Year book of motion pictures (1929)

COLORING ILLUSTRATION On a merchant's cooperative ad run in the newspaper, insert in each ad a cut boosting the picture. Offer tickets to the boys and girls for the best coloring of the illustrations. BIRTHDAY PARTY Here is a seasonal stunt that will build children's patronage anywhere. Arrange with newspaper for a mammoth birthday party, to be held Saturday morning for a certain month. All children with a birthday during that month are entitled to send their names with date of birth to the paper. They receive a pass to the* birthday party. Merchants' cooperation can be secured for distribution of suitable toys and novelties. LOBBIES NOVEL SHADOW BOX A striking six sheet enclosed in a shadow box. Drape box in black, and equip with a scrim screen in front. Use blue and green lights, and keep them alternating by means of a special plug. Turn off lobby lights, and the flashing lights from the shadow box will make an attractive display. TREASURE HUNT Locate a treasure chest in lobby. Advertise that during the showing keys will be distributed throughout city, and that one lucky key will open the lock of treasure chest. When opened, advise that the chest will be found to contain a set of silverware ( donated by dealer). The latter's name appears in all advertising. The announcement further states : "Any keys — your key from your personal key ring may open the lock of the Treasure Chest. Come and find out if you are carrying the lucky key." Here is a good stunt for getting new people in your lobby. CIRCUS ATMOSPHERE Have a quantity of cheap white muslin painted up with red vertical stripes as far apart as the width of the stripe, so as to give the effect of red and white striped material. Take a strip about three feet wide and hang it around the walls of the lobby, with the upper end against the ceiling at the point where it meets the wall. Have the bottom of this strip scalloped, each scallop to take in one of the colors, so that the scallops will alternate red and white. If the lobby isn't too large, the entire ceiling can be covered with the same material, with the stripes matching those on the walls. If ceiling is too large, stretch red, green and yellow streamers across the lobby. The more streamers used, the more "circusy" the atmosphere. THEATER FRONTS "CIRCUS WEEK' A ballyhoo front, consisting of five big canvas strips strung from the roof to top of marquee. The three center strips have painted on them faces or figures of laughing clowns in flashing colors. The two end strips carry the words in enormous letters: "Circus Week." CIRCUS FRONT An effective circus front can be arranged with two entrances. Label one "Main Entrance" and the other "Ticket Wagon." Paste clowns heads between the spaces. Over the front run a banner reading: "The Big Show Now Going On." BALLYHOOS STATIONARY BALLOON "Sky" advertising can be made effective by means of a stationary balloon anchored to suspend about 100 feet in the air. Attach to it a big streamer pennant announcing the attraction. CAGED BEAR On chassis of motor truck place cage containing bear or a cub, which tours the city. Signs on side state: "A Bear of a Picture." This is followed by name of attraction, etc. BAND WAGON For a feature with circus atmosphere. In advance of run send a band waeon around town. The ha'Ivhoo should carry a med'cine man, a minstrel hanjoist blacked up. an Ind'an and a hnla-girl. Plaster the wagon with banners in typical circus style. The wagon stops at principal centers in all neighborhoods. A miniature performance is given at each stop. The "show" closes with an invitation to see the main show at the theater. TIE-UPS KEY S1UNT In advance of showing distribute keys through local merchants. Each key is numbered, and several master keys are hung in the lobby. Each key carries a sticker on which is printed instructions to the holder to match up their numbers with the numbers on master keys in the lobby. The merchants who distribute the keys donate prizes and carry announcements of the stunt in their ads. NEWSBOY PARADE Arrange a special showing for the newsboys and carriers of newspaper. They parade through the main thoroughfares with a band, and carry banners announcing they are on the way to a special showing at your theater. CHILDREN'S FAIR Cooperation with Ladies' Guild of one of the churches in arranging a Children's Fair to be held at a municipal park. The main attraction is a treasure hunt. Passes for the theater and prizes donated by merchants are placed in boxes and secreted at each of five clue points in the hunt. Tie up with merchants to mention the stunt in their ads. HONOR PUPILS (For Serial) To advertise a serial, send letters to principals of all neighboring schools, inviting them to send their ten best pupils to the opening episode. Emphasize in the letter any educational value of the picture, and ask that it be announced in the classrooms. CARTOON STRIP For picture based on cartoon strip. Tie in with newspaper running cartoon on its comic page. Have them place signs on their news trucks, also enclose announcement cards in their mail. Window cards are placed on newsstands and dealers' windows. In return the theater runs a trailer calling attention to cartoon being run in newspaper. BOY SCOUT PICTURES Tie up with stores handling official Boy Scout equipment, such as uniforms, Scout shoes, Bauer & Black first aid equipment kit, Wear-Ever official canteen, Remington Scout official knife, "WearEver" official cook kit, "King" official bugle, "Plumb" official Scout axe and many other items. A great deal of cooperation can also be secured from the local Scout Executive tie-up. FREE TICKETS (For Serial) Distribute among merchants 15 tickets each, one of these being good for five episodes. The other fourteen are good for the first chapter. Supply the merchants with window cards, and have the tickets placed in individual attractive envelopes. The idea is that the tickets are to be distributed to customers by the stores the day before the serial opens. The first 15 customers coming into the different stores are given an envelope containing a ticket. The prize in each case of course is the five weeks' ticket. Tie these merchants up in a cooperative ad. across the top of which is an announcement of the free tickets which they will distribute. WINDOW DISPLAYS BOY ARTIiST A "personal appearance" of a boy artist in a department store window making sketches of a film star and scenes from her picture is the result of co-operation between the book department of the store and the theater. Crowds will watch the "child prodigv" at work. AEROPLANE CONTEST Two weeks in advance of playdate, start an aeroplane contest among the boys. A prominent store will be erlad to feature the models in their window. Also the toy model plane to be awarded for first prize. The planes can be put on display in the lobby directly before run nf picture. JIGSAW PUZZLE Secure from local newspaper's "morgue" an old zinc cut of the star in the picture. Cut this to pieces in a jumbled manner, reblock it and print it on throwaways. Give free tickets to those solving the puzzle. 773