Sponsor (Nov 1947-Oct 1948)

or product which went begging at 50 cents might be a sell-out at $2.50 or higher. He reasoned that if Toni wouldn't sell at 59 cents it might, with an advertising push, move at $2. He also had the idea thatit would help if he had some beauty shops give Toni permanents. He gave away kits. Shops advertised Toni permanents and the sales started trickling in. Toni business growth continued very slow, so Harris proceeded to give away thousands of kits to consumers to introduce the idea of home permanents. All of these helped Toni gain acceptance. Toni still didn't move with any startling speed and Harris realized that he had to use a mass advertising medium if he was to gain national acceptance quickly. He decided that radio was that medium because it had immediate advertising impact. He looked for an advertising man who knew broadcasting and found Don Nathanson in his home town, St. Paul. They bought Meet the Missus on the Pacific Coast and Mel Torme over NBC coast to coast. Torme at that time was supposed to be the hottest thing in popular music, but 26 weeks proved conclusively that the hottest thing in music was the coldest avenue through which to catch an audience which would beautify its crowning glories at home. Giving oneself a permanent wave at home requires patience, an attribute with which the younger generation, Torme 's natural fans, are not generally gifted. Toni discovered that women in the 25-to-35 age group are better prospects; that meant programs like their Meet the Missus (West Coast), Breakfast Club, Nora Drake, Ladies Be Twins spearhead Toni's appeal to compare permanents^ Seated, Give and Take, all programs reaching young married and middle-aged women. Only one of these programs can possibly reach women who work, the Saturday afternoon Give and Take. Toni uses this program instead of premium time (from 6 to 10 p.m.), which costs roughly twice as much as the da> light hours, because there is too much waste circulation for permanent wave advertising at the peak listening hours. That's not the feeling of Hudnut's, which together with its corporate associate Standard Laboratories plans to spend several millions in 1948 pushing home permanent wave kits. Standard is sponsoring the new Henry Morgan program over ABC for its Rayve Shampoo but is arranging cut-ins in areas where its Hedy Wave home permanents have distribution. As soon as the distribution is national, Hedy will be given one-third to one-half the commercial time. Hedy hits harder at the beauty shop permanent wave business than Toni because to a limited degree it's a custom permanent, with a "Glamour Guide" which enables the user to give herself a special wave adjusted to her own hair. The guide has special instructions for thin and heavy hair, for dry and oily hair, for bleached hair, and even, notes Standard, tells the user when she should have no permanent at all. Hedy's air copy, planned for the cut-ins and being used currently in its spot broadcasting operations (on a cooperative basis) states, "Even an experienced beauty operator in your home could advise you no more expertly, no more accurately, than this amazing, scientific 'Glamour Guide.' It's yours only with Hedy Wave!" Hudnut's home wave kit has just been introduced on the market and its plans, as far as radio is concerned, are nebulous at this time. The only broadcasting that has been done on the kit has been by a few department stores who have used copy in their own regularly scheduled programs. While the only aggressive home permanent advertising being used or planned on or off the air is that of Toni and Standard, at least ten cosmetic manufacturers have plans in the blueprint stage for home permanent wave kits. Some, like the plans of Helena Rubenstein, are for a class permanent wave kit which will retail in the $3 to $5 class. Northam Warren Corporation, manufacturers of Cutex and Peggy Sage nail polishes, also have plans to merchandise a home wave package. It's logical for them since they have the sales organization with which to achieve national distribution quickly. To the beauty shop profession home permanents represent a gigantic challenge. The National Hairdressers and {Please turn to page 74) W^ich Twin has the JaniF Scr iutw i-a^A il U to -zwy >otir>(tf u Ifivtl\ T*^>M H<»nu r. rtiiaiH nl f<ir \<mr «t;il. loniplir %^. HOME PERMANENT