Sponsor (Nov 1946-Oct 1947)

general consumer ill-will had snowballed to its present proportions Johns-Manville had promulgated a code of business practices for this transient period (between war and peace) and sold over 2,500 lumber and building material dealers on operating under its seven pledges. Each of these dealers displays the pledge, which has been printed in plaque form, and JohnsManville gives time on the air to inspiring consumer acceptance for the men who display and do business by this J-M code. Commercial time in a five-minute program is naturally limited, and neither the agency (J. Walter Thompson) nor the sponsor does anything to clutter up the program. They both realize that they have a very unusual spot, the only fiveminute program on the networks in the mid-evening, and no one wants to keep it in good taste more than the men who pay the bills. Reason for the unique situation of a five-minute program's being open at the height of the listening hours, 8:55 p.m., has nothing to do with the sponsor. A few years ago CBS executives studying their program schedules realized that from 7 to 1 1 p.m. they had no newscasts. They further realized that with half-hour programs all through the evening, except for two 15-minute entertainment shows at 7 and 7:15, there wasn't much opportunity to get a news period on the air unless they did something drastic such as taking a half-hour period and making it available as a 25-minute program period and a five-minute newscast. CBS started the newscast sustaining, had Palmolive as a sponsor for a while, and in December 1941 sold it to Johns-Manville. From the listeners' point of view the period was made earworthy by Elmer Davis, who not only brought them up to date on the news at that hour but also made them feel that he was telling them, in that five minutes, what the news actually meant. When Mr. Davis was drafted for the Office of War Information, Cecil Brown took over, to be followed later by Bill Henry, who has held down the spot since September 1943 except for vacation periods when Ned Calmer or another newscaster has taken over. There isn't another broadcast period like it network-wise, although Esso's spot campaign does the same type of job without being in the enviable position (as J-M was during the 1946-1947 season) of being between such programs as Joan Davis and Lux Radio Theatre (Monday), Mel Blanc and Vox Pop (Tuesday), Dr. Christian and Frank Sinatra (Wednesday), F. B. I. in Peace and War and Dick Haymes (Thursday), Thin Man and Ginny Simms AUGUST 1947 Johns-Manville newscasts salute their jobbers, and J-M merchandises the fact in trade papers 'Friday), and Mayor of the Town and Your Hit Parade (Saturday). The program has a quality of immediacy which only a live show like this can have. It is geared to handle any problem the moment that it arises. For instance, when some West Coast builders began to criticize Johns-Manville as a "big eastern manufacturer in competition with local talent," J-M quickly employed a West Coast announcer to handle special copy for the Coast stressing the fact that JohnsManville was a Pacific Coast manufacturer with five plants in California. It took from June to December 1946 to correct the "rumor" situation; it would have taken several years if black-andwhite advertising copy had been employed to do the job.* The Manville part of the corporate title isn't exactly a pleasure for any advertising man, for Tommy Manville's playboy scandals have made the name something to laugh at with millions of consumers. Yet with practically no other form of consumer advertising (J-M spends about $80,000 in the class "shelter" mediums, like Country Gentleman) JohnsManville still has public confidence. In a survey made by J. Walter Thompson in 21 cities, with 1,500 respondents, one out of every two consumers who stated any brand preference in the roofing materials field said Johns-Manville. In other fields the acceptance was even better. In home insulation 8 out of 10 naming any brand said Johns-Manville. In the asbestos materials category JohnsManville was mentioned 60 times as often as any other name. Sixty-seven per cent of the respondents mentioned brand preference and over 59 per cent said Johns-Manville, giving the rest of the field less than 8 per cent of consumer recognition to divide between them. If J. Walter Thompson's research figures are questioned because it is the agency handling the account, substantiation is found in a survey of home insulation materials made by the Wall Street Journal around the same time (late 1946); the figures checked within the usual accepted margin of research error (plus or minus 2 per cent). . . . And Johns-Manville executives are perfectly willing to give radio its due. Advertising men generally go a bit further and give Bill Henry and the News at 8:55 p.m. est as much credit as the medium. *Time that itwould have taken lo'get' copy] planned, set, pla edt and effective. nS i MS*? V*~x Ip nation s SSI**4 rode the r&Z ^',n,°^ ~ Ca/Z/hp a// Car Users*. to meet k^l /a ~< represented 6000 jobber' Over 63 KaM> &atn/n rf£*^t % A." _\_ MHOMES ie Welcome Mat ^ABAMA-AK^--— ~ ^.-GEOROlA . lDAH AASSACHUSETTS-MlCWG* MISSOURI • MONTANA • NEBRASI' (NEW jy*SEY i N£V£ M€XI< . YORK • HOMA «»«»1« ORE^-N • PttgtS. set- TEX OMlrTG • fllSSCWRI • JWTWi. .c . kicuu l*R<*Y • NEW MEXI' Johns-Manville BRJMMATIMMS TT-» IT ^ ■ * »