Sponsor (July-Dec 1949)

over-all Contests and offers Smaller direct-result sales promotions replace giant prestige give-aways The mammoth radio contests of previous years, almost without exception, were not a factor last season in the promotion plans of the country's leading broadcast advertisers. Instead. the emphasis in the mid-1948-1949 period was on smaller contests, run more frequently. A sizeable increase in the number of premium offers on the air, both in radio and TV, could be traced almost directly to buyers' markets in foods, drugs, cigarettes, and soaps, fields in which the seller no longer had things all his own way. With the success of the contest-charity drives of Truth Or Consequences (the various switches on the original "Mrs. Hush'' idea I on the record, there was an increase too among contest-users of the various forms of promotions and air contests that tied-in with national charity drives. At the local and regional levels of broadcast advertising, the various contests and offers continued to be largely a reflection of what was being done nationally. The first major contest of 1949 was a Lever Brothers affair, which offered travel-hungry Americans a world cruise (or $10,000 cash!, 15 roundtrip jaunts to Europe, and other cash prizes. Although the two-line jingle contests run by Lever during 1948 worked well, the travel contest took the familiar form of the 25-word letter requirements. The contest received wide promotion, being plugged on all of the various Lever nighttime network shows. Helbros, a new figure in the air contest field, offered a Kaiser-Frazer car and an all-expense trip to New York as the big prize in a somewhat similar contest aimed at Americans who have an urge to travel a bit. Like Lever's travel contest. Helbros' contest also used a 25-word letter. Procter & Gamble, perhaps the largest user of contests and offers in broadcast advertising (8-12 big promotions annually; smaller premium offers every few weeks), combined the straight "Name-so-and-so" type contest and the premium offer during the spring season of 1949. Three P&G wrappers or boxtops brought the contestant a package of new-type red zinnia seeds. At the same time, a con test was held for a name for the new flower, with $25,000 as the first prize (Total prizes: $50,000.) The contest was promoted via eight P&G daytime serials. To break any ties, contestants had to write the usual 25-word letter about their "favorite P&G product for housecleaning," a bit of promotional timeliness that P&G uses every spring when American homemakers springclean their homes. Largest straight contest in the 19481949 period covered in this report was that of Colgate-Palmolive-Peet, which ran a " '49 Gold Rush Contest" on three network nighttime programs. For a wrapper and a 25-word letter about any C-P-P soap product, listeners had a crack at a $100,000 prize list, with a first prize of $49,000. This C-P-P contest was the only one among network advertisers that made any serious attempt to battle the big jackpot come-ons of give-away shows like Stop The Music and Hollyivood Calling, the major reason for the falling-off of mammoth money-prize contests among national air advertisers. The contest-charity promotions were bigger and better. Typical of these was the contest run on Jimmy Fidler's Hollywood gossip show by Carter Products. A "Mystery Star" had to be identified from air clues, after which listeners wrote a 10-word slogan and sent it in with a contribution for the "National Kid's Day Foundation," a project near and dear to Fidler's heart. Ralph Edwards had another series of charity tie-ins, one of the outstanding being the "Whispering Woman" gimmick ( She had to be identified on a long-distance call to listeners). Listeners wrote letters urging support of the American Heart Association, sending a contribution with it. Best letters received weekly got the pay-off call. Recently. Lever Brothers whooped it up for a charity-type promotion in which listeners to Bob Hope's show mailed in two Swan wrappers to Levers. For every two wrappers sent in, the soap firm sent a cake of Swan overseas to needy families. Although it was a necessary and worthy cause, and the public received nothing, it still sold over 1.000.000 cakes of Swan. Procter & Gamble bad a similar, if los international, promotion in the early summer of 1949. Church groups, women's clubs. Boy Scout troops discovered, via P&G's nighttime and daytime shows, that they could raise money for themselves by collecting P&G wrappers. P&G paid off on Duz, Ivory Flakes, and Camay boxtops and wrappers at the rate of Yzi apiece, with cash awards in addition for the largest collections in various states. Preliminary reports show that the promotion was a success. Bromo-Seltzer, a frequent buyer of broadcast advertising, modelled a national sales contest on radio and TV air contests. Druggists only were offered $2,500 in prizes in a campaign designed to promote Bromo-Seltzer as a good seller. The requirements: Set up a "Profit Planagram" display during the run of the contest; complete a 25-word letter beginning — "I consider Bromo-Seltzer a good display item because ..." It boosted sales interest, but radio gets credit for the airoriginated formula. Radio and TV premium promotions, primarily sampling devices and quick methods of capitalizing on weeks of steady air-selling for a product, are on the upswing. Two of the latest efforts in this field are typical of the promotional field days that good premiums afford. Lever Brothers is currently promoting a tie-in between themselves and Westinghouse Electric. In return, some 60.000 Westinghouse dealers are arranging promotions with local grocers. Under the plan, the housewife who sends two wrappers or boxtops to Lever will get a certificate worth $2.00 toward the purchase of a wide line of Westinghouse appliances. Lever Vp Walter McKee enthusiastically calls the promotion: "... one of the most powerful salesbuilding devices in the history of soap and shortening advertisings." Airwise. the promotion will be plugged heavily on Big Town and Aunt Jenny during July and August, months traditionally "off" as far as appliance sales go For this reason, the promotion is a hit w ith Westinghouse dealers. This month too. Kellogg, one of the largest of cereal broadcast advertisers, is promoting a new series of on-thepackage premiums that is based on a tie-in promotion. On the bottom of the new Kellogg Variety Package is the first of a series of movie star and costume cut-outs. On the sides of the individual boxes are more cut-outs of {Please turn to page 86) 80 SPONSOR