Happiness Ahead (Warner Bros.) (1934)

ITH THESE 25 ‘HAPPINESS WEEK ANGLES “Happiness Week” Parade Remember N.R.A. Day and the gigantic parades in every city? Well, why not stage a similar parade to inaugurate “Happiness Week?” If your town had an N.R.A. parade, you know how it’s done. If not, here’s the rough idea: First, get all the merchants behind the parade. Have them agree to allow their employees two hours off on the day of the parade to march. On parade day, the whole town gets out to march, each organization with appropriate banners mentioning ‘Happiness Week.” All the bands should be down in full uniform, to keep the marchers in tune and in time. Energetic merchants will enter lavish floats to make the occasion colorful. Here’s an idea for a special news story. STREET PAGEANT TO START HAPPINESS WEEK FESTIVITIES Lead by Mayor ................ AO Ss okt (name ) who has been appointed Grand Marshall, with ............. (number) brass bands, and scores of gaily decorated floats, and innumerable surprises, .............. ’s (name of city) first Happiness Parade will leave ................ (starting point) exactly at ............ (time) on ............ (date) to inaugurate a week of special activities that has for its main objective the employment, during the week of every jobless man and woman in the city, the entertainment of visitors and a seven day period devoted to making other people, and each other, happy. Firemen, police, political marching clubs, fraternal societies, civic associations, and social and business organizations will be in line. There will be many gorgeously decorated floats, and prizes have been provided for the best drill team, the most attractively uniformed group, the most grotesquely attired organization, the most beautiful float, the most original costume, the most unique “stunt” and other special features. The route of the parade is as follows: (List exact route and probable time of passing certain prominent places) The reviewing stand will be located at ................ (state location). The judges will be (list names) (If city is erecting a grandstand, state location, price of seats and other details) y y Special Trailer Make up a special trailer announcing ‘‘Happiness Week” for a few weeks before playdate. In the trailer, give credit /, + | Ye MI ing Wee to the merchants supporting the drive and invite the town to join with you and the business men in making this one grand week. Merchants will appreciate the plug and should cooperate more strongly in cooperative ads and window displays. CU” LwT> Snipe the Town An attractive sticker reading “Celebrate Happiness Week,” is available on page 14. Order a goodly supply of these and start sniping ’em. Tag every sign, poster, billboard and street car ad in town. With permission of the merchants, slap the stickers on every window on Main Street. Make sure that everyone knows that Happiness Week is comin’. Sing It! See the special ‘“‘Happi ness Ahead” lyrics on page 19 for your official theme song of Happiness Week. Be sure local radio stations get behind the ‘‘Happiness Week’’ drive. This can best be done by spotting an announcement after every program, calling on all to “Celebrate Happiness Week.” This should be effective, especially if done after a national hookup, when most of the town’s listening in. Also ask cooperating merchants to mention the week on their programs, dedicating particularly happy songs to it. jf bi beae Wi My, “Classified” Plug Suggest that local papers plug Happiness Week through their “Classified Ad” sections. Sections should start with a banner, ‘‘Celebrate Happiness Week” and then go on to ask readers to give a job through the Classified Ads. On the following days, paper can list how many jobs were given through the paper on the previous day. Satety Campaign In New York City, the Motor Vehicle Bureau and Police Dept. are staging a giant safety campaign. Boulevards are banked with signs warning, **‘Drive Slowly — Prevent Accidents—Safety First.’ Enlist the cooperation of local AAA branch, Police Depart DRIVE CAREFULLY LETS HAVE A M/N/IMUM OF ACCIDENTS DURING| ment, and the License Commission. Suggest they start a similar drive in conjunction with Happiness Week, with the slogan, “Make it a real Happiness Week by Driving Carefully.” Keep the campaign in the public eye with statements from the License Commissioner, the Police Commissioner and the Mayor. y dp, Mh “) Dy yay LL Turn To Page 20 For Details of the POSTAL TELLY TIE-UP Nite Clubbing Nite clubs and roadhouses are always looking for a special night to bolster business. Suggest that they announce ‘*Happiness Night” on the opening of ‘Happiness Week.” Event to start at 12 o’clock so as not to interfere with your business. Publicity and advertising on the event should give the night a New Year’s Eve-like appearance. Be sure that songs are plugged plenty by orchestras and entertainers. Do Your Good Turn! Here’s your chance to do a good turn for some worthy family in town, and plug “Happiness Week” at the same time. Plan is to find a worthy but very poor family, at present living on charity. Newspaper is enlisted, with slogan “‘There’s Happiness Ahead for some worthy family of Syracuse.” All dealers in town cooperate by donating an article for the family chosen. They should join in, not only for the charitable act itself, but for the resultant publicity. Thus, one donates a set of furniture, a grocer offers a complete line of provisions, real estate people donate a small plot of land, lumber company donates necessary lumber, builders offer to put up a small house ete. Newspaper asks three prominent society women who are interested in charitable work to join the movement, as judges. Their committee investigates all cases, and finally chooses the family they think most worthy of the award. Daily publicity stories run in the paper, and when the family is finally chosen, the photographers and human interest reporters get hot on the story. Family can be down to opening of picture, and possibly make a short talk from the stage, thanking the city and the theatre for putting them on their feet ete.’ j 1 Vp yf ht Wiig uf My if My Weep Happy Snapshots Have a_ photographer walk around town snapping people with happy expressions on_ their faces. These photos can be mounted in your lobby, under heading “‘Celebrate Happiness Week with these happy people of Syracuse.’’ Same stunt can be reworked as a contest with newspaper cooperation. Passes go to the ten happiest looking people snapped by the roving photog daily. SS Suggestion Box Well in advance of the picture, place a box in all important places of ee | IDEAS HAPPINESS WEEK KINDLY PLACEIN THIS BOX Ahi = your city, asking for sug gestions and ideas on how to celebrate “Happiness Week.” Supply each suggestion box with plenty of paper and pencils. Value: not only will it create interest in ““Happiness Week,”’’ but it might provide some very practical ideas from local thinker-uppers. yn? a wing nf (rama Teg TE Ss Poster Contest During the N.R.A. campaign, a contest was held for the official poster. From the thousands of entries, one was selected. Do the same thing in your town, conducting a prize contest for the official ‘“Happiness Week” poster. Publicize contest among all art schools and artist groups. A prize to the winning poster. Have plenty of them printed and pasted all over town. Happiness Rose Suggest that local florist dedicate a rose to “Happiness Week,” flower to be called the “Happiness Rose.” Florists’ plug the rose in their ads ° and window displays. It’s ' a good way to plant stills’ in their windows, too. LT My LUT Just a Minute.. Thus ends the “Happiness Week” campaign. However, if you’re going to do it up in grand style, there are loads of “happiness ideas in the general exploitation section which are adaptable. Look ’em over! Page Fifteen