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Wh the Advertising Brains
AWeekly Discussion ot The New: Unusual ,j"d Novel in promotion Aids
CONDUCTED BY BEN H. GRIMM
T IE exhibitor has his choice of presenting \\ arner Brothers’ picturization of Kathleen Norris’ novel either as “Lucretia Lombard,” the original title of the book, or as “Flaming Passion.”
AND therein lies a most emphatic answer to the horde of lay and newspaper critics who have taken motion picture producers harshly to task for changing titles of plays and books when the latter are made into screen productions.
WE stress the importance of this idea of changing titles in this department largely because we believe that a well known title is bought chiefly because of its supposed advertising value. But we are not going into a lengthy discourse as to the comparative merits of an “original” title as opposed to a “box office” title. All we are interested in is advertising and advertising values.
We don’t know how many copies of “Lucretia Lombard” were sold or how many persons read the book. But we do know that to the large majority of fans the title “Lucretia Lombard” means little or nothing. There is no denying, however, that Kathleen Nor
ris’ name means a lot at the box office. The question is, therefore, how much more does the title “Flaming Passions” mean in an advertising sense than the title “Lucretia Lombard?”
It will be interesting to learn just what percentage of exhibitors choose the original title and what percentage choose to present the picture under its “box office” title.
This six-sheet on Mae Murray’s forthcoming Metro production adapts itself particularly for use as a marquee cutout. The single figure may also be used alone as lobby cutout. Other posters in the line also are good for cutouts.
r JNDER Warner Brothers’ plan the choice of title is put up squarely to the exhibitor, and the degree in which the plan meets favor with exhibitors may be a gauge to producers in the future as to what course to pursue regarding titles — and may be a means of proving to the critics just whose “fault” it is that titles are changed.
THIS is the first time, to our knowledge, that a picture has been released under a choice of titles, with the exception of a state right picture issued some months ago, which did not get such a national distribution as the Warner release is assured.
The decision to give exhibitors the option as to the title under which to present their picture was a last-minute proposition with the Warner executives, we are informed, and for that reason there is only a limited amount of advertising matter available under the title “Flaming Passion.”
Included in this latter is a twentyfour-sheet, a six-sheet, a three-sheet and a one-sheet, as well as a special slide. There is also ready, of course, a special main title and a special trailer. These are not illustrated or mentioned in the press book, due to
Samples of the Posters on Preferred's “May Time ”
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Preferred has been issuing some good paper on its releases. For “Maytime” Jerry Beatty has designed some novel t “idea ’ posters , of which are reproduced above both three-sheets and both one-sheets. Our only complaint with the posters is the over-abundance of credit lines. But contracts are contracts — and motion picture genius must be served!