Sponsor (Nov 1948-June 1949)

Record Details:

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The secret life of a soap opera PART FIVE OF A SERIES Tin* remarkable < omiini < i.il impact <»l llic (lavlinH* serial Amlifncv reaction i*t a duylimv serial9 s vommvrvials T IW (■" p.Mfll WSIC. Kll!» UK' I WO uu>-u CLOsna • iioukki'i (above) Audience reaction to a daytime serial opening and closing commercial (below) How reaction changes when commercial is integrated in same serial 11 over-all M a ii y sponsors have learned the hard way that a popular serial and successful commercial theme aren't always the most important factors in attracting an audience and selling it. Horace Schwerin of the Schwerin Research Corp., recently pointed out that a person 35 years old has already had 12,000.000 minutes of ''impressions' made on him. A radio-commercial "impression " has to he something special in order to make much of a dent as the 12.000.001st minute of impression in a person s life. If it isn't, the listener tends, as Schwerin puts it. to go "psychologically deaf" — if the commercial doesn't actually get a reaction of definite antagonism. A new approach for neutralizing this resistance to the commercial message has heen worked out hy psychologists of Attitudes. Inc., New York public relations firm, and is being tested in the radio copy of a national advertiser. In fad. the Attitudes idea doesn't stoj) with cancelling out the resistance to commercials. It aims, according to Attitudes. Inc.. io make the commercial prolong and satisfv the verj emotional needs llie urogram lias alreadv stirred up. These emotional needs are defined by a well-known psychiatrist collaborating with Vttitudes, Inc. Ever) daytime-serial writer understands, as related earlier in this series, how listeners identify themselves with one or more characters in the Stor) : how especially important to the serial listener is the emotional satisfaction she gets from living the story. In most cases radio-copy writers prepare sets of commercials consider,dil\ in advance of the episode during ClOSlM ... . . ~ .