The Exhibitor (1960)

May 25, I960 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR EX-225 MAY 25, 1960 I EXPLOITATION ACTUAL PROMOTIONS, accomplished by Experienced Theatremen, that can be applied with profit to many other Theatre Situations. This special section is published every-second-week as a separately bound saveable service to all theatre executive subscribers to MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR. Each such cumulatively numbered saveable section represents current submissions that have been |udged by the Edltorieil Board as having the originality and ticket selling force to warrant placement in the 1960 SHOWMEN OF THE YEAR CONTEST (explanation elsewhere). It is recommended that theatremen save complete annual consecutively numbered files of these EXPLOITATION sections, and on the last page of each issue will be found a complete cumulative index for the year. Address all communications and submissions to the Editors of MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR, 246-48 N. Clarion St., Philadelphia 7, Pa. Individual ACHIEVEMENT CITATIONS have been issued for each of these: B KIDS' MATINEES NUMBER B61 Baseball Emblems Give-Away To Kids THEATRE: Villas, ADDRESS: Chicago, III. MANAGER: Hugh S. Borland I have established a policy of visiting various food concerns to go after children’s business with give-aways, with the idea of tieing in for the theatre’s benefit at little or no cost. On making my regular routine schedule of visits recently, I learned that General Foods was anticipating giving away a series of baseball emblems and arranged with them to give these away at a Saturday matinee before General Foods started giving them away. In return a screen announcement was run for two week’s in advance of our give¬ away date and also stating that the emblems would be given away with Post Cereals on sale at your favorite neighborhood grocery store. The emblem give-away was also announced on the back of our regular programs with copy reading: “Be a booster of your favorite baseball team — wear their emblem! Free baseball emblems to boys and girls attend¬ ing Saturday matinee (date). Your choice of a Sox or Cub emblem, also an American or National League emblem. A limited sup¬ ply. Come early and receive one of these beautiful baseball emblems. Emblems can be put on and taken off clothing without any harm to the material. To put on, simply peel off cloth on back, then press emblem on to whatever you want to. To take off simply pull emblem off. They can be used over and over again. Emblems given away through courtesy of Post Cereals.” This gave us yet another kids’ give-away, one that most boys, at least, would appre¬ ciate, at small cost to the theatre. Macy's, New York City, the world's largest department store, has installed ticket booths in the shape of Kiosks imported from Paris, manned by pretty models, to sell reserved seat tickets for 20th-Fox's "Can-Can," Rivoli. MASS MEDIA film at the same time. All of this at no cost to the theatre. We took Columbia Pictures’ and Cubana Airlines national full week in Havana con¬ test to local radio station WKMH and they agreed to sponsor the contest for 10 days making announcements throughout the day and evenings about the contest and the pic¬ ture. The contest here was to complete in 25 words or less “I would like to be Radio Station WKMH’s ‘Man In Havana’ because In addition, prizes were promoted for local winners. These were a complete set of golf clubs valued at $125; a Gonset FM radio tuner for automobile, valued at $80; a $50 U.S. Government savings bond; and 25 pairs of guest tickets to see the film at the theatre. Due mention of these prizes were also made over the air. Six open-end interviews with Alec Guin¬ ness, Burl Ives, Maureen O’Hara, Noel Coward, Jo Morrow and Carol Reed were made available. Four were used by Dick Osgood, Radio Station WXYZ; and the re¬ maining two were used by Station WQRS. A television featurette showing scenes from the Havana location shooting of the film with narration by Jo Morrow was shown on TV station WJBK. D MERCHANTS NUMBER C25 How To Latch On To National Contest THEATRE: Trans-Lux Krim, ADDRESS: Detroit, Mich. MANAGER: Eric H. Rose Prior to opening of Columbia’s “Our Man In Havana” over 75 local Hoover Vacuum Cleaner dealers placed 45" x 20" streamers in their windows and counter display cards, both tied to the picture showing theatre credits and opening date. Ads were also placed in newspapers by local Hoover dealers selling their product and also tieing in the NUMBER D71 “Chase the Face” Contest THEATRE: Patricia, ADDRESS: Powell River, B.C., Canada MANAGER: A. C. Hammill For Columbia’s “The Face Of A Fugitive” we recently conned a local man into being our “face” for a “Chase The Face” contest worked with the cooperation of a local food store. Arrangements were made for this man to appear in the store at certain times each MGM and the Saturday Evening Post combined recently on a pro¬ motion that caught the eye of 400,000 people a day in Grand Central Station, New York City. The Post had an exhibit built around the theme of Post stories that have been turned into films, books and plays. Most prominent is "Please Don't Eat The Daisies." Huge color stills from the MGM film decorate the display and the battery of six telephones hooked up to a recorded message from Doris Day. Lucky number contest winners received tickets to see the film at Radio City Music Hall. On opening day of the exhibit two models, assisted by a dog who looks like "Hobo" in the picture, gave out thousands of daisies to the commuters and travelers. The exhibit ran for a month.