Variety (Sep 1935)

44 VARIETY R A D I Wednesday* September 18* 193S. Talent 30% of Radio Costs; fo of Agencies Get 15% on f roduction Items Over 85% of the agencies, accord- ing to data compiled by the Amer- ican Association of Advertising ApencleSj now charge their clients a 15% commission on talent, "with" the trend ln that_dIrectlon indicate ing tliat' the "exception "to the-Tuir will be negligible within the next year or two. Statistics gatheired by the same source show that the. per- centage of talent costs as compared to the entire appropriation for radio Is still decidedly on the increase. Average program Is now spending 80% of its entire budget for enter- tainment. This percentage repre- sents a boost of ai'ound 10% over what It was In 1933 ,and 5% over what It was last year. Of an ad- vertiser's entire appropriation the talent bill comes to between 7 and 8% '. On the basis of tli.e $48,000,000 that NBC and Columbia are expect- ed to do this year, at th^.least, talent turnover from the networks for 1936 should come to around; $16,000,000. Radio department's portion of the average agency's payroll has. also' taken a substantial jump during the past two yeaps. Broadcasting now accounts for 12% of the, expendi- ture for inside personnel. During 1933 It was 7%. ;Of the 18% of an agency's payroll that goes for pro- duction the radio department's share Is ftow 2%. T\vo years ago it was less than 1%. Coirtespondehce Easy Acesi on the- 7 p.m. opposite Amos Afidy on r.WJBAP>---MG»l-vfed---.ar--p6stcajid-. (one) from a fan saying she would have to give up A. & A. Goodman Ace sent tlie card to Gbsden arid Correll with the following note: Gentleman: Well, this looks, like tlie handwrit'tig on the postcard for Amos 'n^ Andy. What would it bb ^y6rth to you two kids to have me write some lousy scripts when we go on in.opposition to yoii? Sin- cerely, Goodman Ace. P. S^.—Malce that read 'some- more lousy scripts/ To which Amos 'h' Andy re- plied: 'bur secretary sent you that card.' Admen Detail Fall Offerings BarbasQl& By FRANK B. SHIELDS Treasurer, Barbasol Co; Barbasdl this season will rely jU)pn.^Slng.In' Sam to.„carry .its ad- vertising message to the radio Tiis'- teners. He will be heard on a coast- to-coast CBS network on Monday nights.and over station WLW, Cin- cinnati, only on Frldar nights; As wfe. look upon, radio, the. field -can~bir--dtrlclEHl^ -biro ^n to tw o - types of broadcast. Oii'e is big, tend Ing to be formal and largely follows stage Ideas of showmanship. The other type Is the InformaV-inbre in- timate style- of. show of which Slngin' Sam is one of the foremost exponents. We have been satisfied with the year-in, year-out results from this latter type of program and are, therefore, continuing it this season. 'STRONG LOCAL TONE IN PHILA. HAWAII RADIO HITS UPBEAT Philadelphia, Sept. 17.. Indications are that fall, business ainong Philly stations will be biggest In htstory. With station estimates ranging anywhere from 20,0% to 30% Increase oyer last year'a figures, stuJ dip execs are beginning to have trouble finding available ;tlme for big accounts. Several report prob ability of being entirely sold out across the board during certain ex tended periods of the day. While local statlolns are exceed Ingly skittish about revealing any figured In dollars 'a,nd cents, certain comparisons are available. WDAS, one of smaller stations, anticlpaties 200% jump over like period last year; calling that 'extremely conservative' estimate. Station is having rush of new accounts after sununer that equaled last winter—an unheard-of condition. Instead of usual falling off in business during warm weather, station found hew accounts coming in at slightly increased rate. In last few days it has added so many re quests for spot announcements that schedule is full, and there is a wait- ing list. Six new accounts have been added In last, two weeks on special offer of six l6-mlnute periods a week olasslflcation. Station is now trying tp clear sustaining programs off the board to allow for 10 hiore of the series of six 16-mlnute periods. It estimates it will sell 'about" seven of the 10. WDAS in last few months has built hew transmitter, moved into new studios and gone after agency and national accounts. De- spite Increased rate, almost all for- eign language business over its com- panion station, WRAX, is sold out solid. WIP Is likewise experiencing boom firfll business. For the first time in station's history it's able to make showing on sale of evening time, when competition Avltli network sta- tions has always been too tough in the past, Like WDAS, this station also has splurged on national and agency accounts, but, unlike WDAS, it doesn't credit much oi! increase to nevr studio. Albert A. Cormier, v.-p, and general manager, is generally seen as prime force in that. Taken in all cliasslflcationa and oyer all hours, WIP estimates Its increase over like period in 1934 to about 75%. Its morning schedule Is already almost complete; afternoon is not going so tvell, but evening Is ^ (Continued on page 6S) Barden Co. Fred J. Hart, prez and gen. mgr. of KGMB, Honolulu, deciared while oh a visit to New York last week that Hawaiian broadcasting Was seeing the biggest boom in its his- tory. Radio, he said, was prosper ing almost In ratio with the upturn taken by the tourist trade and the export. business, which is several hundred percent over what it has been in recent years. KGMB's com- mercial Incoipe, Hart stated, has picked up lib periient, compared to the corresponding first eight months of 1934. ICGMB is building new studios, made almost entirely of sugar-cane products, in Honolulu, along with a new i,O0O-watt transmitter, and by Jan. 1 it v^lll have Established a studio of its own in San Francisco. Hart, who is co-partner with the Consolidated' Amusement Co. in. the station, said that the Frisco lay.out will: start off feeding its. Island transmitter with a new service ania in due. time develop two full hours of relayed entef talnment..._Hart In tends to mix studio-built musical programs with bands picked up from around Frisco. Only way, he explained, that Honolulu can get any live entertainment from the mainland after 7 o'clock Hawaii time is by setting up its. own Coast studios. Company which he heads, said Hart, is also building a station In Hilo. Call letters are KHBC and the main purpose of erecting it is to get behind the signal shadows created by the island mountains. It's now licensed to operate at 100 watts but Hart hopes to get a grant of 260 watts before the transmitter is actu- ally installed. Opposes KGU Hart's visit to the States this time was primarily to appear as an in- tervener before the Federal Commu- nications Commission in the appli- cation of KGU, Honolulu, for an ex- perimental shortwave station. At a hearing before the commission Sept, T), Hart charged that KGU planned to put the shortwave outfit to com- mercial use, alieglng tliat the station had already obtained a contract from the local tourists bureau for a .series of shortwave programs. KGU is owned by the Honolulu Morning Advertiser, while KGMB has a tieup with the Honolulu Star Bulletin. To get around the Ad- vertiseris refusal tp publish KGMB's program listings as text matter, Hart said, he runs a weekly ad In the latter slieet containing the sub- sequent seven days' schedules for hl% station; Star Bulletin confines Itself to KGMB's llstlniss on its radio page. iEIart joinod tiie Honolulu outlet In August, 1934, coming from KGW, San Jose, Calif., which he had oper- ated for 15 yeara. By STUABT FEABODT Director of Advertising and .Con- mer.oial Research sine© e are not ^ planning any programa for the fourth quarter of this year,, it is not possible to givfr you our broadcast schedule for the coming season. But we have and will continue to be extensive users of , radio, both network and spot. The require- ments of our yaryihg products are so different that we favor no single major type of program, but vary our programs.widely with.the prod- uct. Bristol-Myers By J. M. AIIEN A.dvertising Mgr^, Bristol-Myers Co. Fred Allen returns to the 'Town Hall Toiiight' raSio program on October 2, and is scheduled for straight nine months' run until July 1, 1936. This combination of an putstand ing comedian and an amateur show with its unciuestipnable drawing power is a particularly happy one. As a master of ceremonies in the amateur sliow, he reaches unusual heights. Fred Allen's return Is be ing heralded to.-58,000 druggists by means of a window poster insert In Drug Topics, Which will be received by the trade on September 30, The display of this poster in the win dows of drug stores for three days prior to his return should have un- usual attention value. Sal Hepatlca window displays this fall feature Fred Allen and Portland Hoffa in 18 Inch heroic size heads with dialogue as fol lows: . Fred Allen: Wow, Portland! Is that an idea coming on? Quick hold it! Is it anything new we can say about Sal Hepatlca? Portland Hoffa: Yes, Mr» Allen, may be dumb, but I know you can't take Sal Hepatlca from a bottle you forgot to buy. Sal Hepatica's comnierclal. story will be the same as last year's, fea turlng Sal Hepatica's two way action—as a laxative and as an al kalinizer—and Ipana as an effective agent in the massage of the gums as .well as the care of the teeth. 'Town Hall Tonight' will continue as a one hour program from 9:00 to 10:00 Eastern Standard Time, with a repeat show for th? Pacific Coast from 12:00 P.M:. to 1:. A.M. the complete Red network and supple mentarles will be used coast to coast. course, signifies a substantial In-1 crease in the advertising budget. ] tiie pe'reriniaT'gossips, C^^^ Em, will be reintroduced to the ra- dio audlencfe in a new series start- ing Moriclay, October 14. They will broadcast oyer a hatipn-wlde net- .work Jor ,.the__flrst^ serie^ hayV"^^^ a«" far west as the Rocky. Mountains. The Pacific Coast portion of the se- ries is being Undertaken with the firm conviction that the three comediennes, will be as popular in Osat region aa t hey' ll a v tf -bseir-for years in the remainder of the country. Other two network programs nbw pn the air deserve mentlpn before the spot broadcasting program. Palmollve Beauty Box Theatre, dev.pted to radio adaptations of .mu- sical, comedies and operettas, has now been oii the air cpntiniiously for 18 mpnths. Tlie musical serjles was designed both to entertain and to sell the world's largest selling beauty soap, and it has an irrefut- able record Pf accomplishment. It will contlnii© indefinitely and sev- eral noted vocal artists Will ap- piear as guests in the immediate future. House of Glass series, featuring Gertrude Berg as the author, di- rector, and feminine lead, is con- sidered the successor, to her amaz- ingly successful serial, 'The Gold- bergs;' The Colgate Instltutlpn be- gan sponsoring, it 6nly a few months ago and already it has a big and growing audlehce. The sponsor considers Mrs.. Berg as one pf the most original and creative writers in radio; and the Hpuse of Glass program a realistic human drama. Three spot broadcasts now on the air are the Colgate Mysteries, over WOR. and Phil Cook's Note Book, over WIODf Miami, and WDAF, Kansas City. The latter two are recordings. The Colgate Mysteries at first consisted of two 15-minute programs on the same night. Un- der this schedule a dramatic nar- rative of a crime. W'as enacted at the-first broadcast and in the sec ond broadcast the solution of • the mystery-was given. These two ele ments now have been incorporated in one 30-minute show, and the change augurs .well for the future. Phil Cook's Note Book, the re- corded serial; is also to be intro- duced over seven niore stations, the call letters and starting dates as follows: WDRC, Hartford, MPnday, Sept. 23; WEAN, Provl dence, Monday, Oct, 21; WWVA, Wheeling, Monday, Sept 23; WOiRC, Worcester, Monday, Sept 23; WOKO, Albany, Monday, Oct 28; WEEU, Reading, Monday, Oct. 7, and WFBG, Altopna, time not yet decided. This list serves to indicate the wide range of our interest in, radio ..broadcasting, and'likewise tp lllus trate our belief that we must use a wide variety of programs to appeal to the prospective users of our many products. Paula Gould^ picture and legit p.a., Is on WHN, New York, Friday matinees with a dramatic Series. 'Letting You In/ dealing with stunts alio has pulled during her career. There will be a thread of continuity between the programs, but each weekV-play"wili" be 'conrptete-ln "irr-- self. This is the first time that iss Hayes has been signed by a cpih- merclal sppnspr for a regular series pf dramnLtlc offerings, aiid we are confident that her extensive popu- lar" Ibirpwlhg',' biiTlt "Sy' 3tage'""and screen, will accompany her to the air and make this one of the out- standing broadcasts of the winter. Conrad .Thlbti^iltj Harry Salter-s orciiestra, and a gcPup' of associated -a^^i&ts-^vi'til-inaugur a to a R ew-sertea-- of broadcasts in Octcber fpr Log Cabin Syrup. prize contest awarding an autombl^ile each week to the winners will be .featured. Together with the popularity of the entertainers, this will undoiibtedly attract a large audience to this un- usual program. Daggett & Ramsdell By A. J. MILLABD Advertising Mgr. Daggett & Rams dell Chir new seasonal plans call for a local program oyer WOR In New York and anpthe^r si ilar one over WGN In Chicago on the new Dag- gett & Ramsdell beauty prepara tlons. These programs are also Intended to assist In prompting pur new Dag- gett & Pamsdell Salons in those two cities. Colgate-PalmoGve-Peet By KEN E. DYKE Oeneral Advertising Manager Colffate'Palmolive-Peet Co.: As an early pipneer In the radio •idvertislng field, the Colgale Palmolive-Peet Company has ijeen a leading sponsor for several years Its first radio adventure was the Palmollve Hour, featuring OUve Palmer and Paul Oliver and broad- cast continuously from December 2, 1927, to D.acember 9, 1931. This program was- hailed as one of ra- dio's first big shows. The com- pany now sponsors two; network programs and three spot brpad- casts, but In a short time Will in- augurate another network series and seven more spot programs. Addition of the new shows, of General Foods By RALPH STAER BTJTIER V. p. in Charge of Advertising Four major radio programs will be sponsored tills fall by General Foods With certain changes that will in sure an increasingly favorable ac- ceptance, the Maifwell House Show Boat will embark upon" its fourth year of successful voyaging. Jack Benny returns to the air this month with a new orchesti'a a now tenor,, new business. He should quickly re-establish himself In the position he held-last winter as radio's No. 1 popular favorite Helen Hayes will inaugurate new Sanka Coffee series with dra- matic ofiferings prepared specifically fer her and for this broadcast. Leb & Fink By BOROtST COCKS Advertisinif Mgr., Lehn d Fink, Inc. Eddie Cantor will begin a new 26- Week series over a coast-to-coast Columbia hookup on 6ctoi)er 6 at p.ni. EST. While Cantor is on the Coast engaged in.his film wor the broadcasts wilt be from Holly- wood. Surrounding Cantor is a cast Including Parkyaricarkiis and^ James Wallington, Also on October" 6 we will start a 26-week series for Hinds Honey and Almond "Cream. "These pro- grams will be on the same lietwork at 8:30 p.m., ahd We will use an instantaneous switchover from the Cantor to the Hinds progranis just as we did last winter. The. enter- tainment on the Hinds series, how- •€ver, is not yet definitely settled. In addition to our twp netwprk progranis, we are planning a num- ber of localized show's from various stations all over the pountry. These will be daytime programs addressed to housewives In the interests ot Hinds Ixoney and Almond Cream. In general, our plan is to buy suc- cessful station p-ograms which have ready-niade followings. One of these will be the 'Life of Mary Sothern* over WLW when it comes back on the air this fall. Others will go on during tlie big Hinds Honey ahd Almond Cream season beginning the week of November 4. Schedules are intended for approximately 26 weeks. Procter & Gamble Cincinnati, Sept. 17. Quarter hour, daytime script pro- grams are Procter & Gamble's ma- jor radio tactic this fall following the foldup of the Ivory Soap Tent Show last Sunday night on the NBC. Red. 'O'Nlels' now supplanting the de- funct evening splurge, bringing the soap giant's roster of daytime pro- grams to four, all of which are do- mestic/dramas. Others are 'Ma Per- kins' for Oxydol, 'Vlo and Sade' for Crlscp, and 'Home, Sweet Home' for Chipso. Additionally there - is an evening network spot for the 'Tim Healy Stamp Club" for Ivory Soap. P&G is currently planning on a quarter hour musiciell over a lim- ited network for Drene shampoo, and has releasied a local program for American Family Soap in Chicago only. Barton Joins WTAM Cleveland, Sept. 17. Howard A.- Barton, ifprmer vlce- prez of Albert P. Hill Co., is newest addition to WTAM staff as head of sales promotion. Besides being author pf 'How to Write Advertising,' he was formef radio consultant to Scraft, Inc. and Carter's Ink. Mildred Okeson has quit WHK, Cleveland, with Judy Sherrill taking her place in program department. Bob Mortensen also returning to *VHK'S continuity department. Mrs. Cormier Very HI Philadelphia, Sept; 17. 1 rs. Albert A. Cormier, wife of v.-p. and general niarager of WIP, was last week removed to the At- lantic City Hospital from her home at. Pleasantvllle, N. J. She under- went an operation last year. . Her present condition Is very se- rious.