Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1946)

TOP EXPLOITATION SPARKS "JOLSON" A wealth of newspaper publicity, extensive radio promotion and tieups attracted city-wide attention to the mid-West premiere of "The Jolson Story" at the Palace theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio. The campaign was arranged by manager Erwin Bock and Nathan Wise, director of advertising and publicity for RKO Theatres in Cincinnati, with assistance from Columbia field men under the direction of Harry MacWilliams, director of exploitation. Teaser ads were scattered throughout newspapers, starting five weeks in advance and climaxed by eye-arresting two-color ads in the three local newspapers. In addition, stories with art were planted daily. Radio Tieups Worked Radio had a lion's share in the promotion of the playdate, with spot announcements and program tieups on stations WSAI, WCPO, WCKY and WKRC. A Jolson whistling stunt was worked with WKRC. The station used two 15-minute programs for several days, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, featuring a Jolson song. The first person heard whistling the tune the day following the program, at a certain designated spot in the downtown area, received a cash award. In order to reach the bobby sox crowd, an invitation was tendered to the editors of all high school papers in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky to attend a private screening of the picture. WCPO sent equipment to the screening room to record a round table discussion which was broadcast later. A tieup was arranged with WKRC, in which the station distributed 55,000 fourpage miniature magazines through drug and grocery stores in addition to a mailing list. Three-quarters of a page of the magazine was devoted to "The Jolson Story." At a special luncheon and card party of the Women's Auxiliary of the Shriners, the Jolson records were played, passes offered a ; door prizes and a 40x60 used at the affair. The picture was the basis of a fashion show held by Mabley and Carew. Large announcement cards were used on easels on the stage in the store. With each change of dress, the song title was changed by a page girl. Attractive cards, plugging the playdate, were passed out to people attending the show. Colleges Cooperate Another tieup was arranged with two local colleges, the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. A Jolson trophy was presented to the two rival football captains in the center of the field at the start of their game. The presentation was made by returned veterans from the schools and broadcast over the public address system to a crowd of 25,000. Through an arrangement with the RevIon dealer, samples of the company's widely advertised Ultra Violet Powder and a corsage were given to the first 100 women attending the opening of the picture. A tieup was made with the Lux Soap distributor for 500 streamers. A 21 -inch cooperative newspaper ad was promoted with the Fair store. The ad was repeated four times. Other co-op ads were set with Rollman's, Pogue's and McAlpin's. The latter company ran four co-op ads, with each ad inspired by a song hit from the picture. Hotel and night club bands were given orchestrations of the music, with a plug for the film. Approximately 40 window tieups were promoted, including 10 set with music stores. Mayor Garfield Stewart proclaimed the period of playdate as Jolson Week. A 40x60 blowup of the proclamation was used facing a prominent building in downtown Cincinnati (See cut at left). Travel Creates Selling Pattern For "Brazil" Effective and widespread use of a trade ad put an unusual light on the campaign set by Paul Glase, manager of the Embassy theatre, Reading, Pa., for the playdate of "The Thrill of Brazil." In every window display which he arranged, Paul used copies of the trade ad and was apparently more than justified, judging by the favorable comments he received. Another fine display was set with the Reading Travel Bureau, on the main square. The owner used posters on Brazil travel along with the trade ads, stills and credit card furnished by the theatre. A tie-up was set with Zeswit'sMusic Stores for window space in their two shops. The recording of "A Man Is a Brother to a Mule," hit tune of the film, was highlighted, along with the ad, credit card and stills. Two other windows were obtained. Interior Displays Set Large, attractive overhead displays were arranged for at the Kresge and Woolworth 5 and 10 cent stores. Five thousand programs, heralding the coming of the film, were distributed for two weeks preceding the opening. 160 trolley and bus cards were placed inside the town transportation conveyances. In the theatre lobby, a special cut-out illuminated six-sheet was put on display for two weeks prior to opening, along with various 40x60's and 30x40's. All three local radio stations, WRAY, WEEU and WHUM, carried publicity on the film, in addition to spot announcements. The three stations also gave special reviews after the opening and a participation program dealing with the picture was broadcast over WEEU. Trenton Nut Shop Tieups For the picture's opening at the Capitol theatre, Trenton, N. J., manager Henry Scholl and publicist William Kane tied in with local nut shops, which featured Brazil nuts and elaborate displays plugging the theatre. The shops also provided nuts, which were enveloped and distributed to theatre patrons, carrying playdate imprint. The Trenton Travel Bureau also cooperated with diplays featuring Brazil and tie-in credits for the picture. Music tieups were set centering about the theme song from the film production. Additional window displays were garnered from the Goldberg Store, Stacy Trent and Hildebracht hotels, Trenton High School, Laurenceville High School, Savoy Restaurant, and other merchants. One angle which was exploited was the Max Factor makeup items, which contributed to several fine counter displays. Newspaper breaks were landed in the Teutonian, Trenton Times and the Rider College and high school papers. MOTION PICTURE HERALD, DECEMBER 7, 1946