Sponsor (Apr-June 1959)

SPONSOR-SCOPE continued If it weren't for the Middle West, this would have been a pretty mediocre newbusiness week for national spot tv. Here's why: As usual each year, the New York agencies these days are trying to figure out what's left — if anything — in the budgets ending 30 June. Often this account-balancing unloosens funds for quick-spending, with spot a favorite beneficiary. Spot tv activity out of Chicago the past week included: GENERAL MILLS : Upped its Surechamp Dog Food budget considerably in 35 markets via Tatham Laird. CURTISS CANDY : Debuting in spot tv through Clinton E. Frank, using five Southern markets to test a new product, Miracle Ade, a soft drink. LEVER's all: Daytime spots for 10 weeks in 20 or more markets via NL&B. FLORISTS' TELEGRAPH DELIVERY: A two-week push (KM&J) re Mother's Day in the top 40 markets of semi-saturation proportions, spread between daytime and nighttime minutes. WRIGLEY: Back into tv via Meyerhoff for 26 weeks. Among the placements posted out of Minneapolis: Gold Seal's Sizz (Campbell-Mithun), a charcoal starter, in 50 markets, night minutes and chainbreaks adjacent to male-appeal show; and Hamm's Beer (same agency) in three heavy radio as well as tv flights on the West Coast, with the emphasis on the major summer holidays. What is perhaps the ultimate in fractional unit sales for a tv network was reached this week by ABC TV: It offered a l/12th participation in Diamond Head. Boiled down to a simple media equation, this would be a minute on alternate weeks in a 60-minute show which carries six commercial minutes. Heretofore the lowest unit available was l/6th, or a minute every week in a 60minute program. An agricultural-products agency that has taken serious note of the tendency among farm-area stations to drop their farm directors is New York's Albert Sidney Noble. This agency, which is now using 106 radio stations and 26 tv stations, disclosed this week that whereas a high percentage of radio stations had a farm director there was but a smattering of such posts among the tv stations. Remarked a Noble executive: "If we decide that radio and tv are getting away from bona fide farm programing, we'll look around for some other effective use of the dollars." Incidentally, there'll be a $1,000 pot contributed by reps for the pitch that farm directors will be making to New York agencies when they meet for their annual convention in that city in June. The presentation will serve two purposes: (1) tell an updated statistical story of the farm market, and (2) convey the new image of the farm director. Judging from the critical newsprint attention it's already gained, the exit of the Voice of Firestone from ABC TV could develop into a hot controversial issue. Firestone resented being asked to shift to a later Monday half-hour, but the network says this is not the complete story. ABC TV's version is this: 1) It advised Firestone that its current Monday 9 o'clock spot would not be guaranteed for the fall if the sponsor look a summer hiatus. The Monday 10-10:30 period was offered as an alternative. Firestone spurned the offer. 2) After an interval, Firestone reconsidered and said that 10 o'clock would be acceptable. However, by this time the spot had been sold to Liggett ik Myers via McCann. 3) ABC's next gesture was to offer 10:30-11. but Firestone said that was too late. However, the expectation is that, hecause of competitive factors. Firestone will be back in tv before very long. Probably via Cuiupbell-Ewald. (See 2 May sponsor for article on whether sponsored cultural and information shows should get special consideration from the tv networks.) 18 SPONSOR • 25 APRIL 1959