Ballyhoo (Dec 2, 1955)

Page scan 0000 from Ballyhoo

Record Details:

Title:
Ballyhoo
Date:
Dec 2, 1955
Volume:
Ballyhoo (Dec 2, 1955) Profit Blitz for 'Fitz'
Leaf #:
0000
Language:
English
Collection:
Canada, Global Cinema, and Hollywood Studio System
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library, Greig Dymond in memory of David Dymond, Paul Moore and Jessica Whitehead
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:

Ballyhoo

  • Ontario 'B' District Ballyhoo, editor: Dan Krendel (1952-55)
  • Profit Blitz for ‘Fitz’, editor: Dan Krendel (1955)
  • National Ballyhoo, editor: Dan Krendel (1956-57)
  • Time Out for Ticket Talk, editor: Norman Barker (1960-61)

Ballyhoo (1952-61) was published by Famous Players Canadian Corporation as a mimeographed internal sales and theatre managers’ newsletter. Editor, Dan Krendel, had been division manager of the Ontario ‘B’ District since 1942, and initially created Ballyhoo in 1952 to circulate weekly updates for a regional sales contest. Ontario ‘B’ District Ballyhoo continued until 1955 as a tool for sharing and incentivizing new sales techniques and publicity methods as the movie business declined in the face of television and the baby boom.

In Fall 1955, Profit Blitz for ‘Fitz’ was a nationwide sales contest, named for Famous Players’ president J. J. Fitzgibbons, honouring his 25th year as head of the business. Dan Krendel was made National Drive Captain and edited a weekly newsletter for the campaign.

From 1956 until at least 1957, National Ballyhoo was published weekly with Krendel as editor. He continued the style and content developed earlier for his Ontario ‘B’ District, but now extended vastly for a chain-wide coast to coast scale. Ballyhoo’s sharing promotional tools came at a time of contracting box office as television and automobile ownership became prevalent in the mid-1950s.

By 1960 until at least 1961, Time Out for Ticket Talk continued as a mimeographed newsletter, edited by Norman Barker of the head office publicity department. Time Out was compiled on a less ambitious scale than Ballyhoo. Compared to the earlier national compilation of local publicity gimmicks, Time Out often contained only a single memo or reproduced local story, and was often undated and only informally edited.

– Paul Moore, March 2024

Date Added:
April 11, 2024
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$10,000 IN CASH PRIZES FIT with showmansh!P fo) SEPT. 5th PR SERVE with showmanship TO DEC. 3rd SAVE with showmanship 1955 th showmanship HONOURING 25 YEARS OF INSPIRED LEADERSHIP IN FAMOUS PLAYERS National Drive Captain DAN KRENDEL December 2, 1955 TESTAMENT OF FAITH In spite of the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth of a few crystal-gazing prophets of doom ... In spite of their verbal chastisement of all and sundry who earn their daily bread from an industry dedicated to the proposition that all men ... and women ... and children are entitled to their few hours of happiness and freedom from care ... In spite of a premature attempt to bury a Caesar who is still in the prime of his life ... In spite of all this, there are still men ... strong men ... men with faith and vision and courage who have elected to exercise their inalienable right to continue on in the vocation of their choice, in the business they love, within an industry which has been good to them and to countless thousands of others, At our regional meetings last Fall, Mr. Fitzgibbons made a declaration .., a testament of faith. He didn't pull any punches ... He told us that our business was suffering, just as it was South of the border, He wasn't panicky, and he didn't try to panic us, He re-affirmed his faith in the industry, and his confidence in the men and women who make up Famous Players. He saw a few clouds on the horizon ... but beyond them he could discern bright shafts of sunlight streaming down and enveloping us all in their warmth. He predicted a long and bright future in this business for those of us who put into practice all the theory of Showbusiness we had spent so many years of our lives in aquiring, Our reply to Mr, Fitzgibbons ... Our own testament of faith was the PROFIT BLITZ FOR FITZ. We promised him that with points of the Blitz ... SAVE ... SERVE ... SELL and PROFIT with SHOWMANSHIP. We still have a couple of weeks to go before the whole story is written into the record, Did YOU truly and honestly SAVE? Did you improve your SERVICE? Did you go all out in your SELLING? Did you PROFIT in direct ratio to your effort? It will all be there when we ... you and we in the office, review the sum total of your PROFIT BLITZ FOR FITZ