The Moving picture world (April 1921)

April 2, 1921 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 487 Selling the Picture to the Public So EPES WINTHROP SARGENT fl$Sit\ Newspaper Makes Cartoon Hook-up to Sell Gump Releases in Lancaster, Pa. Cartoon Gives Boost to Loew Cleveland Houses M. A. Maloney, of the Loew houses in Cleveland, put over a good stunt the other day when he persuaded the Plain Dealer to give about half of a local cartoon page to the theatres. The general idea is that the public is theatre-mad, and the chief appeal shows a family living in a box at a Loew theatre, with another box "for rent" just below, the reader suggesting that it would save time to move the household over to the theatre. Another sketch shows a man in his undies waiting for his wife to mend his trousers, with "Mr. So and So, whose family is now living at the State Theatre, drops in at noon to get his trousers repaired." There are a couple more sketches along the same lines, and the half page probably did the houses more good than the heavy Sunday advertising. It sells the theatre idea and not merely one attraction. Ruth Roland in Atlanta Kept the Coppers Busy These two pictures from Atlanta tell the story of Ruth Roland's stay in that southern city on her way back to Los Angeles. The theatre is the Alpha, where the first episode of "The Flaming Arrow" was being shown, and includes only the standout for the matinee. The other is one of several groups in which some of the kiddies were lifted to the seventh heaven of delight by being photographed with the star. They knew that they probably would never see the picture, but to be that close to Ruth — well it was not only the kiddies. Look at the face of the fat policeman. It took at least two men of the uniformed force tea keep her from being crushed to death, for the youngsters picked her up at sight and she led a larger parade than even Jack Dempsey could command. It just goes to show what personal appearance will do. This was a cleanup. JAY EMANUEL, of the Royal Pictures, handling the Gump cartoon comedies in the Philadelphia district, sends in a stunt worked between the Hippodrome theatre, Lancaster, Pa., and the Examiner-New Era which is a step ahead of anything yet done for a cartoon comedy, and which is something any medium-sized -town can work. News butchers know that the best way to sell a man a bag of peanuts on a train is to give him a peanut and let him get the taste. Then he will want more. This is the peanut idea worked in pretty much the same fashion. The Examiner-New Era uses the Gump cartoons, and the Hippodrome runs the pictures. Each strip is labeled "See the Gumps first half of the week at the Hippodrome theatre." That's old stuff, done for several cartoon strips in many towns. This Is It But the paper goes further. Any subscriber can enroll in the Glorious Order of Gumps on applying to the newspaper office. He gets an "identification card." This card will admit to the Hippodrome any Tuesday afternoon up to five o'clock on payment of the war tax. The offer holds good for five weeks, and the card will be good for all five performances. This sells the cartoon idea for the paper. It helps the circulation department. It is something to talk about. On the other hand, it also helps the theatre, for the house gives away only five poor matinee days. It is glad to get people in to go out and talk about the cartoons and the rest of the show. It is perfectly willing to give away these shows if only for the press stuff about the other attractions that the Examiner-New Era has to run to sell its own idea. And the stunt does not confine itself to those who are able to attend the matinees. If it only served to appeal to those few who have leisure in the afternoons, it would not be worth much. It is good because every person who attends the afternoon performance represents a family. Each spectator goes home and tells father and mother or her husband or others what a good show the Hippodrome has. It sells the same show at the night performances for full price. If Johnnie tells Dad that Annette Kellerman looks great in a swimming suit, Dad pretends not to hear, but later on he tells "Mother" that perhaps a trip to the Hippodrome will help her tired feeling. Johnnie got in free, but he sold two cash, full price admissions. Then Dad and Mother go, and the next day they make sure of getting the paper to see a new Gump cartoon. Min and Andy are now personal friends of theirs. Try It Yourself It will work for other comic strips than the Gumps, but it will work best if elaborately done. Even the membership card is an advertisement for both the house and the newspaper. Merely offering free admissions would not bring as much advertising. It would not send out several hundred persons, each with a membership card to be shown others and to advertise the picture each time it is shown. There may be some even greater refinements, but this takes the idea far enough. Read this over again and go see your own editor. ' Very likely he is looking for a good circulation scheme, too. Most daily papers are. And if you help him sell, he'll be less keen on the blue-pencil work on the rest of your copy, too. NO COP KICKED AT OVERTIME WORK BECAUSE HE HAD TO PROTECT RUTH ROLAND IN ATLANTA Not one of them threatened to quit the force and turn burglar or pirate nor something because he had to work extra hours keeping the kids off the toes and heels of the popular Pathe serial star. As long as they could see her themselves they were willing to go without meals, and it took a couple of them most of the time, for there was not a kid in Atlanta who could not spot her