Motion Picture Herald (Nov-Dec 1946)

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Arkell Creates Good Will With Talent Quest An amateur talent competition arranged by manager A. W. Arkell created a wealth of good will for the Regal Cinema, Walham Green, England. Advertising, apart from announcements on the theatre screen, was accomplished by word-of-mouth only. The whole town got behind the scheme. All the prizes, which included items such as a silver cake stand, lady's handbag, electric iron, electric stove, permanent hairwave appliance, table lamp, train ride to the coast, wine, cigarettes, chocolates, etc., were promoted from local tradesmen in return for acknowledgements on the screen. The word-of-mouth publicity was highly effective with no fewer than 432 entries received. Auditions were held every morning the week before opening to select suitable competitors for the week of the competition. Ten acts were presented each night of the week. The contest final was held on Friday of the week. The British film star, Garry Marsh, was master of ceremonies and presented the prizes. Competitors who failed to win a prize were given complimentary tickets to the following week's performance. Cooper Turns Out Town for World Premiere of Short Manager Max Cooper turned out the town for the world premiere of the short subject, "Hobo Hound," at the Cove theatre, Glen Cove, N. Y. Glen Cove is the home of "Butch," the 250-pound Saint Bernard dog who stars in the film. In addition to special advertising taken by local merchants in the Echo to exploit "Hobo Hound," the premiere received a front page break in the New York World-Telegram and other newspapers. "Butch" was presented from the stage by Don Goddard, radio news commentator for WMCA. Page Ad Exploits School Rally Fourteen local merchants and clubs paid for a full page ad to publicize a school football rally at the Pontiac theatre, Ogdensburg. The ad was promoted by manager Bill Brownstein. Now In Preparation New PREVUE TRAILER SERVICE Well be ready to handle your prevue trailer needs soon. Write today for details. GIVES APPLES TO THEATRE PATRONS A unique idea, put into effect by manager Ed Pureed, garnered a good deal of newspaper publicity and good-will for the Strand theatre, Staunton, Va. Pureed gave away an apple to every patron attending the theatre on the Thursday of National Apple Week. To exploit the unique giveaway, Pureed arranged an attractive display of some of Augusta County's and Shenandoah Valley's finest apple products, with eyeappealing signs and taste-tempting bushelbaskets of fine Virginia apples. The apples were promoted from local growers. The theatre was awarded a certificate by the Staunton-Augusta Chamber of Commerce in recognition of the prize-winning display. Hits High Nate For "Music " A coloring contest and a jitterburg competition gave impetus to the campaign for "Make Mine Music" at the Golden Gate theatre, San Francisco, Cal. The promotions were arranged by RKO publicist Helen Wabbe. The coloring contest was sponsored by the San Francisco News with cash prizes and theatre passes awarded to winners. The tieup netted generous column and art space, including an eight-column banner headline. The jitterbug competition was held on the stage the night before closing. It was publicized by a trailer, with a lobby display, on school bulletin boards, and newspaper ads. The playdate was plugged on George Rugge's "Ballroom of the Air" program over KYA, Les Malloy's 1260 Club daily over the same station, Vic Paulsen's KSAN record program and Frank Cope's broadcast over KJBS. The picture also was mentioned on Bill Baldwin's "Breakfast on Nob Hill" program and his afternoon record hour over KSFO. FILMACK 1327 S. Wabash Ave.. Chic tpecial trailers ! Screens "Strange Woman" For Officials, Critics Manager Milton Kaufman held a midnight screening for Navy officials, Internal Revenue officers, merchants and critics to publicize his playdate of "The Strange Woman" at the State theatre, Norfolk, Va. A week before opening, Joe Brown and his Radio Gang broadcast over WRVA from the stage of the State with the program dedicated to the picture. Amateur performers received prizes ranging from nylon hose to electric toasters. Norfolk dealers contributed the prizes. A 40x60 blow-up of Hedy Lamarr was spotted in the front window of Woolworth's. Twenty-four sheets were posted in 25 locations. McCoy Promotes Canine Contest For "Lassie" A city-wide dog contest highlighted the campaign for "Courage of Lassie" at the Miller theatre, Augusta, Ga. Manager P. E. McCoy arranged a tieup with the city's playgrounds and the Augusta Chronicle for the competitions. There were three classifications, the most attractive "mutt," the most attractive thoroughbred, and the dog most resembling "Lassie." The Chronicle contributed considerable news features and art displays to stir up the interest among youngsters. The newspaper's photographer attended most of the preliminary judgings, taking action shots which later appeared in the paper. Park officials set up a large banner display around the park each day where the eliminations were being held. Special display boards announcing the contest, listing prizes, etc., were set up at recreation centers and in the theatre lobby. The recreation commission also distributed throwaways from house to house. The finals of the contest were held on the stage opening night. A bronze dog trophy was awarded to the three winners in their respective groupings. Guest tickets served as consolation prizes. An attractive dog-house was set up well in advance for a lobby display. The dog-house caused much comment. It was given to a lady from the stage for her husband as a gag. Tieup with Firestone in Waltham Sells "Lassie" A highly advantageous tieup with the local Firestone store was arranged by manager William Hartnett to exploit "Courage of Lassie" at the Embassy theatre, Waltham, Mass. Firestone bought 300 tickets for a special children's showing of the picture. Each child who brought an old tire to the store received a guest ticket to the showing. Firestone ran a cooperative newspaper ad on the showing and also used a window display a week in advance. i MANAGERS' ROUND TABLE, DECEMBER 7, 1946 61