Radio showmanship (Sept 1940-May 1941)

Jewelry SKULLCRACKERS Quiz-king in northern California for the past four years is Oakland's Kay Jewelry Co., who takes 30 explosive minutes weekly on KROW to broadcast Skullcrackers. Formula: Eminent emcee Scott Weakley pits two local organizations against each other. Winning team appears on subsequent programs until eliminated by another higher scoring organization. On each program, to the two highest personal scorers, irrespective of side, go sponsor merchandise awards. Much of the credit for the success of Skullcrackers is due to offthe-air sessions of the show, staged before nearly 100 schools, fraternal organizations, churches, and civic groups. Rough estimate of total off-theair audience is 25,000. Audiences range from 50 to 8,000 at one time. (The largest group gathered at a special show in the Oakland Auditorium during Fire Prevention Week, held under the auspices of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Oakland.) During Kay's twenty-sixth anniversary sale last September and October, almost the sole sale plugs were via this program. Customer crowds and resultant success of the sale testified to the program's pulling power. From time to time the program is aired from local theaters, auditorium to satisfy capacity audiences. AIR FAX: Competing teams of four have been selected from business, industrial, fraternal, military, social, racial, and religious groups. Approximately 50% of the teams last for only one program; 35% stick for two or three weeks; 10% go five weeks; a bulldog tenacious 5% hang up records from seven to twenty weeks before tasting defeat. The title theme, Skullcrackers, is carried out throughout the program: Contestants (figuratively) "get their skulls cracked" whenever they flunk a question. Prosecutor Weakley employs a real skull and an intricately arranged sound effects device, which produces a hollow, cracking sound when he wields his mallet. To judge impartially _ the allotted time to answer questions, an automatic electric timing unit is employed. Broadcast Schedule: Thursday, 9:00-9:30 P.M. Preceded By: Concert Hall. Followed By: Hockey. Sponsor: Kay Jewelry Co. Station: KROW, Oakland, Calif. Power: 1,000 watts. Population: 284,063. COMMENT: Some quiz programs flourish and others fade in almost every U. S. radio town. Always sure interest-arousers are extra-promotions, such as Skullcrackers' good will off-the-air performances. Men's Wear MORN PATROL Last April, Cincinnati's go-getter Bond Clothes Store, regular 15minute time buyer on WCKY's Morn Patrol, moved into the Hotel Gibson roof garden to stage the "Bond Clothes Sports Parade," a double feature bill of sports bigwigs and spring styles for high school and college boys. Morn Patrol daily announcements for one week (the show's sole publicity!) invited students to get their tickets at Bond's. Pandemonium followed, as 1,800 students (prospective buyers of commencement clothing) sardined into Bond's for tickets, met a store-full of suit and accessory displays! That was the prelude! The actual party was a dizzying mixture of an Ail-American football player, American airlines pilot, "nohit" pitching star, and a men's style show featuring clothes from Bond's. AIR FAX: Morn Patrol originator Al Bland authors all the comedy patter, chameleonizes himself into a blackface character, "Mose." He is aided by straight man Bernie Johnson. Blow ups of Bland, Johnson, and "Mose" are featured in BOND display windows. Last summer "Mose" penned a daily "baseball pome," copies of which were sent to fans requesting them. Response ran into thousands. At season's end, Bland printed in book form the "pomes," offered them over the air at cost, 35 cents. Within a week, the entire printing of 5,000 had disappeared, sent out by mail or called for at the BOND store. First Broadcast: January 26, 1937. Broadcast Schedule: Monday thru Saturday, 7:008:00 A.M. (Bond time: 7:45-8:00 A.M.). Preceded By: Hot Coffee. Followed By: News of Europe (CBS). Competition: Sun-Up Salute, Schoolbus Special. Sponsor: Bond Stores, Inc. Station: WCKY, Cincinnati, Ohio. Power: 50,000 watts. Population: 451,160. COMMENT: There are two ways to use radio to push a special seasonal promotion. Bond's used it the right way. Instead of plunging into radio spasmodically to promote commencement clothing and other seasonal sales, Bond's spent their dollars evenly on a year-round program. When the extra-special occasion arose, they used their regular program to pull in extra business. So many men's wear merchants are flabbergasted when radio salesmen attempt to sell time during dull February or mid-summer. But the cumulative value of a consistent year-round campaign pays out dividends when the "chips are down." FEBRUARY, 1941 67