Sponsor (Nov 1947-Oct 1948)

been checked by Ronson, which keeps a master log of where their lighters are given away — and how. Ronson's first job is to sell lighters — then Ronsons. Gags about lighters that don't work almost wrecked the lighter industry some years ago. (The match business contributed not a little to the antilighter campaign but inexpertly-built lighters helped it along.) While Ronson appreciates free mentions on give-away programs, in motion pictures, in magazines, and even in other firms' advertising (Revlon's full color page for nail polish in which the model is looking into her highly polished Ronson, is typical), they have no illusions that publicity sells of itself. They contend that if they didn't advertise both to the public and to the trade, the publicity would be flattering, but not financially resultful. Their publicity increases the effectiveness of their advertising. They merchandise every big publicity break they get. Since lighters are sold not only by jewelers and tobacco merchants alone, but also by men's wear, drug, and department stores, Ronson must sell a great part of the merchants of the U. S. and Canada. They sell Twenty Questions and their advertising in Life, Saturday Evening Post, New Yorker, Vogue, Es' quire, Mademoiselle, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes & Gardens, Bride's Magazine, and American Weekly, in trade papers reaching all the fields in which they sell. A typical trade advertising schedule TV for vie\% ers $ not dead Television as a service which the public will pay for directly, as originally suggested by Zenith's president Eugene McDonald, is not a dead issue. The greatest interest in the possibilities of having the consumer pay for certain entertainment which will be received on his TV receiver is now found in the offices of motion picture producers. Both Paramount Pictures and 20th Century-Fox are working on an idea which will permit them to bring into the home feature-length motion pictures which will be paid for by the viewing family. Both firms have experimental equipment (receiving sets) of this type under test. Fees, type of pictures, collection routine, and a host of other details, haven't even reached the conference stage, but the idea of sending top-drawer entertainment through the air to be paid for by the viewer has high priority among motion picture producers. Paramount of course expects to have motion picture theater audiences also paying for big-screen television in the theaters which it owns or services. During April it presented prize fights at the NewYork Paramount Theater which were taking place at the same time at the Brooklyn YMCA. The pictures were not as clear as regular motion pictures but improved quality waits only on further laboratory work, according to Paul Raibourn, Paramount's vp in charge of TV. The outstanding use of Paramount's theater TV is in its making available film footage of local news events within 66 seconds after the events have taken place and the fact that this footage can be included in all showings of newsreels during any day. The TV-transmitted pictures are photographed off the face of the receiving tube and are available for projection on the screen at any time after the picture is received via the air. Since it will seldom be feasible to interrupt a motion picture showing just because something newsworthy is happening, the Paramount film method of handling TV reception has untold theater advantages. Regular newsreels generally reach theaters from three to six days after the happening they report. In the case of great sporting events, like the coming Louis-Walcott return championship fight. Paramount looks ahead to theater showings at special admission rates, while the fight is taking place. It doesn't think the fact that the fight will be available in the home via TV without charge will keep people from coming to the theater to see it and to pay a sizable admission charge. • • • 40 was one with which Ronson opened their 1948 "Biggest Advertising Campaign in 'Lighter' History." This ad appeared in two jewelers', one drug, one tobacco, and one men's wear trade paper. It lumped all their printed advertising into one paragraph and gave "plus" play to Twenty Questions. One reason for this may be the fact that the program is budgeted for more than half the total adveitising expenditure for the year. Time cost alone for 1947 was (gross) $497,843. The program is not expensive but nevertheless the 52 programs add up to $1 30,000 a year. It cost Ronson roughly five advertising cents to get a dollar's worth of business in 1947. This means, since $1,500,000 has been set aside for advertising in 1948, that Ronson expects to sell $30,000,000 worth of lighters and accessories during this year. In 1947 they outsold the number two brand of lighter, Zippo, three to one. In a recent American Legion Magazine lighter-preference survey Ronson ran first ('51.9^7), Evans second (14.8'^'{), and Zippo third (M.l^r )• Evans is manufactured under license from Ronson (same action, etc.). Television is receiving considerable attention frc m Harris, Ronson president. The automatic lighter action of the product makes it ideal for visual advertising and TV spots are being placed in many markets — N. Y., Washington, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Baltimore. This interest in television isn't new with Harris. Back in 1939 when WNBT was W2XBS, on September 29 the Ronson Light Opera House was scanned. The program was a musical revue with Ronson's own theme song, You're the Light of My Life, featured. Twenty Questions will be supplemented by intensive spot campaigns where they are needed. Ronson will continue to sp)end more than 50*^7 of its advertising in broadcasting. And it will spend it itself. It makes no dealer cooperative advertising allowances. Advertising mats and continuity are being supplied to dealers but the dealers spend their own money when they use them. The Ronson theory is that when it sf)ends its own advertising dollar it knows what it's getting. Saturation of the market is a long way off, according to the sales manager, P. W. Osgood. When everyone who smokes has a lighter in his fK)cket or her pocketbook and each room in every home sports a table lighter, there'll still be millions of new smokers each year to sell — and it's likely that when that day comes Ronson will still be using the air to condition the consumer for their dealers to sell. • • • SPONSOR