Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1962)

SPONSOR HEARS 26 NOVEMBER 1962 / cmriiM iwz A round-up of trade talk, trends and tips for admen The other tv networks have a suspicion that Schick Razor president Patrick Frawley, Jr., had a motive other than patriotic resentment for his attempt to cancel the remainder of his season's contract with ABC TV. Frawley cited the inclusion of Alger Hiss on Howard K. Smith's Richard Nixon political obit, but the networks think this was a pretext for getting out of a commitment that was proving burdensome in light of Schick-Eversharp stockholder criticism that Frawley was spending too much money on corporate and personal ventures. CBS TV's daytime sales department isn't the only one that has to apologize for the antics of one of its package producers: NBC TV also has its headache in the outside-the-studio clowning of the producers of Bullwinkle. With CBS it's the Capt. Kangaroo gentry going over the heads of the program practices department and handing down its own credo on commercials to sponsors. The irritants from the Bullwinkle boys include cartoon tracts poking fun at the network and a jazzband parade on Madison Avenue without foreknowledge of the network. Madison Avenue tv department directors have as a common topic of luncheon and intramural chatter the rough verbal going over that CBS president James Aubrey has been dishing out to Hubbell Robinson, program head. These agencymen's comment: Aubrey credits himself with the good rating season that the network's having and hence figures a winner's views must be taken as holy writ. Reps submit that the toughest dilemma of their business involves two diametrically opposed questions often put to them by stations, each of which defies a logical answer. These questions are: (1) why are the billings off; (2) why are billings up? Nielsen's got a gripe about the ARF's publication timing of Martin Mayer's piece, An Intelligent Man's Guide to Broadcast Ratings. Point advanced by Nielsen: the critique leveled by Mayer when he wrote it — six months before publication — was quite valid, but in the meantime Nielsen had conducted a research project that squared away the chinks spotlighted by Mayer. Spot sellers constitute a faction that's made a deep dent in air media and it's interesting to note what's happened to some of the pioneers and veterans. Here's a random roster in that regard: NAME PAST ASSOCIATION CURRENT STATUS Lew Avery Co-founder Avery-Knodel V.p., g.m., KYA, San Francisco Lee Bowman Free & Peters westcoast A/e, Rinehardt Agency, Oakland Larry Fields Petry New York Agency exec in northwest Jim Free Co-founder Free & Peters Real estate in Santa Barbara Joseph Hershey McGillvra Founder firm of same name Owner KCKC, San Barnadino Howard Meighan CBS Spot Sales Pres. Videotape Center Bill Maillefert Petry Radio mgr. USIA in Spain John E. Pearson Owner JEPCO Western mgr. SPONSOR Henry Riggold Petry Retired 56 SPONSOR/26 November 1962