Publix Opinion (Jun 27, 1930)

ENTERTAINMENT IN SCREEN ADS WINS! W. JOHNSON TOPS FIELD BY PUTTING B.O. LURE INTO ADS In the infant days of the motion picture, when the descent of the hero’s strong silent face upon the fluttering and expectant lips of the heroine was suddenly obliterated by an ominous click splutter, flash and the turning on of the house lights for the thir teenth time in the course of a two reel feature, the lot of the spectator was verily a sore one. The youth of the audience—and in those days they were practieally the majority—particularly suffered. Lured into the fascinating darkness behind the curtained swinging’ doors by lurid posters of train robberies, galloping cowboys and crouching, murderous »“TInjuns,’”’ they were irritated almost beyond endurance by these mechanical imperfections which suddenly snapped a scene at the most thrilling, climactic moment. However, that was the least of their annoyances. Most irritating of all were the tedious and interminable waits between pictures when a series of dull, printed (sometimes type-written) slides flickered on in endless succession extolling the virtues of local shopkeepers’ wares. They came to see Indians wallowing about in puddles of gore and got announcements of hair-cuts, Sweet-Orr Overalls, kitchen tables and ‘‘Hatmore’’ candy specially prepared in pound-boxes for the lady friend at Bompopolis’ Busy Bee, 174 Main St. When they could stand it no longer, they yelled, clapped, stamped their feet and hurled menacing imprecations at the innocent operator shut up in his tiny booth. Of all these decidedly conscientious objectors, the most ardent and vociferous was a lanky, towheaded youth of twelve whom these monotous intervals between pictures seemed to ‘“‘burn’’ more than the others. His cat-calls and frenetic whistling between an expert thumb and forefinger were the first to pierce the ears of the helpless operator above the din of the audience. He would howl, storm, rage, sputter, stamp and bellow until the fishy and menacing eye of the bouncer froze him into silence. And yet, such are the strange twists of a perverse fate, these heartily detested screen ads of his childhood days were the means of raising him from comparative obscurity to a nationally acknowledged leader of motion picture advertising in America. ; For the obstreperous youth of the early nickleodeon has grown up to be W. (Bill) Johnson, President of the Theatre Service Corporation, whose recent contract with Publix ties him in so closely into the activities of the company as to practically make him one of the Publix family. Learned Valuable Lesson Mr. Johnson’s career furnishes an outstanding corroboration of that time-worn aphorism regarding the beneficial effects of suffering and adversity. For the painful hours spent in the hard seats of the early nickleodeons taught him a lesson which is incorporated in the foundation of his success. € learned that screen advertising, to have any value whatsoever, must essentially be entertainMent; so the transition from a Comedy short, or cartoon, to a Screen ad, to the feature, should Present a steady, unbroken line of Pure ticket-selling amusement. It Was the application of that lesson Which contributed, perhaps more an any other single item, to his Unparalleled progress toward na ®nal leadership in the theatre Advertising business. Bill Johnson, as he is known by his friends, was born in _New Orleans, on May 28, 1888. In his arly school days, he showed @ Marked predilection for arithmetie, That ‘‘write”’ should be Spelled with a “w” and “night Ith a “gh,” or that rice consti ‘ ee i ee SRS tuted the chief food of the Chinese were, to him, wholly frivolous and remote details to be mastered sufficiently to keep his report card average up and his father's batting average down. Arithmetic, however, was different. It represented close-to-earth facts that he used ever day. For instance, if he had four pennies in his pocket and spent one for an ice-ball, that should and did leave him with three. Also, there was an undertone of cold, precise, inevitable logic in arithmetic which appealed to his youthful mind. That love of order, system, facts and clear, well-reasoned thinking has followed him throughout his entire career and prevails at the present day. From public school, he entered a military academy known as the University School, which combined the functions of secondary school and college. Upon his graduation from this institution, he entered business with his’ father, who owned a chain of department stores in various sections of the country. Here, he obtained his first valuable training in the art which was the backbone. of his future business, or any business, for that matter—Salesmanship. Started at Bottom Like so many other leaders of industry today, young Johnson ‘started at the bottom and worked his way up. Over a _ bargain counter, he learned to estimate and nullify the sales resistance of Italian day laborers who invariably walked out with the parcel of heavy cotton hose tucked safely in their pockets. In the ladies novelty and waist departments on the first floor, and the cloak and suit departments on the second, he studied the intricate psychology of the feminine mind and plumbed their vast curiosity, amenability to suggestion and constant, restless search for the beautiful, the colorful, the romantic. And so on, in every department of the store, until he had mastered the business sufficiently to become assistant to his father. He was sent to supervise the activities of the various branches, thereby familiarizing himself with reactions of people in different sections of the country. All the information he accumulated, Mr. Johnson, after analyzing and cataloguing it in an orderly manner, stored away for future use. A great man, says Carlyle, is like a bundle of dry sticks which the lightning, symbolizing opportunity, strikes and bursts into flame. In the case of Mr. Johnson the inflammable sticks had been well prepared by more than ten years of concentrated training. It was in Houston, Texas, that the ightning struck. paRenuit 1914, while Mr. Johnson was on a visit in Houston, he met an old friend of his who happened to be in the screen advertising business. His friend took him into a theatre and showed him a few samples. They were only crude, cartoon ads of the most elementary type but, Mr. Johnson immediately got the germ of an idea. That was when the lightning struck. Remembering his early prejudices, he believed that if these ads could be produced in the form of real entertainment, they could be made the basis of a great business. When he had thoroughly weighed the pros and eons of the question and satisified his mind that it was an intelligent, logical undertaking, he acted with the speed of lightning. He left his father’s business and joined the screen advertising company in Houston as a salesman. ‘wife about this time. These Publix personalities depend upon theirs. our tasks enjoyable. For this mara ceenaen arenes aap pmeapannnan, ST — — rn ae anor “ = me Cetacarmmne omectercmaie a oem metre ae TSS SSS S TTS 7 Pe eee § : .* : * Y ger a SS : ag a ee ¥ ‘ 0 . 4 y : “en J ys : ; , Z . © ; ’ Mee 7 4 y > ¥ , Z oe ay . . > a ; ‘ s Oe : a Pn. MNT ot 4 to a MN re ’ : y eae , =~ , 4 ery Y4psa AS ge vA Ta Y d as aps ee y , : 4 4 i , “ p . : 4 <¢ 7 , , a <a KNOW YOUR ORGANIZATION! mee aepend upon your effort, just as you 2p. .O know and understand each other’s personalities and problems will lighten the burdens of everyone, puliaiala i reason, an tmportant part of its space to these brief biographical sketches. oy, W. JOHNSON PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF JUNE 27rx, 1930 PUBLIX OPINION is devoting RR One eNom > ee °: President of Theatre Service Corporation, whose recent contract with Publix ties himi in so intimately with the activities of the company as to practically make him one of the Publix family. Confident and Determined An interesting sidelight of the vigorous determination and selfconfidence of Mr. Johnson—without which no man can be a great success in business—is furnished by a letter which he wrote to his He told her that such was his confidence in the new enterprise, he was convinced he would be at the top of the screen advertising business in America before long. Subsequent events rapidly bore out the truth of his prediction. Six months after he joined the business, Mr. Johnson was made vice president of the company. Two years after, he sold his interest in the company and formed his own organization known as the Theatre Service Corporation, with headquarters in New Orleans. Mr. Johnson started with a nucleus of a residential circuit of theatres, called Surburban Theatres, directed by M. H. Jacobs, subsequently spreading to and including the entire Saenger circuit. The co-operation of Mr. Jacobs in the fledgeling days of the company has always been deeply appreciated by Mr. Johnson. Constantly confronted with the objection to the old system of screen advertising because of the inferiority of the films, Mr. Johnson realized that the future of the business lay in the constant improvement of the nature and presentation of the film advertising until it reached the ideal peak of pure entertainment. So he built his own studio, at Tulane Ave., and Miro St., New Orleans. He handpicked a group of men from the most talented producers of first-line feature companies. Almost immediately the difference became apparent and_ business picked up with startling rapidity. The activities of the company began to take in more territory until finally the field of T. S. C., as the company is known, included practically all the Southern states. The company was run on the same plan as a miniature feature production company. It had its production, accounting, sales, booking, service, advertising and other auxiliary departments. Being in the advertising business, Mr. Johnson is naturally a great believer in advertising of all forms to publicize his own advertisinge company. He uses Dillboards, newspapers, direct mail and other advertising and exploitation media. T. S. C. uses more newspaper space than all other similar companies combined. Seeks National Distribution With the organization of his company rapidly approaching his preconceived ideal, and with a firm footing based on past accomplishment, Mr. Johnson began to think about national distribution in a real-worth-while medium whose standards were as high as those of his own company. Through his association with the Saenger theatres, he learned something about Publix, its organization, ideals, achievements, nation-wide circuit, personnel and manner of doing business. Since his first contact with Publix, Mr. Johnson had the secret ambition to present his product through that powerful and high grade 9 medium. When he was ready to furnish Publix with screen advertisement whose quality of pure entertainment was up to the standard of its regular presentations, the negotiations were started. Publix officials, in turn, carefully investigated Mr. Johnson’s activities and found him to be the pioneer in this field and eminently qualified in every respect for the tie-up. The rest has since passed into history. Mr. Johnson’s company rests upon practically the identical firm foundation as Paramount Publix. The training and development of manpower is the first concern of the company. With a personnel of nearly 200, many of whom have been with the company for ten to twelve years, and with schools in Cleveland and New Orleans, men are being trained so that the company will have representatives in every state. Recently, a scientific and research department has been added to develop new presentation angles. For instance, a new color process has been developed which will enable a more effective presentation of the advertised product. Mr. Katz was very enthusiastic about this process. A corps of trained experts are studying other methods of constant company improvement. Attributing, as he does, full credit for the company’s success to his employees and associates, Mr. Johnson is always very careful in their selection. Consequently, when he looked about for a man to assist him, he insisted upon a highly trained mind and eventually selected a highly capable and experienced engineer, W. H. Hendren, Jr., present vice president of the company. During the past eight months, the company has made a careful survey of all motion picture advertising activities in the country through one of the largest, nationally known engineering firms. A complete survey of all existing conditions is made before anything is done and every step the company makes is based on FACTS. Human and Warmhearted Despite the systematic, machine-like precision with which his company functions, Mr. Johnson is the most amiable, human and warm-hearted man one could ever wish to encounter. Like most truly great executives, he is the most accessible of men, and will listen intently and sympathetically to anyone, with a kindly gleam in his keen, constantly appraising eyes. His chief diversion is golf which he says he can’t play and he can’t quit. He has been a keen student of advertising psychology since his earliest days. He has always avoided publicity for himself but has constantly directed it toward the company and his associates. Mr. Johnson is a.great organizer. He believes in system and thoroughness and in building solidly step by step. He is cautious but progressive. He has an open mind which is quick to see any new twists and trends in his business. He has a great faith in motion pictures as a _ superlative advertising medium, without which he would never have attained his present success. Also, he has an equal faith in his company. When talking to prospective customers about the activities of his company, he never says “Tf’ we do so and =~so, but “WHEN” we do it. Subsequent events have invariably corroborated his confidence and optimism. He lives in New Orleans with his wife and two children, a boy and girl twin, both of whom are in college. Asked what he wanted to be most as a boy, Mr. Johnson replied that he wanted to be something, but he didn’t know what. That “something’’ has turned out to be President of the Theatre Service Corporation, President of the Screen Advertisers Association, (a department of the Advertising Federation of America), and one of the greatest advertising moguls in the country.