3 Men on a Horse (Warner Bros.) (1936)

all about copy. HORSE ON THREE MEN For sure-fire attention-getter on opening day, rig up a trailer heavy enough to carry a horse, and have three men pull the horse through the main streets. The horse wears long blanket with banner on each side reading: “Ad horse on three men. Now see ‘Three Men on a Horse’ ag Tepe cerry pera a Theatre. Silly eh? — But if it gets folks into theatre, you should worry! 4 HOBBY HORSE IN LOBBY Place a rocking horse — the playroom kind — in your theatre lobby with sign reading — “This 1s the only kind of horse that'll finish up where tt is expected to — right where it starts.’ Hard-bitten racetrack followers ought to appreciate the humor in that. Youngsters can have plenty of fun, too — dare them to get on three at a time, and don’t mind their whoopings too much — it'll help your bally. Page Eight OBVIOUS — BUT A SMASH STUNT N ‘ © stable will rent you one of their effective without a word of copy. Folks will know what you’re driving at even if you work it as a teaser stunt, so take our advice and forget The gag of having three men riding a horse thru the streets is undoubtedly the very first stunt you thought of—and it’s certainly one of the best. Simple, inexpensive and eye-arresting — it’s just what the doctor ordered! So see if local bigger truck horses, equipped with bridle and reins. Then get three of your employees to get on his back and ride around town. We realize that there’ll be an awful temptation to add a sign telling playdate to your bally, but we think the stunt will be much more PAINT THE TOWN RED Send out a painter with a sign on his back saying: “J bet on ‘Three Men on a Horse’—Now I’m painting the town red/” He might stop on conspicuous corners and paint a planted blank sign with “Three Men on a Horse” and the name of your theatre. 4 NOVEL ELECTRIC SIGN Not all theatres have a huge electric sign flashing away at night, but if you’re one of the fortunate ones, you can use it in a novel way. Have your electrician make a three men on a horse outline of bulbs. With your flasher working, you’ll have a nice plug which can be seen for quite a distance from theatre. « SHIRT STORE AD LINE Even shirt stores can be used if you have the proper catchline. One we thought up is: “‘Three Men on a Horse’ say that when they lose thetr shirts it’s always a Bronson (product-name) shirt.” Film will be big news in town and merchants will want to cash in on its popularity. "4 HANGERS TRIM LOBBY The novelty hanger illustrated on page 40 can be used to good advantage as lobby decorations. String them from the ceiling, chandeliers and the walls. Center drop can be‘an enlargement of the hanger. They’re not expensive, and folks will sure know your attraction is “Three Men on a Horse.” HORSE SEEKS 3 MEN | Dress a man in flashy racetrack clothes, and have him lead an old plug—the older the better—around town. Horse wears a sign reading: “Z’m a Horse in Search of Three Men.” Your man can hand out heralds to the gapers, giving the picture an additional plug. K STORE'S SALE TIES UP Get in touch with department store head and see if he’ll tie up on this one: He runs a “Three Men on a Horse Handi cap,” offering three special items on sale — each day. Idea is to keep the items secret, only advertising that there'll be three such specials every day for a certain period. In his ad he tells folks to follow the “Three Men on a Horse,” who will lead customers to the sale items. When folks get to store, they find those small trade marks (the three men on a horse caricature) strung up in a line leading to the” specials. That’s the general idea — but of course it can be augmented with window displays, co-op heralds and ads. K “MEN” GO ROCK-A-BYE An inexpensive display for over box office and under marquee would be a rocking horse with three men on it. Your artist makes it up, and check motor makes the display move backwards and forwards. You can keep the effect smart by not placing any copy near it, because everybody will know what you’re driving at anyway, (J/lustration is Still No. TH-309—10c, on order from Campaign Plan Editor, 321 W. 44th St., N.Y.C.) \