Sponsor (Nov 1946-Oct 1947)

K\OW Till: \\ It I I I It L^/art/t yvlontaetnetu Chiquita Banana Co-Author Like most writers of the air's commercial copy, Montgomery is often without honor in his own advertising back yard — Kenyon and Eckhardt. The lack of respect accorded these writers is in spite of the fact that advertising men admit, in all other facets of the business, that it's the well'turned phrase that moves the product off retailers' shelves. Montgomery is versatile, having written everything from the stately U. S. Steel institutional, intoned by George Hicks, to the drag-'em-in come-ons for Barney's 7th Avenue bargains. From the lessons learned on these commercials, which have included Chiquita Banana (he's co-author of that spot classic), National Shoe's singing jingles, Royal Crown Cola's crazy invention series, and a host of other commercial copy, he's developed a three-rule formula for advertising on the air. Rule one is to start thinking of the commercial copy as soon as a program is in the works. That, he says, is the time to decide upon approach, the type and treatment of the selling. Rule two is to have the commercial-copy man sit in with the show's writer and director so that he can integrate' the commercial into the presentation. Rule three is never to present the writer of the commercials with hardand-fast copy regulations — Montgomery believes that the reverse approach leads all too often to missing the boat on producl filing. Air commercials are best when their writers have a maximum of freedom. He's now working on visual advertising — writing the copy for Borden's new WNBT television programs. For the video commercial he also has a three-way formula: Keep it brief. Keep it clean-cut. Keep it simple. STATION REPRESENTATIVES {Continued from page 21) formed on what's going on "as long as the information is given to our agency as well as to our advertising department. When 'specials' are suggested to us about which our agency has not been informed, we find our agency and our own ad department at cross purposes. That's an excellent way for a station representative not to serve his field." Smaller sponsors who have just one advertising manager feel that direct contact between station representatives and their advertising executive is good since it keeps them informed on what's going on in radio. "Too many advertising men become insulated against broadcasting information and buy their radio secondhand," stated one sales manager of a regional canning company. "Our agency has a top radio billing, but that can't replace home office indoctrination in any medium. Magazine and newspaper salesmen always contact our advertising department and I can't see why network and station representatives shouldn't do it as well." The vice-president of one of the two greatest users of air time in the home medical field stated, "We have a staff that is supposed to know all media. Wc employ a number of advertising agencies. The only way our men who have radio advertising responsibilities can keep informed is through contact with typical radio merchandising men like station representatives. Second-hand information is not the answer." Still another executive, of a great food organization, stated that while he hoped that station representatives would contact him and his associates, he thought they might feel that it was too much a labor of love. "We enjoy the contacts, but we don't talk about actually buying the stations they represent." Some station representatives feel that expanding the horizon of commercial broadcasting is their job. Others feel that financially it's beyond them to carry the industry's burden. Sponsor's report on how station representatives feel about their own job, and how the stations who employ them feel, will be in the issue. Stations and the represent,. themselves have been polled on the vital contributions that the field makes and should make if they're not deliv< now. The services that station representatives perform and what the stations expect of them are vital information for everyone who sells through broadcast advertising. 46 SPONSOR