The Moving picture world (January 1920-February 1920)

February 7, 1920 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 883 What Bleich Has Done Will Work for You How George A. Bleich Gets the Confidence of Patrons LIKE Houdini, "Bleich" has become a dictionary word in the lexicon of the showman. To "Bleich" your advertising is to tell the truth, even if it hurts a little at the time. Sometimes it may cut down business, but for every dollar George A. Bleich loses by telling the truth about a weak film he gets a hundred on other subjects. He does not have to take a full page advertisement to make people think he has something better than usual. He can tell it in the usual space and the town will turn out because they know it will be so. Here's a little example of how it works. He had Constance Binney in her first production. She was unknown to his patrons. He took a single 11 1/3, told the story briefly and added : You come and see Constance In this play on my say so of being well pleased.— Bleich. That was all he needed. A page of press stuff and criticisms and other corroborative evidence could have done no more than these four lines in ten point. Bleich said so. His patrons knew it would be so. He never has to sell through superlatives. He just tells what he knows. Here are some examples taken at random: "THE VENGEANCE OF DURAND." The story by Rex Beach and is quite tragic. It is an elaboration of the old famous Vitajfraph picture, in which Earl Williams and Edith Storey appeared some years ago. "THE LIFE LINE." A big melodrama with thrills — advanture romance galore! Spectacular and big. Be sure and see it. "THE THIRD KISS." Harrison Ford Is the Hero. And it's a very dillerent picture than the ones you have usually seen Vivian in. It isn't a simple little love story — It is of a stirring nature, melodramatic and exciting— the kind that makes you set up and talie notice, keeps you busy watclung every minute. BOND OF LOVE. An absorbing drama of love and sacriflce; a page from the book of life. It will tug at your heart-strings; it will bring tears to your eyes and a smile to your lips. Really the best Pauline Frederick Picture seen here in a great while. — Bleich. Mr. Bleich does more than save space with this policy. He makes and holds friends. He is adding a fourth theatre to his local string with a fifth in prospect when building material can be had. Another recent stunt was to launch a serial with souvenirs to all the kiddies. And he added: "If you haven't the price of admission, come anyway and we'll pass you in." That is an old idea, but it never fails to work. —P. T. A.— Used Shoe Exhibit as Excuse for Ad Film T THOMAS D. SORIERO, of the Strand, Lowell, Mass., used an exhibition of odd boots and shoes to put over an advertising film. It was a successful camouflage and made the audience like the paying feature. For two weeks the lobby of the Strand was filled with show cases containing displays of shoes, some of them said to be a couple of centuries old. The second week a film was shown advertising the making of shoes by modern machinery. Apparently it 'was a follow to the shoe display and not the real reason for the display and for this reason it was accepted where a straight advertising film might have made trouble. It also helped displays of the shoes advertised in the windows of the local shops, apparently an independent hook-up, but presumably a part of the general scheme. It gives a new angle to the much discussed advertising film problem. P. T. A. Is There Magic in the Name El Dorado? There must be magic in the name of El Dorado. Out in Eldorado, 111., Steve Farrar has hustled until he has three theatres where he had but one. In El Dorado, Kansas, H. G. Ramsey is a hustler, too. He sends in the first of a series of weekly five twenties to show he started the New Year right. He writes: "This is quite a large display for a 400 show, but the space sells for only twenty cents an inch and I have found that good newspaper advertising always pays." It assuredly does do that very Publiitwd Every SMunUy by Ra,.J Tbutn h tte Inttral of tb. I^trow —AKNOVNCEMeNT A Weekly Five Twenties from Howard G. Ramsey. thing, but it takes nerve, even at that, to plank down $20 a week for just one display and then build up with a daily space, but Mr. Ramsey plans to make this weekly a sort of miniature magazine, with cuts and readers as well as the announcement of the program for the week, and we think it is going to bring in many times the twenty dollars he pays. It will not be easy money to trace. That is one fault with this style of stuff. You do not advertise any single attraction. You advertise not alone the week, but the pictures in general, and you cannot put your finger on any one night and say that that space brought in an extra ten dollars. You must sense the results; you must even be willing to wait for the full results, and here is where many managers fall by the way side. They do not give the big space time to sink in. They put it in the Saturday issue and want to see the whole twenty come back to the box office Monday evening. It is the wrong idea. No breakfast food man ever put in a single advertisement and expected it to sell a given number of packages of his product. He advertises broadcast and then watches the general result on his business. Theatre managers must learn to be willing to wait for results. It is probable that the space will do Mr. Ramsey more than twenty dollars' worth of good even the first week, but he will not be able to put his finger on any particular money and say that is the direct return. He knows that it will pay in the long run and he will keep on. Others will be less patient and lose the best eflfect. He knows. Others are impatient and lose the full value of their investment. He sends in some goodlooking smaller spaces for single attractions, varying his space to fit the attraction. He has a terse, definite style. He doesn't go in for fine writing or the "greatest ever" style of stuff. He starts out to sell film by talking about its good points, moderately and with conviction. We shall be glad if he puts us on his regular mailing list, for he is in the El Dorado class. There are many more El Dorados in other states. Let's hear from them all. —P. T. A.— H. M. Addison Disclaims Credit Due Another Man BECAUSE H. M. Addison seemed a fixture at the Oneonta Theatre, we credited him some issues back with some particularly good advertising, but he very promptly wrote giving the credit to Edward R. Moore, for he has moved on to Binghamton, where he has charge of the Stone Opera House and the New Binghamton. He writes of Mr. Moore: He Is one of those few regular fellows. Came in slow and kept his eyes open^ after a month on the ground worked out fc] ALAWAV8 YOUR HIOWEVS WORTH. B»>T *r» UNUSUfll BARaAIM TODAVl The Border Used by All of the Hathway Houses his own ideas, and now a fixture wlthi the firm. Seeing the wonderful opportunities by using a special border, our Boss ordered the same border for all houses, and now the ten houses use thia border exclusively.