Moving Picture World (Jul - Aug 1918)

664 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD August 3, 1918 Advertising Men's Convention a Success b b ■ a Gathering in San Francisco, Largest in Historg of Organization, Hears Much of Screen Exploitation By T. A. Church. THE fourteenth annual convention of the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World was held at San Francisco July 7 to 11 and was a tremendous success, being the greatest gathering in the history of the organization. Service to the Government in war time was its underlying theme, and from the commencement of the great inspirational meeting in the Greek theater, where twelve thousand persons gathered to pay their respects to Charles M. Schwab, director of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, until the last picture faded from the screen in the theater fitted up in the city hall every gathering was turned into a patriotic demonstration. Moving pictures played by far a greater part on the program of this convention than ever before, illustrating their steady advance as a medium of spreading information to which wide publicity might be desired, as well as the invasion of new fields in commercial advertising. One of the features of the first business session, held on the morning of July 8, was an address by C. R. Macauley, the famous cartoonist of New York, on "How the Film Play Educates the Public Mind to War Necessities." He prefaced his talk on moving pictures with a scathing arraignment of the Hun. The value of moving pictures was almost too apparent, he said, to be dwelt upon at length, every one having had an opportunity during the past year to witness their subtle influence in molding public opinion. Great as their influence had been, however, he suggested that there were still greater possibilities, and asked that advertising men work to give them a still larger space in the work of recording war activities. He stated that films were being exhibited in Russia, showing the work of this country in the fight against autocracy, and that the results secured were very pleasing Mr. Macauley has been interested in moving pictures for years, and early in 1914 induced Andrew Carnegie to set aside $250,000 to produce a play hinting at a world-wide war. Work was under way on this when war actually broke out. He has produced a long film, "Humanity," which has the approval of the Government as war propaganda. Screen Advertiser*' Association Meets. On Monday afternoon the Screen Advertisers' Association held a departmental meeting in the rooms of the volunteer fire department in the Exposition Auditorium. Chairman Harry Levey, of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company, was not present, and a telegram was received later, stating that business in Washington prevented his making the trip to the Pacific Coast as planned. There was a fair gathering of advertising enthusiasts from the West, including some from Texas, Montana, Hawaii, with a number from California, and an interesting informal session was held, with Tiery L. Ford, until recently with the Animated Cartoon Film Corporation of this city and second vicepresident of the Screen Advertisers' Association of the World, filling the position of chairman. On Tuesday afternoon Chairman Ford called the meeting to order at 2 o'clock and delivered an illuminating address on moving picture advertising. He declared that he could not definitely define advertising, that the authorities he consulted gave confusing answers, but that whatever it may be it is a powerful force and one that lends itself peculiarly to the screen. He liked best to describe it as applied psychology, or mental appeal, involving a knowledge of mental processes and the art of directing their operation. He traced the history of advertising down to the present time, and declared that the first newspaper publishers had the same difficulty in interesting men to advertise their wares that screen advertisers have had. Beall Tells of Screen's Accomplishments. Ham Beall, publicity expert from the Universal studio at Universal City, delivered the message that was to have been brought to the convention b*y Harry Levey. He outlined in detail the work that had been done during the past year to promote Red Cross drives, Liberty Bond sales and many other campaigns for funds through the medium of the screen, declaring that this had been supplemented in a manner possible in no other medium — that of showing in actual scenes the use to which the money subscribed was being put. Attention was directed to the value of the screen in encouraging enlistments and in showing the folks at home how carefully their boys are being cared for. He told of the great work of the moving picture stars in selling Liberty Loan bonds and in collecting funds, of the large amounts received by the Government in taxes on films and admissions, and of the wide use being made by news weeklies of matters connected with war activities. B. O. Youngman, of the Kale-Alta Slide Company of San Francisco, spoke on "Slides and the War," and told of the thousands of slides that were made on short order and furnished at cost to advertise the many drives for funds made by the Government. James P. Simpson of Dallas delivered a splendid address on "The Fifth Estate," as he chose to call advertising films. He outlined the manner in which screen advertising had been developed in Texas, stating that his company operated a regular service in Fort Worth, Waco and Dallas and handled country business out of the latter city. In Dallas fourteen theaters are being served, and in each his concern has an exclusive contract, for which it pays from $50 to $300 a month. Screen advertising there has come to be regarded as an established institution, the same as newspapers and billboards, and advertisers include it in their regular appropriations. No theaters in Dallas refrain from using this form of advertising, and it is kept interesting by weekly changes. In the country districts changes are made less frequently, but nothing is shown for more than two weeks at any theater. Mr. Simpson was originally in the theater program business and later tried curtain publicity work, finally taking up the screen end of the business, which he finds to be the most profitable of all for clients. He considers the screen to be supreme in the advertising field for results, as it reaches the most people, a class of people who spend their money, and reaches them while they are in a receptive mood. He declared that moving pictures had already done great things, but that still greater things were in store for them, particularly in commercial lines. The doors of commerce with the world would soon be open, he said, and he felt that members of the Associated Advertising Clubs would be sure to make great use of them in promoting the business of the nation. The meeting adjourned without an election of officers with the understanding that the present ones would serve during the ensuing year. These consist of Joe Brandt, New York, president; R. R. Hollister, Dayton, Ohio, first v'cepresident ; Tirey L. Ford, San Francisco, second vice-president; W. A. Harris, secretary, and W. F. Herzberg, treasurer. Throughout the convention moving pictures of an advertising nature were shown in the city hall in one of the finest rooms ever given over to an exhibition of this kind. Through the courtesy of Mayor James Rolph, Jr., the use of the supervisors' chambers was secured, and a moving picture machine and booth was installed here by H. B. Parson and Peter Boyle, of Moving Picture Operators' Union No. 162. The arrangements for the display of advertising film were made by a committee of members of the screen department of the San Francisco Advertising Club, headed by W. D. Tarn, of the Tarn Film Company. BEVERLY GRIFFITH JOINS OUT. Beverly Griffith, personal representative of Joe Brandt, assistant treasurer of the Universal, who has been in the Northwest for a coupe of months helping the sales forces out of Portland and Seattle offices on the handling of shortreel subjects, has hopped out of films into the war game. He has enlisted in the aviation section of the signal corps. Griffith was busy putting the move in movies in the sales end for about six months before he went to Uncle Sam. Before that he was in Universal City for five years.