Showmen's Trade Review (Apr-Jun 1939)

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Page IS SHOWMEN'S TRADE REVIEW June 17, 1939 'The -^d^ctti^ina Clinic oddities of Advertising In Britain or the Mystery Of the Missing Displays By "OLD DOC LAYOUT" Once again Old Doc goes to London, or rather London conies to him in the guise of cinema advertising oddities as reported by STR's London correspondent, Jock MacGregor. In a recent Clinic, we discussed the amusement page of a typical British weekly, pointing out that over there straightforward announcements were preferred rather than the selling appeals utilized in the ads appearing in our own American newspapers. Heaps of Reading Matter Now Jock reaches down into his cinematic bag of tricks again and comes up with another amusement page, this time from The Evening News. If we understand him correctly, every Monday night the amusement page of the Nezvs is monopolized by the display ads of the West End cinemas. Nightly, however, all the West End and the principal neighborhood houses advertise. Considering the fact that British cinemas use only announcements in cold type (there are exceptions, of course), the classified columns are just about as good a place in which to advertise as anywhere else. But it must be remembered that London is a large city. If all the cinemas took it upon themselves to use display space, which would be an extravagant investment, the newspapers would have to turn over several of their pages to cinema ads. Not that they'd object, of course; nothing would be more acceptable. But neighborhoods just don't advertise that way. It's the same here in America. As a typical London Uses Florists' Angle This iieup was effected with Lucien, Ltd., at Baker Street on the florist angle to mark < the premiere season of Samuel Goldwyn's United Artists release, "Wuthering Heights" at the Gciumont Haymarket Theatre, London. The still of the wedding scene was enlarged and used as a centerpiece on a unit featuring the tiein and credit ivording. MOTOAY. iFfiif ^vttAn^ ^tm .laJTUlCRTi 0. 1939 GREATERiLONDON'Sj CQMPt^E JE AMUSEMENT jGUIDE THEATRES VARIETY THEATEES ICOWTINUED/ CINEMAS, (fOMTINUEC SSL A -J ■vr DURBIN That CERTAINAGE MELVYN DOUGLAS CONTINUOUS RFVUE CINEMAS ROMANCE! -sparkling w'rth %ong . . . served -k straight off the ke / \ SONJA HENIE The film thai will outlive "Mr. Deeds"! London Amusement Seekers Depend On This Page The Evening News, London daily, carries a full-page amusement guide nightly for the convenience of the amusement-minded public. On one night a week, West End cinemas go in for display ads. Don't try to read the classified columns without a magnifying glass. However, such terms as "Lst hse," "U," "A" and "diff prg" mean in our American vernacular, "last show," "universal," "adult" and "different program," respectively. example, neighborhood houses in Indianapolis have all their ads combined under one twocolumn heading, "At the Neighborhood Theatres." So, perhaps the fact that the announcements of London theatres, varietj' theatres, opera and ballet, and cinemas appear under one general 8-column heading, "Greater London's complete Amusement Guide," is not so much of an oddity, after all. No Advertising Today What strikes Jock as being strange, and Old Doc, too, for that matter, is that the notable absentees from the tear-sheet he forwarded us were the Carlton, Plaza, Regal and London Pavilion. Jock cites as probable reasons the fact that (1) the Carlton, a Paramount house, was showing another company's product ; and that (2) the Plaza and Regal were about to change programs. He was surprised, and so was Old Doc, that the Pavilion ran no ad in spite of the fact it was playing "Trade Winds." With Fredric March and Joan Bennett, plus the fact that it was good audience entertainment, you can bet your last riding boot that over here we wouldn't have missed the chance to advertise it Disney cartoons are the only short subjects referred to in any of the display ads. One cinema, the Cameo, which runs a sixty-minute program of shorts, takes a 4-inch column ad to tell the public about it. Unlike the other sample of British cinema ads we discussed in a prior Clinic, the displays on the tear-sheet of the News almost all have some kind of a catchline, or at least a few quotations from the critics' reviews. Perhaps we were a little too hasty in arriving at the conclusion that all cinema ads in Britain were purely announcements. We might add that even roller skating, snooker, wrestling, boxing, whist drives, etc., are included in the Nezvs' page amusement guide. Thus, if Londoners want to know where to go tonight, they can look at the one page instead of searching through the entire newspaper. "Juarez" Being Plugged in Hearst Magazines During Month of June "Juarez" is receiving two national magazine breaks during the month of June with Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping running articles dealing with the film. Good Housekeeping offers an article by Mary Henderson entitled "Gallant Lady," giving a character study of Bette Davis, who is starred in the film, while Cosmopolitan is presenting an article by James Hilton dealing with the production policy of Warner Bros, in its relation to "Juarez" and other pictures. The Sales Division of the Hearst Publications which publish the magazines, is sending out letters to its wholesalers and retailers urging them to tie in with the local engagement of the picture, through displays, posting, and other promotional methods. They are also giving their sales staff throughout the country, a breakdown of the theatres playing the picture in their various territories. Robbers Take De "Woiks" When robbers entered the Plaza Theatre, Tilbury, Ontario, Canada, the day's receipts were locked up in the safe. Undaunted, the thieves carted away the safe through a rear exit. To date, they have made no reports as to their whereabouts, according to Harland Rankin, manager of the theatre.