The Big Stampede (Warner Bros.) (1932)

Ideas That Sell Ac Cowboy Song Contest Run a contest on the stage to find the best singer of cowboy songs in town. Have the singers, men, women and children, appear in costume if possible. Announce it in the papers and tie up with your radio station to have the winners appear on a program, in return for which the station is to give you advance announcements on the picture, Reward Poster Spot several posters of the type used by police departments in offering reward—square halftone of John Wayne on Duke the Miracle Horse with the following copy: REWARD (Halftone) Watch out for this man! He is John Wayne, alias John Drury. Six feet two inches tall. Handsome. Has a way with ladies. Is a man’s man. Fearless, reckless, daring. Laughs and thrills the reward to everyone attending the showings of ‘‘The Big Stampede’’ at the Strand Theatre next week. Boy Scouts Contact the local Boy Scout council and arrange to have the best scouts in town give an exhibition on your stage of the things they have learned, such as knot-tying, wand drilling, various items of woodcraft, etc. It’s a great ad for the scouts and impressive on the stage. Open the scout program with appropriate ceremonies: patriotic music, scout salute, etc. Get newspaper space, radio announcements, club speeches and letters from the scout council in return for the civic duty you are performing. Stage Coach Ballyhoo If possible, secure one of the old stage coaches used in the pony express days. Banner it with copy on ‘‘The Big Stampede’’ and the play date at your theatre. Send it through the streets with men inside and on top of it, giving cowboy yells. For Sling-shooters Hold a sling-shot contest at a local shooting gallery or range, sponsoring it in co-operation with your newspaper. Offer prizes promoted from merchants to the.kids who make that best sling-shooting score. Play up this stunt big because of its novelty and suitability for kids. It’s a direct tie-up with the picture in which Junior Bailey uses a sling-shot with telling effect. Circular Letters Circularize all adult sporting organizations in town with letters appealing to their red-blooded, sporting instincts. Appeal to them from the angles of the action, romance and heman thrills in ‘‘The Big Stampede.?? Explain that the picture brings the spirit of the old West to your screen. Tell them to come to your theatre, to cheer the hero, love the heroine, hiss the villain, roar at the comedy and have an all-around good time. Wild West Club If you haven’t already started one, the Warner series of 4-star Westerns give you a chance to inaugurate a ‘‘Wild West Club’’ for the kiddies. Print up membership cards with thumbnail cuts of John Wayne and Duke, the Devil Horse. Hold special programs on Saturday. Give the kids buttons and cowboy stuff as prizes. Elect officers. Give each kid attending all of the six westerns a seventh matinee free as an added inducement. Whoop it up for the kids. Have yells and everything they like. John Wayne and the horse will be their idols. Take advantage of the kiddies’ love of the Wild West, CATCHLINES WITH A WESTERN TANG The Screen’s Newest Western Sensations Bring You a New Thriller. A Rip-Roaring He-Man Story Jammed with SplitSecond Action. Thousands of Steers Gone Loco—Only a Man and a Horse to Tame Them. A Saga of Covered Wagon Days Packing a Real Western Wallop. a The Screen’s Sensational Star Riding High, Wide and Handsome. A Saga of the Thundering Herds. s a La The King of the Cowboys Earns His Spurs. ° s s It Gives You the Thrill of a Lifetime. See the Newest Star of the Range and the Horse That 7A Thinks. A Quick-Shooting, Rip-Roaring Drama That Sets You Out on the Western Plains. Six Feet Two of He-Man Galloping on the World’s Smartest Horse to Tame Locoed Steers—Outwits the Outlaws and Wins the Girl of His Dreams. He’s Six Feet Two of He-Man—Quick on the Trigger— Lightning on th e Draw! Romance Is in the Saddle. Cattle Rustler Chase Announce to all the kids in town that you will have a ‘‘Cattle Rustler Chase’’ along the lines of the ‘hare and hounds’’ game. Have the kids conggegate in front of your theatre, where they will get their instructions. Have one of the ushers serve as the ‘‘Cattle Rustler,’’ starting a few minutes in advance of the kids and leaving a well-marked trail for them to follow. He should drop heralds and throwaways as clues. Offer a cowboy suit promoted from a co-operating store as first prize. Other prizes can be cowboy gun belts and similar articles appealing to kids. Be sure to have the trail lead back to the theatre and to give the kids placards and signs to carry all through the chase. Specify that they can’t win unless they have carried the sign every foot of the way. Be sure, also, that the trail leads through the busiest sections of town, with the cops watching out for the kids. Have them yell ‘‘The Big Stampede’’ throughont. Drawing Contests 1. Take outline of John Wayne’s head from a halftone and have line cut made to be run in newspaper for ‘fill-in’? contest. Offer passes as prizes to the entries submitting the best faces of John Wayne, running a photo of him in conjunction with the outline head. 2. Run a half-drawn picture of Duke, the Miracle Horse. Offer prizes to entries submitting the best completed job, both as to outline and coloring. Kids Names in Ads Tie-up with your newspaper to scatter the names of children through their classified ad section and inform “the kids that if they find their names in the ads they will be given free tickets to see the picture. This stunt was used with excellent results by H. T. Lashley, city manager for Publix in Greenville, S. C. Signs on Newspaper Boys Get all the newspaper sales boys in your town to carry signs on their back with advertising matter on the picture. As a reward, invite the kids to see the picture. You can build this stunt further by inviting your newspaper to send a reporter to cover this story, thus getting some free publicity and a good-will build up. Hitching Post Use large blow-up of Wayne on his horse. Tie it to a replica hitching post at the curb in front of your theatre. Put appropriate copy on it regarding your showings. Use this for each of the 4-star Westerns. Riding Academy Tie-Up Contact the riding academies in town for banner displays carrying the copy ‘‘Learn To Ride Like John Wayne in ‘The Big Stampede’—Now Playing At The Strand.’’ Conduct special John Wayne classes. Get the academies’ mailing lists and cireularize with a letter telling about the riding to be seen in the picture. Harmonica Contest Offer prizes for the best harmonica players in town, the winners to be chosen by audience applause. Announce the contest on your screen, in the lobby and newspapers. Be sure to get all sorts of trick mouth organs entered in the contest. In all announcement copy mention the fact that John Wayne, the hero, plays a harmonica in this picture. <Ty to organize a harmonica band for this and future 4-star Vitagraph Westerns. Call it the ‘‘John Wayne Harmonica Band.’’ If you like, you can enlarge this stunt by including guitars, ocarinas (‘‘potatoes’’) and similar hill billy musical instruments. Orphan Guests Here’s a stunt that should get you a lot of publicity and good-will for your theatre. Invite the members of the children’s home in your town to see ‘‘The Big Stampede.’’ Promote free bus transportation from a local company. “Bad Man” Chase Get three cowboys, dressed in full cowboy outfits, to chase a fourth down the main street of your town, emitting loud whoops. Have them continue the chase into your theatre. Additional realistic atmosphere for this ballyhoo can be furnished by rigging up an old fashioned hitching post in front of your theatre, to which the cowpunchers can tie their horses. The stunt will give your patrons a thrill and will create comment and newspaper publicity, ‘Work Is Done Next Fall.?? or — Co-Operative Ads The title, ‘‘The Big Stampede,’’ offers you an opportunity for a cooperative ad on this western. The main idea of the ad is to have 9 streamer head on the ad page rea‘ ing: ‘‘The Big Stampede I-_On (town) Stores.’’ Have mere ads read to effect that they anticipate a ‘‘Big Stampede For Our Big Bargains.’’ The center of the spread should be devoted to your own theatre’s ad on this picture with such copy as: ‘‘The Big Stampede’’ with John Wayne, the screen’s new he-man hero, is coming to the .............0...ccceeeee Theatre tomorrow.’’ Contact the advertising manager of your newspaper at once to round up the merchants in your town for this co-operative ad. Be sure to promote your own ad free. Teaser Sanpete. Play on the title in your campaign, running lines to the following effect in the newspapers and on tack-cards, etc., spotted around town: MAKE WAY FOR ‘‘THE BIG STAMPEDE,’’ WATCH OUT FOR ‘‘THE BIG STAMPEDE.’’ WHOOPEE! ‘‘THE BIG STAMPEDE’’ IS COMING YOUR WAY! GET SET FOR ‘‘THE BIG STAMPEDE!’? ‘“‘THE BIG STAMPEDE’? WILL wow YOU! Essay Contest Tie-up with schools and newspap« for essay contest on the colonizati of New Mexico, which is the loc: of ‘‘The Big Stampede.’’ Ask t question, ‘‘ What Do You Know Abc New Mexico?’’ and award the pri: to the best 500 word answers to t question. Tie in ‘‘The Big Sta pede’’ in your newspaper and thea announcements of the contest, ill trating with stills from the picture, Covered Wagons Get covered wagons, or make imitations of them and send them through the streets following the same idea for banners and noise as suggested in the stage coach ballyhoo suggestion. Have burros, cows and horses trailing along after the covered wagons. Banner the animals and have the drivers of the wagons and horseback riders dressed in cowboy costume, Store Tie-Ups Tie up with sporting goods stores on western and riding apparel, with gift stores on western paintings, etchings, ete., with book stores on western and adventure stories, with women’s stores on what to wear at dude ranches, with hardware stores on revolvers and rifles, shoe stores on boots, ete. * Ss Window Displays Reach the kiddies with special window displays on cowboy and *¢injun’’ outfits, wild west articles and Indian material. Have the stores hold speecial ‘‘Big Stampede’’ sales on these kiddie articles, arranging to give special prizes to members of the ‘‘Wild West Club.’? Also, get attractive general window displays on Navajo blankets, silver-trimmed saddles, sombreros, chaps and other ar ticles associated with cowboys. | Cowhoy Songs Locate a cowboy singer, if Possible, having him sing a few real western songs at each performance, a week iy advance of your showing of ‘‘Th Big Stampede.’’ If no cowboy singe is available, have your orchestra c organist play old time cowboy sonr flashing slides on the screen for co munity singing. Among the m: songs you can use are ‘‘The Chisholm Trail,’? “‘Git Along, L’ Doggies,’’ ‘*Bury Me Not On Lone Prairie,’?? «A Home On 4 Range,’’ ‘‘She’ll Be Coming ’Roun. The Mountain’’ and “Ter *