Motion Picture News (Jul-Aug 1919)

512 Motion Picture News Even St. Louis Butcher Shops Advertise " Daddy'' for Sievers Box otficc possilnlilics to exhibitors in co-opiration to be had from drug stores, book stores, dr>-goods stores, music stores, grocery stores, butcher shops, fruit stands and newspaper reporters not atViHated with dramatic departments, were demonstrated in a recent campaign on a special feature attraction by WiUiam Sievers, manager of the New Grand Central tlicatre, St. Louis. The assistance of his publicity man and the most tactful and diplomatic aid of the other employees of the theatre to cover this variety of sources through which he hoped to obtain patronage and incidentally to set a new record for the theatre, was enlisted by Mr. Sievers because he knew that he himself could not arrange all the many things he wanted for his sensationally broad exploitation of " Daddy Long Legs." The greatest and most important part of the Campaign was the orphan element. Knowledge of the appeal of parentless children to practically «ver> one, whether a theatregoer or not, guided Mr. Sievers in making this one of the most striking features of his exploitation. The big publicity campaign was opened with a flourish when Mr. Sievers invited the children in the scores of orphan asylums to be his guests at the showing of " Daddy Long Legs " on any afternoon except Saturday or Sunday. And the kids came— flocks and droves of them from every section of St. Louis. The newspapers saw " copy " and pictures in this stunt and sob sisters were hurried out of the offices without having time to powder their noses. And this exploit was but the first of a series that made St. Louis sit up and take notice. " Don't overlook a single bet ! " This was the gist of instructions from Gen. Sievers when he called his army of employees about him for instructions on the big drive, with the result that: Every book store in St. Louis turned over its display window to the book, " Daddy Long Legs." This was a popular sign in their windows : " This is the book Mary Pickf ord paid $40,000 for the right to turn it into a movie. Is it worth sixty cents to you? See it in pictures at the New Grand Central." Music stores got busy with a flaring display of the "Daddy Long Legs" song. Many of the stores featured the new tune before the request of the New Grand Central reached them. St. Louis's leading grocery stores made a play on jam. In a window stocked with jams and jellies could be found a picture of Mary Pickford and this sign : "This is the kind of jam Judy fed to the orphans. See Mary Pickford as Judy in ' Daddy Long Legs,' now playing at the New Grand Central theatre — and buy that jam here." Dr>' goods stores displayed bolts of striped gingham with cards stating: " This is the sort of material from which Mary Pickford's costumes were made for her latest play, ' DADDY LONG LEGS,' now showing at the New Grand Central theatre." Half a dozen bulclier shops displayed huge soup GRAND CENTRAL PAL^ftCE Of MASTER PICTUREI v ,;■ GRAND AND LUCAJ-i, LAST WEEK! LAST WEEK! MARY PICKFORD —IN "DADDY LONG LEGS'' Her Greatest Picture Daddy Long Legs-^As "Judy' Imagined He Looked N E I L A N HUMFELD'S AUGtJMENTED CONCERT ORCHESTRA Shows Start at 2, 3:5(y, 5:30, 7:45 and 9:15 P. M. Prices, Before 5:30, 15c; After, 15c and 25c Children Under 12, With Parents, Free to Matinees Except Saturday and Sunday ' Love story of an orplian " featured in all the adverising This two column, nine inch, got over the "kid" appeal for the final week bones, absolutely devoid of meat, so hungry-looking that they forced their ways to public attention in the show windows. And big signs read : " This is the kind of soup bones the superintendent of the Greer Orphanage bought to feed Judy, Freckles and the other children. See Mary Pickford portray Judy in ' Daddy Long Legs ' at the New Grand Central." Piles of big red apples, just out of cold storage and selling for a dime each, were stacked high on the show cases of the fruit stands and large signs informed patrons that: '■ This is a sample lot of the apples from which was made the Apple Jack that tangled the legs of Mary Pickford as Judy in 'DADDY LONG LEGS,' now showing at the New Grand Central." Illustrating the unique and intense advertising work that was employed in the exploitation of this attraction is the use to which Mr. Sievers put a benefit ball game between the New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, and a demonstration by the anti-submarine flotilla. The ball game was for the benefit of the St. Louis Tuberculosis Society. Score cards containing coupons for prizes were sold ]yy St. Louis society girls. Included in the lists of prizes were seats to " Daddy Long Legs." Within ten feet of the mooring place for the anti-submarine fleet could be found a large sign stating: "This Whole Fleet Could Not Have Frightened tlie Superintendent of the Greer Orphanage Where Judy Was Reared. After Seeing the Submarine Flotilla go to the New Grand Central and See Fiiiley Uses Local Interest in Every Way to Put Over the Fullest Appeal (Continued from page 501) our theatre artist. He has the ability to put down in black and white the ideas the two of us together get up. While the drawing and special cut add materially to the cost of the advertisement, its distinctiveness and individuality will stand out in the paper and dominate the page and sometimes even, the whole paper when placed in a good position. An advertising man should not be hampered by the cost of his cuts and his ads. I do not mean that ht should be encouraged to spend more than a legitirmate amount, but he should be allowed free rein. The advertising or publicity manager who is worth the most is the one who puts over the most free publicity in proportion to the amount of money spent. In the last amusement section of theDallas Times-Herald our publicity stories and cutsamounted to three thousand agate lines, while our advertising was a little more than one thousandagate lines. Mr. Hulsey is like any other exhibitor — he prefers paying for the one thousand and getting the three thousand gratis. When I took over the advertising the Herald had the Sunday amusement pages sandwiched in behind the want ads. at the back end of the section. Asa rule it all ran on two pages sometimes running over on the third with a mass or mess of outside matter between stories. That was less than four months ago. I took the matter up with the Herald and showed them how and why their attitude toward amusements was all wrong. Today amusements occupy the front end of the section and usually occupy five full pages. Advertising for which the amusement rate is paid is worth more in the long run than commercial advertising. Publicity stories and cuts give patrons a short analysis of the play as well as a Ukenessof the star or a scene from the play. To try tO' get all this in an ad. would jam it up and it would lose its selling value. The personality of a star is the greatest asset I believe that an advertising man has. Dimpled Dorothy Dalton in "The Homebreaker" carries more weight with the public than Dorothy Dalton in "The Homebreaker ;" it is the personal touch. Because of the fact that Clarine Seymour was Cutie Beautiful in "The Girl Who Stayed at Home" it gave me something to work on in advertising her in "True Heart Susie." Patroris remembered her as "Cutie Beautiful," but forgot her entirely as Clarine Seymour. Newspapers I think are more valuable than billboards on the regular run of pictures. But don't forget to hit them with a billboard campaign when you want to put it over big. Show the public you believe you have the goods and they will show you that they are with you. Lobby displays and cooperative window displays are exceptionally good when properly worked up, but they are only good on a special attraction or something out of the ordinary. Above all things have confidence in your ability. If you haven't got confidence in yourself step out for the man who has. Some day your employer will find the man and you will be out, for you never get to be so great than there is not someone else a little bit the greater. The exhibitor who has an advertising man, should not worry him with a request to see the copy before it goes to the paper. Let him work out the ad. campaign ; that is what you pay him for. If he retorts that "it can't be done," fire him and look for the man who says "it can be done." Mary Pickford as Judy in ' Daddy Long-Legs." Who pasted those big heralds about " Daddy Long Legs" on the tails of the seaplanes? Who pasted photographs of Mary Pickford on the fuselage? And who induced the army fliers who were cavorting over St. Louis to drop thousands of heralds from the skies? That hasn't been announced. But it was no mystery to Mr. Sievers.