Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1947)

Local Sponsor Tries Video Reaction: Enthusiastic A pioneer \oca\ radio advertiser, the P. J. Nee furry'iture Comparyi^ sponsors first teleoision broadcast in Washington, D. C, finds film in combination with special eoents telecast gives good sponsor identification PIONEERING IN TELEVISION in the nation's capital, the P. J. Nee Furniture Company sent out in January the first sponsored telecast ever to originate in Washington. Long a consistent user of radio advertising to promote Dreamhouse furniture, Maury Nee, treasurer and advertising head of the firm, instructed the Harwood Martin Agency to procure television for his firm as soon as it became available locally. First chance was offered by the Dumont station WTTG (\V3XWT). The event was a basketball game. Charles Kelly, of the Dumont staff, worked wath the Martin Agency in drafting the video commercials and when they had been approved by Mr. Nee, the commercial sequences were made on 16 mm. movie film on location, for the most part at Nee's store at 7th and H Streets. The theme music used on Nee's many radio shows introduced this first commercial telecast, with the videscreen showing dissolves from Nee's Dreamhouse Seal to placards announcing the night's event. Then, as the sportscaster's voice took up the sound with introductory remarks before the game, the screen switched to the interior of a living room (Dreamhouse Furniture— naturally) with members of a family seated around a teleset. As game time approached, the announcer's voice said, ". . . and your only ticket of admission is this friendly invitation/' and the scene dissolved for a last look at the Dreamhouse Seal. Between halves of the game there were shots of the crowd and brief interviews with celebrities. Following this there was a short institutional commercial with exterior shots of the three P. J. Nee Company stores. At the end of the game the closing commercial returned viewers briefly to the original living room while the announcer did a game recapitulation; then a dissolve to the Dreamhouse Seal. Thus, a maximum of sponsor identification was achieved without the use of stilted "stills" and with a fairly simple technique. Maury Nee, expressing the point of view of many forward-looking retailers, said, "I feel that the experience we gain in early telecasts will more than repay us for the expense, and it is a source of great satisfaction to us to pioneer in this industry that promises so much of both entertainment and education for the public. Sponsors who start early with television are laying a groundwork of experience that will repay them a thousandfold in the future." For a week before the show, Maury Nee directed his entire advertising effort to publicizing the event. All Nee employees watched the show on a receiver at Nee's 7th and H Street Store. Window displays at the stores were built around this subject. Mr. Nee says: "We went into this thing for the same reason that we've pioneered through the years in all types of radio programs— we feel that advertising of furniture can be attractively presented in a way that is both pleasant and beneficial to the public." APRIL, 1947 • 113 •