Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

ANA Files Brief in ColgatePalmolive Sandpaper Case' New York — Contending that "everyone knows that on tv all that glitters is not gold," the Assn. of National Advertisers has submitted a brief as amicus curiae in the case of the Federal Trade Commission versus Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Ted Bates & Co., currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. (See Friday at 5 story.) Declared the ANA: "On a black and white screen, white looks gray and blue looks white: the lily must be painted. Coffee looks like mud. Real ice cream melts more quickly than that firm fake sundae." In defending Colgate-Palmolive I and its agency's use of a mock-up showing how a shaving cream can shave sandpaper, ANA said in sum ^ mary, "It is not an unfair or deceptive act or practice within the meaning of . . . the Federal Trade Commission act, to use a prop or mockup which is materially the same as what one would see if he were observing the same display or demonstration without the intervention of the advertising medium and without ; use of such prop or mock-up." Suggesting that the pivot of the j case may be where a "test, experi i ment or demonstration such as the 40-Market Tv Drive Set For WU Candygram Beverly Hills, Calif. — For the third straight year. Western Union will rely on the talents of veteran announcer-personality Don Wilson in promoting its holiday Candygram (candy-by-wire). Kickoff date for the one-minute tv spots, to be seen in approximately 40 markets across the country, is Dec. 18. Supporting the television campaign will be radio spots, also featuring Wilson, scheduled on the hour every hour for 10 days prior to Christmas. Selling point of the drive is convenience. A person merely picks up the phone, dials Western Union and says, "I want a Candygram." Candy will be shipped from more than 630 key Western Union offices throughout the nation. December 14, 1964 advertiser has described (whether by verbal or pictorial symbols should not differ) could not be conducted." The argument falls apart, said ANA, "when in truth the demonstrations can be and have been performed, and the product reacts as depicted in the commercial." The ANA brief indicated that the FTC's case "rests upon nothing more substantial than its assumption (unsupported by any evidence) that the decision to purchase will be critically altered by the difference between seeing a completely faithful portrayal of an existent demonstration, and seeing the demonstration itself." The real point, the brief continued, "is that as long as the sponsor's persuasion of purchasers that visual proof corroborates his product claim does not mislead them regarding the existence of such proof, there is no material deception whether it relates to the appearance or the functioning of a product in use or to its appearance or functioning under the conditions of a test or demonstration." Concluded ANA: "If advertisers are deterred, for tenuous and inconsequential reasons, from employing technical devices which the very nature of the medium requires if it is to be used advantageously for advertising purposes, and which have not been shown to affect the consumer in any substantial, material or significant manner, their use of the medium will be seriously curtailed, and the tremendous public interest in this outstanding medium of news, entertainment and information may be put upon the altar of an administrative obsession." The brief was filed by Gilbert H. Weil, ANA's attorney. Jack E. Leonard To Star in New Adult Western' Cartoon Series New York — Starring comic Jack E. Leonard as "the fastest mouth in the West," Trans-Lux Leonard . . . "Way out West" Television Corp. last week unveiled plans for a new cartoon series aimed at adult viewers as well as small fry. Entitled Fat Jack, Sheriff of Cheyenne, the series is the brainchild of Ernest Pintoff who won an Academy Award for his theatrical animated short subject, "The Critic." Commenting on the new series, slated for release in the fall of 1965, Pintoff noted that the cartoon will not only be "out West," but "way out West." In announcing the series, set for 500 episodes, each five minutes in length and filmed in color, a spokesman for Trans-Lux said it may be a contender for prime-time viewing. It was pointed out that "the series will be aimed at an adult audience although it will have the same appeal for youngsters as do most animated shows. Leonard's wit and Pintoff s screen satire, using the familiar western theme as a base, should make this television's greatest spoof of a universally accepted tradition — the glorious West with all its time-honored cliches." Richard Carlton, vice president of Trans-Lux, said the budget for the series is $2 milHon, adding that Fat Jack will be flexible enough to adapt to network or syndication. Although Leonard has appeared as a guest on many tv shows, this represents his first participation in a regular tv series. As he put it before an audience of reporters, broadcasters and agency executives, "I've made so many pilots in my life that I have my own airport." 19