Motion Picture Herald (Oct-Dec 1932)

id MOTION PICTURE HERALD October I, 1932 RACE FOR GIVEAWAYS DIMINISHING; FALSE STIMULANT IN PRESENT FORM Exhibitors Turning from Grocery Baskets, Ham and Refrigerators to Merchandising Pictures as New Product Appears The mania for handing out gifts and prizes, which for a year has held theatres in its grip in first-runs and neighborhoods alike and from coast to coast, is rapidly being cured. The practice in its present extreme form is considered by many theatre operators as an evil of the worst type, and a nationwide study of the situation indicates that exhibitors almost everywhere are awakening to the fact that gifts as a steady diet for increased attendance are pure fiction. With prospects of a higher standard in the season's product daily showing signs of materializing and general economic improvement showing itself they are turning their attention from the false stimulus of grocery baskets, hams and electric refrigerators to the more important business of merchandising pictures. Theatre owners are learning that the extremes to which they have gone in recent months to attract patronage with offers ranging from a free psychoanalysis and an ice cream cone served in the lobby, to a complete home fully furnished, eventually react as a boomerang, and that the majority of steady patrons revolt against having their film entertainment cluttered up with ballyhoo about raffles and prizes. Not even in the early days of nickelodeons, when "Country Store Nights" were quite the rage, did the industry participate to such an extent in wild proffers of elaborate gifts. Exploitation Centered on Giveaways In many locations the current wholesale practice reached the point where even a concentration of merchandising effort and exploitation was directed almost exclusively on the give-away, with the entertainment phase relegated to the background. Independent and neighborhood theatres have been involved in the practice on and off for many years, but the past season found large and small circuits also turning their attention to the plan. Large circuit operators agree that the basic reason for the recent widespread interest lay in the lean receipts a year ago. The movement spread rapidly and then other theatre owners began to believe that the gift activities of competition compelled them to do likewise. The competitive situation was acute in many key cities, particularly Detroit, where the Fox downtown theatre started off with three automobiles every week, followed by the Hollywood, a second run de luxe, giving two cars each week and a group of 40 Allied theatres offering $2,500 in cash weekly. In other territories independents claimed that unfair protection accorded downtown theatres made it necessary for them to resort to a protective measure and they selected give-aways as the medium. One theatre offered $400 a night four times weekly and another undertook to give away 60 automobiles of a standard make, one each week. BETTER FILMS, FEWER GIFTS, EDITORIAL UR.GES "We notice that the last free auto offered as bait by a local moving picture palace did not draw such big crowds as heretofore," said m editorial recently in the Daily journal of Commerce, Portland, Ore. "Possibly tlx movie producers may take the hint. "Is it too much to hope that they may try to produce better pictures as a means of increasing patronage instead of turning movies into lotteries?" Many exhibitors adopted the plan to meet the reduced admission prices of competitors. One reaction to the awarding of merchandise at theatres came from local merchants who said that their business suffered accordingly. A crockery manufacturer in a large key city said that he sells more of his wares to theatres than to stores. Many merchants, as a result of inroads made on their business, are now turning thumbs down on exploitation tieups and window displays in which they previously had cooperated with exhibitors. A checkup of the situation indicated that theatres participating in the practice hold Prize Nights and Pal Nights; Gold Nights, Gim-me Nights and Gift Nights ; Country Fairs and Giveaways ; Lucky Number Nights, Treasure Nights, Merchants' Nights and whatnot. Prizes range all the way from sugar-cured hams and bacon strips to $2,500 in cash awarded weekly, and a varied assortment of Fords, Chevrolets, Nashes, Pontiacs, Austins, Essexes, Plymouths and a junior model Stutz racer have been raffled. Warner Bars Plan In one case a complete home was the grand prize and in others exhibitors offered as box office inducements household appliances and foodstuffs ; electric heaters, waffle irons, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and radios ; jewelry of every description, including diamond rings, china sets, dresser sets, silverware and glassware, canned fruits and vegetables, pies, ice cream sodas and cones, iced tea, meat and fruit baskets and candy, live dogs and ponies, 12 tons of coal, gas ranges, stock certificates, toilet preparations, linen and free psychoanalysis; furniture, suites for bedrooms, living rooms and diners; gold pieces, pictures and picture frames, theatre passes, oil burners, motor boats, country store prizes and fur coats, riding habits, men's suits and brides' complete trousseaux; auto radios and service memberships; garden implements and hardware; week end trips and trips to Yellowstone and Hollywood; airplane trips, vacation trips, hotel and transportation expenses, cut-rates on bus lines — everything under the sun. It was reported recently that, in order to offset various china and silverware giveaways as practiced by independents in California, Fox West Coast was contemplating wholesale participation in the practice by awarding 100 Essex automobiles and a like Inducements Placed Before Patrons Ranged from Free Psychoanalysis to Ice Cream Cones and Furnished Home number of refrigerators. Warner Brothers issued a stern order about two months ago to managers to desist from the so-called "racket," and it appears that other large circuits will soon follow suit. Harold B. Franklin, head of RKO Theatres, considers it an evil, and so does Walter Vincent, of Wilmer and Vincent, while Sam Dembow, Jr., of Publix, indicated that the company is practically eliminating giveaways. However, some weeks ago Publix staged an elaborate merchandising drive, known as "Sam Katz Week," during which its managers had 52 automobile giveaways, 30 stage weddings, all involving gifts of some nature; 35 refrigerator giveaways; 23 "free gold" nights and 19 parades and merchant tieups. H. M. Richey, of Allied in Michigan; Lee Ochs, independent circuit operator in New York; Fred S. Meyer, of MPTO in Milwaukee, Harry Arthur, Glen Dickinson and other important circuit operators voiced opposition to the practice and said it is of no permanent benefit to theatres. On the other hand, M. A. Lightman, president of the MPTOA, said the plan is beneficial in limited doses. In Detroit, the county prosecutor joined Allied to rid the city of giveaways and the authorities promised to take steps against violators. The order quickly ended a twoyear orgy. Other city and state officials recently indicated opposition to the practice, and many are now engaged in dusting off old statutes to aid in prosecution of offenders. Several states have laws prohibiting the awarding of major prizes from theatre stages, branding them as lotteries, but theatres have found a way around this by having the winner purchase the prize for $1. Extreme caution is being used in mentioning the prizes in advertisements in newspapers or in other mailed matter. A federal law prohibits the use of mails for publicizing a raffle. Seattle authorities plan to draft an ordinance against the practice. Milwaukee's Better Business Bureau is engaged in a fight against it. Chicago Does Away with Gifts There are some cases where exhibitors report increased business from giveaways, but in the main theatre owners declare that while receipts are higher on the night free gifts are offered, the subsequent let down in business at following performances more than over-balances the increase. The practice of giving away a piece of merchandise to each patron on a certain night still continues, although theatres engaged in this practice have suffered by raffles of so-called "major" prizes which are usually won by selection of a "lucky" ticket stub in a drawing on the stage. Give-aways and prize drawings are now practically a thing of the past in Chicago. The practice, which enjoyed considerable popularity there a year ago, gradually diminished as the vogue spread and the extra business resulting from prize and giveaway nights diminished as competition increased. Added to this is the fact that chain drug stores, restaurants and other places went into the giveaway business on a large scale, offering free automobiles, radios and other (Continued on following page)