Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1943)

pamphlets prepared by the Cilco Home Service Department were offered free to homemakers. Mail and telephone responses were overwhelming. Thousands of bulletins were mailed out to women all over the territory. One selling message from 200 to 300 words long is used at the opening of each broadcast, with only sponsor identification at the end. The actual length of the commercial is determined by the importance of the particular promotion of the moment. Seasonal appliances of all kinds. Better Light, Better Sight campaigns, and advertising on behalf of gas heat are all used. Here is a specimen commercial: BERNE: Jean ... do you remember the stories about Abraham Lincoln . . . how eager he was for an education that he walked miles to borrow a book . . . then spent hours before the open fireplace reading? JEAN: Yes, the light from the fire was probably the only light in the room. Folks in Lincoln's time had no other type of light than that from a fire . . . and perhaps candles and lanterns. BERNE: So they were satisfied to read and sew and work in poor light . . . because they had to be satisfied. JEAN: But in 1943 it's different. We have electricity to give us almost daylight brilliance whenever we want it. We're really pretty fortunate. BERNE: Yes, we are. But often we don't take full advantage of our lighting facilities! Very often the lighting in our homes is not as bright as it should be. JEAN: Every reading lamp should carry at least a 100-watt bulb for proper lighting . . . and every other light fixture and socket in the home should be equipped with an adequate sized bulb to give your eyes a break . . . and make life at home brighter and more cheerful. BERNE: Take a look at all of your light fixtures today. Check up on the bulbs. And be sure you have each lamp equipped with the proper bulb. See your Mazda dealer or your Central Illinois Light Company, and stock up on the Mazda bulbs you need. Remember the Mazda is the bulb that stays bright longer. For this type of copy, the Central Illinois Light Company was awarded a certificate in the 1943 Better Copy Contest for radio advertising at the Public Utility Advertising convention, a department of the Advertising Federation of America. This award was won over competition from the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and the Dominion of Ontario, in Canada. Presented in a free, conversational style, the program always has a certain amount of lightness and humor. The two announcers featured on the program, scripter Clara Walsh, and \\^MBD staff announcer Berne Enterline, merely talk things over. A wide listening audience knows them as two friends who come into their homes each day at lunch time with valuable information on current and vital subjects. Daily, at 12:45 P.M., the tolling of a bell ushers in the Cilco Town Crier, and the ten-minute program features brief, newsy announcements of social and civic events in Cilco territory. Any church, club, group or organization sponsoring an event open to the public and operating for no profit has the free use of the program to promote the event. In a seven months' period, 3,012 announcements were made. A unique angle is the mention by actual name of new Cilco customers in the community, with a warm and sincere welcome to Cilco LAND. Because the commercials are in reality, of a public service nature, they work directly into the program itself. As a part of this service, valuable homemaking and meal-planning suggestions are passed on froni the Cilco Home Service Department. Every Thursday is recipe day, and a tested recipe from the Cilco Kitchen is read on the air. Calls from interested homemakers who want copies of the recipes flood the WMBD switchboard. In addition to homemaking and meal planning, this feature gives suggestions on the care of home appliances, how to get the best lighting from home fixtures, and how to niake the most of the wartime home. W^hen the first Cilco Town Crier program went on WMBD, its purpose was: a) to offer valuable service to the people of Peoria and Central Illinois without one penny's cost to them. b) to create good will through this radio service. c) to increase the use of gas and electrical service in the area served by Cilco. d) to increase the sale of electrical and gas appliances, primarily for its own company, and, secondly, for associated dealers. It has accomplished these very things. SEPTEMBER, 1943 299