Motion Picture News (Oct 1913 - Jan 1914)

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TURNING WORDS INTO DIMES Sane and Sensible Advertising by the Exhibitors as a Stimulant to Box Office Legerdemain By E. J. HUDSON "AH DEAR, I've been in the house vly all day, without a bit of outdoor exercise,'' complained Mrs. Oneof A. Million. "Where do you want to go?" asked Mr. Oneof A. Million, pausing in his perusal of the evening paper to gaze at his wife. "Let's walk downtown and go to a motion picture show, and then walk back." "All right, but which theatre do you want to go to?" "Read the advertisements, and see which looks the best." Turning to one of the inside pages, the husband scrutinized several columns of closely written advertising. "Here's one, the Hippodrome," he said at length. "How does this sound?" " 'Hippodrome To-night' " '"A Marvelous Sensation inThree Tremendous Reels, "The Mountain Girl at Bay." Another Big Surprise Comedy, "Helping the Rich." Don't Fail to See "Donald, the Desperate," To-night Only. See the Hair-raising, Death-defying Race Between the Locomotive and the Automobile! See the Terrible Blood-curdling Third Degree! See the Breathsuspending Struggle on the Brink of the Precipice, and a Hundred Other Big Thrills — One of the Most Elaborate and Stupendous Productions of the Year. To-night Only. Prices Ten, Fifteen and Twenty.' " "Aren't there any others?" asked Mrs. Oneof A. Million. "Yes, here's the Lyric's ad," continued her husband. It says: " 'We Have Eliminated Eye Strain from Our Pictures. " 'We Have Made an Exhaustive Study of Projection, and as a Result Our Pictures Are Clear, Steady and Easily Watched, without any of the Usual Strain upon the Eyes. " 'The Chairs in the Lyric Are Big, Roomy and Comfortable. You Won't Tire of Sitting in Them. " 'We Aim to Please You. Our Ushers are Courteous and Attentive and Look after Your Every Want While in the Lyric. " 'Our Theatre is Never Entirely Dark — Hence No Stum bling over Seats or Other People's Feet When You Enter. " 'The Lyric Is Easily Accessible to All Principal Points in the Business Section. " 'We Try to Please Our Patrons. Your Presence Will Give Us an Opportunity to Prove It. "'To-day's Program: A Laughable Comedy, "Helping the Rich," "The Mountain Girl at Bay," a Three-reel Drama of the Early Pioneer Days. "Donald, the Desperate," a Two-reel Drama of Unusual Interest. " 'Our Prices Are Ten, Fifteen and Twenty Cents.' " "Oh, let's go to the Lyric," requested Mrs. Oneof A. Million when her husband concluded reading the advertisement. "I always get a headache from watching pictures at the Hippodrome, and besides, the backs of their chairs are too straight." The foregoing incident, while purely fictitious, illustrates the attitude of millions of thinking men and women upon the question of "which theatre to go to." Advertisements, or, in the language of advertising experts, "ad copy," is a big and vital factor in the welfare and success of every motion picture theatre in the United States. It can mould opinion, bring esteem and respect, and it can turn many nickles and dimes from the box office, or cause them to flow in greater numbers into the bank accounts of the exhibitors. It all depends upon the exhibitor and his manager. Men and women in cities of practically every size, from the little town of three to five thousand population, to the cities reaching into one hundred to two hundred thousand, look to the local daily newspapers as their buying guides. Their confidence in their own particular daily paper is unlimited. This may seem far fetched, but it has been proven in thousands of instances. What they read in it they nearly always believe without question or doubt. It is the exhibitor's best market in which to list and display his wares. A window trimmer, employed by the owners of a big department store, does not work simply with the idea of filling the window space with various articles. He strives for unique effects, arrangement of goods that will attract particular attention to them, and for artistic decorations, giving to passers-by an idea of dignity and refinement, and last, but far from least, quality. So it should be with the exhibitor. Joining together of words requires thought, time and study. Like articles selected for display in any window, they must be arranged in the best conceivable manner, so that no offense will be given to the refined, and so that after the first superficial glance by the reader, there will be sufficient verbiage of a good substantial nature to hold his attention and, eventually, sell him. One Big Argument Continually Featured Essential The advertising history of any manufacturer of a nationally advertised product will show that his success has been built chiefly upon the selection of one great big vital selling point in his ad copy. That is hammered incessantly into the minds and visions of the readers of magazines and newspapers, and weaving other points of interest around it, so that the combination leaves a lasting memory. Then when the actual product itself is seen in the store, the idea of quality is so spontaneous with the appearance of the product that a sale, in nine cases out of ten, seems inevitable. Men who have made a lifelong study of advertising strive to achieve that very result, and millions upon millions of dollars are being spent annually to accomplish it. That fact in itself convinces one of the need of one salient point concerning any product featured day after day. and week after week, in all advertising copy. To insert daily, or tri-weekly advertisements in a local newspaper, with nothing but the name of the theatre as a heading, the words, "Today's Program," and then a list of the pictures under it with the admission prices as a close, borders close upon the extravagant; and dimes and nickels are almost too wary to permit of business extravagances. A definite purpose should be kept in mind when advertising copy concerning a motion picture theatre is being written. Perhaps there is some especial feature in the theatre which belongs to no other house in the city; perhaps it is particularly well located in respect to stores, or car lines; maybe it has an unusually large number of exits, or any one of a thousand other distinctive features. It is safe to assume that there is not more than two out of every ten motion.