Year book of motion pictures (1936)

a toy to a certain matinee. The toys to be distributed to the poor, or to children in hospitals. Business should show a gain, as an adult will accompany every child to your theater. This stunt builds good-will over a heavy territory and should result in a wealth of newspaper advertising. Do not admit adults with toys. The stunt is only for children. Hot Weather Stunts • DON'T try to fight summer outdoor activities. Rather co-operate or try to go them one better. For golfers, give "putting" lessons in your lobby. For fishermen, give a prize for the biggest fish caught in a certain lake. Display the fish in a refrigerated case in your lobby. Try the stunt of having a cameraman at picnics and show the film at your theater as soon as possible. You can often reimburse your pocketbook for the stunt by selling prints of the film to lodges and other organizations whose members were at the outing. Sports Contests • WATCH the athletic schedule of the Y. M. C. A. and other organizations in your town. Make arrangements with the supervisors, and donate a cup to the winning team of some outstanding meet. The trophy will of comse be presented from the stage of your theater on a given night. Newspapers should give you plenty of breaks on the stunt. Place your display cards regarding the contest and theater price, at the association headquarters and at all hotels. This is good for swimming, basketball, baseball, football, ping-pong, handball and many other sports. Radio Names • LEARN from your local radio station the name of some advertiser who supports a daily program. Then tie-up with the merchant so that mention of your picture is made at each broadcast and the names of six tovmspeople, selected at random, are reod over the radio. These people are to receive one pass each for your theater. The gag should interest the merchant as it assures him of more listeners, and of folks who will listen to his advertising talk because they know that the theater announcement will be somewhere in the program. Cooking School • EVERY morning for a week hold a cooking school at your theater. For the instructress have a teacher from a local school. Tie up with local merchants for use of nationally advertised brands of foodstuffs and ingredients. Free admission to the school and a display of the results as the pay-ofi. Make the stunt for uomarried girls only. li you want to add comedy to the gag, have the cokes, etc. judged by unmarried men. School Winners • A REGULAR Monday stunt for a theater in a large city. Each of the city's schools selects each week one pupil whose work the previous week has been outstanding. These, with their parents, are guests of the theater, with the winners called to the stage to be presented to the audience. Small gifts can be promoted with dealers to be given each prize pupil. Soda Fountains • HE31E is a good stunt for small towns and neighborhoods, tied in with a popular soda fountain. It is a combination ticket good for a number of sodas, fashioned after the style of a meal ticket with punch spaces for each nickel, to permit a choice in ordering. The ticket is sold at face value by the soda fountain. When all of the holes are punched, it is good for one admission to the theater. An ad for your theater is carried in the center of the ticket. Puzzle Solvers • WHEN combined with a hook-up page for the co-op merchants, this makes a good gag to interest the puzzle solvers. The contestants are required to visit each store in the contest. In each store window is carried one of the letters from the last name of the star of the feature. To secure free tickets, it is necessary to solve the puzzle, and state in which window each of the letters is placed. County Fair • IF YOU are in a rural community, stage a Progressive County Fair. Small cash prizes are offered by local merchants for the heaviest pumpkin, potato, best ear of com and largest apple. All exhibits are to be brought to the theater during a specified week to fit the various crops, starting on a Friday. The winners are selected from the first entries and placed on a table in the foyer, with the name of the entrant and the weight If a larger entry turns up, the new entry is given the place of honor. There will be several substitutions during the week, which will keep up the excitement. The whole idea is to get the farmers into town from the back roads so that the merchants can benefit from their trade. Prizes are distributed from the stage the Saturday following the contest. Supper Guests • IF YOU have a nearby restaurant that is trying to push the idea of something to eat alter your show, this one is made to order. Every night for o period of time the restaurant supplies the theater manager with five pairs of orders for limited eats. These are handed 852