Exhibitors Herald (Apr-Jun 1922)

\pril 22, 1922 EXHIBITORS HERALD 55 NEWSPICTURES PERFECT THE SERVICE OF THE PRESS WHAT you read in new spa pe rs makes up the bulk of your general knowledge. WHERE the newspaper leaves off, with word description and still camera illustration, the screen begins. NEWSPICTURES perfect the vital service of the printing press to civilization by "showing you" what the newspaper "tells you about." SEE the news at — THE PALACE 4 Growing Kicfy KICKS, in the motion picture business, fall naturally into two passes, the common or garden variety, /hich is a violent complaint of prac(cally any character, and the worthwhile r advertising variety, which is forceful opy possessing the quality to increase :ieatre attendance. The latter is most nportant, if least common. [A copy kick of growing impetus is bserved in the series of newspicture ducational advertisements offered readrs of this paper. The first and second nits of the series are reproduced in this qlumn for convenience. The third apears upon the "Newspictures" page. To test the reader effect of this series, ;ad first the ad at the top of this col,mn, then the one at the bottom. turninv ) the "Newspictures" page for the th nit. ' The series represents the first sterj„ in campaign designed to make the newsicture a program asset paying bigger rofits without proportionate increase in 3St. No more timely service is being 'ctended in trade journalism. NEWSPICTURES PERFORM THE SERVICE OF TRA VEL ALWAYS wise men have considered travel the greatest broadening influence, completing book knowledge by adding perspective to detail. YESTERDAY only the favored of Fortune could avail themselves of its treasures. TODAY the whole of the worthwhile world lies at the feet of every individual, brought intact to every neighborhood by the magic of the newsnlm. SEE the world at— THE PALACE A Fur Coat and Any Kind of Pup Gets the Crowd A DOG ballyhoo arranged at slight expense by the Walnut theatre at Louisville, Ky., to attract attention to its run of "The Silent Call." There being no wolf-dogs available, "home talent" was used and proved effective. PEOPLE associate the north — the far north of virile pictures — with snow, fur coats and dogs. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to get snow, but there are plenty of fur coats and more-than-a-plenty of dogs in almost every community in the United States. For the exploitation of "The Silent ways requires a great deal of thought and effort. "A fur coat and any kind of pup" is the most obvious, the cheapest and the least work of any of the stunts yet brought forth on "The Silent Call," which has been heavily exploited at almost every theatre it has shown. The Theatre does not advocate an exhibitor looking for the cheapest form of exploitation or one which requires the least effort. But it does urge that exhibitors weigh the effectiveness of the stunts, which cost the least money, before they decide on large outlays of cash for other methods of attracting public attention. This is economy. But it must also be remembered that cheapness, which does not bring the required results, is the worst form of extravagance. Call," the Walnut theatre. Louisville. Ky., used plenty of paper and posters on the theatre front and lobby, but the real punch was a street ballyhoo of dogs. In Louisville, wolf-dogs are not common, but there are plenty of the various other breeds of canine, so two of the most formidable dogs obtainable were secured and the Arctic atmosphere was supplied by a man dressed in a fur coat, which is rather a novelty in sunbaked Louisville. At the same time the theatre ran a drawing contest, making awards for the best sketches sent in by boys under 14 on Strongheart, the star of the picture. A panel of some of the contributions, which were reproduced by newspapers and attracted a lot of interest is shown in front of the theatre in the accompanying photograph. The effective lobby and the drawing contest did not attract the notice that the dog ballyhoo brought. Which revives the time honored debate as to which form of exploitation is the most effective — the obvious, which costs but little, or the subtle, which usually costs considerable money and al "Buyer's Risk" kkDUYER'S RISK," exceptionally AJ important factor in the theatre business, is eliminated by an advertiser who, in this issue, page 69, unreservedly offers to submit for inspection a "sample" of his product. This sale-by-sample policy is decidedly new in to-the-theatre advertising and worthy of close attention. It should be tested thoroughly and, if results justify promise, encouraged heartily.