbia’s National "The Good Humor Man” Tour Was Also Refreshing
In especially good humor was Sam Horowitz, Loew's Theatres publicity staff, as D'Angelo ar¬ rived in New York City to launch the eastern phase of the drive for "The Good Humor Man."
ALTHOUGH national merchandising ideas are rather numerous within the industry, it isn’t often that the timing has been as good as in the case of “The Good Humor Man,” for with the onset of summer, the period of peak ice cream sales, Columbia came up with a natural in sending a Good Humor truck across the nation on an exploitation tour.
Cross-country tours are not new to Columbia. In 1946, a taxi was sent from coast to coast promoting “Tars And Spars,” and during the same year an automobile of ancient vintage toured from Boston to Hollywood on behalf of “Gallant Journey.” This time, the Good Humor truck, driven by Ben D’Angelo, and loaded with 2,500 of the frozen confections to be distributed to city and state officials, newspaper and radio representatives, visited 33 cities.
Cooperating with Columbia on the tour were the RKO and Loew Circuits and in¬ dependent theatres in the cities visited. Activities ranged from official receptions
by governors and mayors to newspaper and radio interviews and television appearances for the truck’s occupants. Joseph W. Phillips, Columbia field ex¬ ploitation representative, engineered the campaign, and traveled with the tour.
From the start of the trip in Los An¬ geles to its windup in New York City, the tour yielded plenty of goodwill for the film, as well as an impressive mileage record.
The campaign was a marked success, with driver D’Angelo dispensing some expert ballyhoo for the film. Along with the scheduled visits were impromptu stops at hospitals, and film exchanges.
Since the reemphasis on showmanship began, the industry has witnessed scores of promotion stunts. The Columbia cam¬ paign, with its timely appeal, proved as effective as any.
Pictured on this page and the next are some of the visits made by D’Angelo in his Good Humor truck during the cross¬ country jaunt.
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