Advertising by Motion Pictures

INTRODUCTION

I am, in the first place, one of the few journalists to specialize on Motion Pictures. This enables me to concentrate on one subject instead of running the risk of making a regular hash of everything under the sun. I would not, naturally, have chosen to follow this path were not the theme the very versatile one it is. So you can imagine that I am always on the alert for new-idea germs for articles.

While searching for these I ran up against the advertising field. I was well aware that the motion picture had broken into the publicity game with success, but a good deal of investigating convinced me that the reason this new publicity medium had failed to gain a wide following was because there was so little definite information about it obtainable.

No advertiser, I fully knew, would consider a pig in the poke proposition, so it occurred to me that here was my chance to remedy the defect. What information there was to be had on the subject was scattered between the pages of various business publications in occasional articles, which fact set me to work to write a concise handbook, embodying everything worth knowing about Motion Picture Advertising.

It will probably seem rather strange to you that an invention like the cinematograph, which has achieved widespread fame as a form of entertainment, can perform the functions of advertising, but it is none the less a fact. Wonders have not yet ceased in this every-day world, believe me.

It also is not, I am glad to say, a medium confined to any one business or profession. It is, in fact, equally adaptable to the large manufacturer as it is to the smallest dealer in any trade.

Some advertisers may view a new form of publicity in the light that it necessitates a greater outlay without accomplishing more than the old established ad mediums. This, however, is not true of the motion picture, for it possesses business-pulling properties distinctly its own. The extra expense is more than recovered by the increased trade it develops.

It is, furthermore, an advertising medium no modern business man can afford to gloss over, so this little book is entitled to his most careful consideration.

Ernest A. Dench.

I. TELLING YOUR ADVERTISING STORY BY MOTION PICTURES

In spite of the versatility of the intrepid motion picture as an advertising medium, it has its limitations. This, after all, is but natural, for all forms of publicity are supposed to be links in the chain, and not one is strong enough to take the place of the whole.

It is clearly obvious, of course, that when adopting motion-picture advertising, everything has to be visualized by means of animated photographs, so, therefore, the appeal is presented through the eye. As for the printed work, this takes a back seat.

Since everything is intended to be absorbed by the eye, a whole mass of explanatory matter tagged on to the film would rather hinder the ad. instead of adding further enlightenment as intended. And the short time a sentence remains on the screen does not allow lengthy statements to sink in. Subtitles are weak devices to help a photoplay story over stumbling-blocks, and the less and shorter they are, the better the picture will be. There are plenty of other mediums in which to display how well you can weave words, so why drag them into a place where they do not fit?

Besides, it is what the spectator sees, not reads, that leaves the lasting impression, which is the paramount point to be reached in advertising by motion pictures.

And there is another important matter to be weighed and considered. If you overload your film with titles, you will befog a good number of foreigners who have not been long enough in our country to master the English language, so that their probable patronage is lost just because the international language of the film has been abused.

There has already arisen a select few writers who have made a specialty of combining advertising with motion pictures and laying out campaigns for their clients to the best possible advantage.

Motion-picture advertising, as a direct-appeal proposition, is ineffective. You may, for instance, have to get out a catalogue in order to list the goods you make, and you may also plan to get this over on the screen by filming each article as you would if you had a still photograph taken and precede each with an insert, giving prices and other particulars of same. Apart from the fact that the film would be voted deadly dull by audiences, it would also fall flat as a business bringer. You simply can’t do without advertising literature, for the motion picture ends at getting interested, and the old stand-bys must clinch the deal at the right time.

Where the film excels is that your ad. comes on the screen without competing with any others for attention, and although the spectator may not respond easily to press advertising, he feels he has to view the picture because he can not “turn over a page,” or, in other words, there is nothing else interesting for him to turn his attention to. He will, if approached, admit that the motion picture is the most entertaining publicity channel yet. You also reach him at his leisure, and, therefore, approach him in the right mood.

Get it out of your head right now that anything in the nature of an ad. film will produce the results you strive for; believe me, the movie fan (there are twenty million of them in this country) is a most fastidious individual, for which the improvements reached in photoplays may be held responsible. You would not expect a formal business notice to do any good nowadays, would you? Then, the same holds good of film advertising.

You can’t merely state on a film that Bondin, the famous actor, derives great enjoyment out of your preparation—it’s too crude. But you can film an interview with your worthy customer and introduce some home-life scenes, not to forget his testimonial of your goods visualized. This would produce an exquisite blend of entertainment and advertising.

All in all, it is action by which you have to tell your story. You have, as a matter of fact, to regard your proposition from the angle of the man from Missouri. You can take the public behind the scenes of your works and convince them that the goods are produced under the best of conditions. The picture is likewise given an educational touch because an industry is being unfolded at the same time. Then, if you want to bring out the important selling points, you engage a writer to incorporate them into a comedy or dramatic photoplay. And so I could go on giving examples of introducing life into the ad. story. Action is the life and soul of the film industry.

Bear in mind, too, that it is the quality that tells, not quantity. I have seen efforts along these lines that contained material for a half-reel subject, yet they were unduly extended to two reels, boring an audience for forty minutes instead of entertaining them for ten minutes. Picture-goers are quick to resent padding, and your film may defeat its purpose. A good way to detect this beforehand is to arrange for its projection and try to place yourself in the position of the average movie fan.

This padding is often done by the smaller fry so as to make as much as possible over the deal. But if the advertiser places himself in the hands of a reliable industrial film concern, he may rest assured of them not taking undue advantage by charging for a lot of superfluous footage.

II. MOVIE ADVERTISING FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF A FAN

You may hardly credit it when I assert that motion-picture audiences are the most critical in the world. They do not outwardly show their disapproval of things, but after they resolved that the photoplay was here to stay, anything as a motion picture would no longer satisfy them. So the film producers had to humor the folks who had made their wealth, and to-day the fans have been educated up to such a pitch that nothing but the best will satisfy them. Here, then, is the class of readers represented by moving-picture publicity.

The obvious conclusion is that advertisers will have to follow in the path of the ordinary producer in order to obtain the greatest value out of this new advertising medium.

A talk with an intelligent motion-picture fan, as I found, is very interesting. “I would like your views on ad. films,” I asked.

“With pleasure,” she replied, and forthwith got down to business.

“I must say that they are considerably more interesting than the advertisements that meet your eye in the newspapers. How nice it is to watch an industry on the screen and be taken through a big manufacturing plant. It is an education in itself, and it never strikes you as though it was intended as a boost, although the particular thing—the point the advertiser wishes to bring home, I believe you call it—leaves an indelible impression on you.

“I also enjoy the films in which there is a story. One such film, I remember, told of a poor family who took in washing. Disease abounded, and the folks who had their laundry done learned their lesson. Then the sanitary methods of the steam laundry were contrasted. It impressed me very much.

“The comic films are frequently laughable, but I remember being offended once at seeing a man like somebody’s beer so much that he drank it until he was dead drunk. I noticed that I was not the only spectator to leave the hall. I like, at all times, my photoplay fare to be in good taste.

“At some of the movie theaters I attend they make a practice of running a number of slides after the reels. They relate to neighboring stores, but are so dry and shown for so many weeks without being changed that I always skip them.”

“Would you prefer,” I chimed in, “that the advertising film portion be abolished?”

“I would not so long as the ordinary pictures did not suffer in quality and quantity. A show I regularly visit out in New Jersey always runs the ad. films after the program has finished. As the pictures are invariably good ones, I always stay to see them through, and most others in the audience seem to do likewise. And another thing, the subjects are frequently changed, for naturally one grows tired of seeing the same things over and over again.”

“Have you,” I broached, “any suggestions for improvements?”

“Sure; I would like to see some of my favorite photoplayers take the leading parts in the ad. stories. It would be just crazy to watch Mary Fuller and Francis X. Bushman as a pair of newly weds who try to overcome housekeeping difficulties with various modern articles to be bought at stores.

“I also think that there is considerable room for improving the film plots. They should be as good as the ordinary photoplays. What they seem to lack is strength. There is seldom any of the strong, exciting situations which I am accustomed to see, and the punch is often conspicuous by its absence at the end.”

III. THE DOLLARS AND CENTS OF ADVERTISING BY MOTION PICTURES

So far as I am aware, the cost aspects of advertising by motion pictures have not been dealt with in print before. This may explain why so many advertisers, national or otherwise, have neglected to avail themselves of the many opportunities offered by the new publicity medium. As in all things, the cost is the deciding point, and although the average advertiser will not quibble over a few dollars where there is the prospect of increased business, he, nevertheless, likes to know beforehand just what the campaign is going to cost.

Every business man thinks of the facts before anything else, and this chapter is intended to furnish them so that he need grope in the dark no longer.

I will suppose you follow the vade mecum of most advertisers and arrange to have a single-reel motion picture produced showing conditions at your plant. Even though it is only an industrial subject, it calls for much careful thinking and painstaking effort. A scenario will have to be prepared, and in this the various details you wish emphasized are introduced in logical order. You can, of course, withhold the trade secrets that are not desirable for the public to see. There is also a knack in inserting and wording the subtitles, for one is frequently employed to explain the obvious. This results in film wastage, while all the difficult points should be explained as explicitly as possible, as each word used consumes one foot of film.

A very bad habit which readily becomes apparent and detracts the attention of spectators from the object of the film is the employees at the plant staring hard at the camera while working. This defect has marred a good many industrials, and it gives the impression that the workers are aware of what is happening, whereas everything should appear perfectly natural.

The movie camera man next films the picture according to the scenario, allowing, however, a certain amount of feet for each incident, which depends on the importance of same. Providing sufficient daylight is available, the usual inclusive fee charged for the producing and developing of such a film is fifty cents per foot—or $500 for the entire reel, which is exactly a thousand feet. This is only for the negative, ten cents per foot being charged for each positive copy. You will, naturally, require more than one print, so you can figure on a cost of $100 for each copy. I will come back to this point later.

Maybe in parts of your manufacturing plant daylight is at a premium, in which event you will be obliged to pay fifty cents more per foot for the negative copy for installing the necessary artificial lighting. These charges include an allowance for padding, which is promptly eliminated, thus improving the whole picture.

One does not have to seek far why the comedy and dramatic photoplay is not popular with most motion-picture advertisers down to date. Yet, if they only knew the truth, they would find that movie audiences enjoy an entertaining story better than an advertisement contained in a film which merely strives to educate. The former, as one might expect, is more involved and expensive. In the first place, a good story is essential, and this may only be expected from an experienced photoplaywright who has an appreciation of advertising values. Personally speaking, I have received as much as $100 for conceiving and putting a one-reel photoplay in scenario form. Then you will need a capable cast of actors and a talented director to produce the picture in order to give it a distinctly expert professional touch. Probably interior scenes are called for outside of your works. These have to be erected in the studio at an additional expense.

The cost, of course, depends on the nature of the play, but all these things should be provided from $1.25 to $3 per foot. This works out at a cost of from $1,250 to $3,000 for producing the negative.

It is well to remember that, once the film has been produced, it is always available, the only extra charge being for extra positive copies you may require to replace the ones in use when worn out. If you want to save expense in the matter, and do not object to delay in operating your campaign, you can arrange for a given number of your dealers over a certain territory to retain the film for a day, then loan it to the local motion-picture theater for its evening show. If, however, you want to cover all the territory at one time, then you will need more prints in circulation.

Do not permit a print to be constantly in use for more than six months without replacing it with a new copy, for you have to make a due allowance for wear and tear. It would not do to let your film graduate to the “rainy” stage, since your pictorial advertisement, to leave a good impression on movie audiences, must be in perfect condition.

Unfortunately, no general advertising circulation plan has been put in execution, but it is best either to have the producing concern help you out, or else rely upon your dealers to aid you in their respective localities. Being on the spot and knowing the co-operation is to the advantage of all concerned, he can, no doubt, arrange matters with the best local exhibitor. The fee for showing is merely a matter of arrangement, but in many cases you will incur no expense.

IV. SOME FILM ADVERTISING METHODS FOR THE MANUFACTURER

Boosting Trademarks

I will first endeavor to show the proprietor of an advertised article the best uses to which the motion picture can be put, for some “copy” screens better than others, and the advertiser should use discrimination.

Now, one of the greatest assets a manufacturer can have is a trademark. This he uses as fuel when trying to point out to the public, by means of press announcements, posters and literature, not to accept substitutes. Be the trademark a good one for pictorial purposes, and a specialist is called in to give the branded article a lasting impression on the public desired to reach, and the results will please. I am a photoplay writer who specializes in writing such plays to order, so I know what I am talking about.

Making Catch Phrases More Popular

Catch phrases are also good plot germs, and are capable of being worked in the same manner as trademarks.

Not a few of our leading manufacturers have familiar persons in connection with their standard articles. The other year Messrs. Siemen Brothers, an English firm, brought their well-known “Wotan” maid and “Tantalum” man to life in a film. It was a comedy, and the plot’s mission, besides introducing these figures, was to bring home how 75 per cent. of the electric-light bill could be saved by the “Wotan” and “Tantalum” lamps. This play was first shown at one of the local theaters and was well received.

Bringing Romance to Light

Behind many commercial undertakings there is romance. It may be forgotten in the press of business, but human interest is too valuable as a publicity stunt to be overlooked. It is quite possible that these romantic stories are not appreciated at their full value until a motion-picture publicity expert comes along and squeezes all the “juice” out of them.

The motion-picture industry has made its marvelous progress through the lifelike stories that predominate in the picture theaters. It, therefore, only stands to reason that a real life story would have a better appealing power.

V. SLIDE AND FILM ADVERTISING CONTRASTED

When using the press, you either advertise in the newspapers or magazines, or both. So is there more than one medium at the motion-picture theater. You can employ a slide or a film to present your advertisement, according to which of the two devices you may favor. I have no axe to grind in contrasting the two mediums, so will do so in a fair manner.

As the direct results of my investigations in numerous motion-picture theaters of all types in and around New York and Brooklyn, which set the average for the rest of the country, I have made the discovery that there is a far greater percentage of the manufacturers adopting slides than films. Why is this so, then? Personally speaking, I think that it is due to the fact that the one thing most in vogue is considerably cheaper than the other. I say this without any thought of giving offense to advertisers, for I know that the wise ones regard results as of paramount importance rather than haggling over the question of price. Maybe, however, they haven’t been acquainted with the screen long enough as a publicity outlet to become sufficiently conversant with the two channels.

One big drawback is that few of the slides are attractive enough to become business producers. It is one thing to gain attention and another thing to retain it. It only stands to reason that you can not expect an audience to be interested in a dull and commonplace business any more than you can hope a hackneyed newspaper ad. to return an investment. It might have done when advertising was in its infancy, but to-day, never.

Even greater pains should be taken in preparing the matter for a slide, for the folks that you will shortly show it to have been educated up to seeing things excellent in pictorial form. Neither is just one slide sufficient in order to get home. You must take into consideration, too, that yours is only one of a dozen or more thrown on the screen. The whole batch are usually projected after the reels have been shown, in rapid succession. Since you are competing with a bunch of advertisers, no matter whether they be competitors or not, you can not expect an audience to indulge in a game of mental gymnastics so as to remember them all. They are, to use a slangy expression, tempted to bite off more than they can chew.

Besides, place yourself in the position of motion-picture playgoers. They don’t attend merely to witness a magic-lantern show or to read books. The former is out of date, while the latter they can do at their leisure at home. You can’t be surprised at them taking offense when they are forced (that is the strongest word for it) to wade through a tiresome number of slides before the next reel is shown. The practice merely helps to blackball the advertiser, and that surely is the last thing to be desired.

If you are still in favor of slides, then take my tip and get out of the rut; only, first of all, bear in mind that you are not preparing something for people to read, but see. Your ad. will then stand out above the rest. Introduce pictures, preferably something to make them laugh. You can make them move, too! Who does not remember the Old Dutch Cleanser lady chasing Dirt, all within the limited compass of a single slide? You can also picturize comic stories on similar lines to those contained in the comic sections of the metropolitan Sunday newspapers. Run the series as a serial, and so maintain the interest from day to day. It is going to cost you more, ’tis true, but you will be recompensed amply. Another grave mistake is to allow a slide to be shown at the same theater several weeks in succession, for movie fans are accustomed to a varied daily change of program and hate seeing the same thing over again.

My main reason for favoring a film is because it is the right vehicle in the right place. The twenty million Americans go to see pictures in motion, and it has been proved from experience that the average movie patron does not object to a film which combines either instruction or entertainment. A motion picture taking an audience through your manufacturing plant and bringing out all the selling points you wish would come under the former heading, while a comedy or dramatic photoplay incorporating your ad. would be applicable to the second designation. By one or the other of these ways your campaign would get over more convincingly, and you could conduct it on an extensive scale. There would be no possibility about it not sinking into the audience, inasmuch as good pictures always do have this effect.

It is also pleasing to know that you would have no competition to contend with, for the simple reason that no exhibitor with brains would think of including more than one picture of this nature on his regular program. As the semi-ad. film is extra, why should spectators be offended in the least? Or, come to that, you could stipulate in the contract to this effect. You would thus enjoy a monopoly of the screen and not be in fear of the attention of the audience being divided. Your film is on the screen for eighteen minutes or more, whereas a slide barely occupies a minute.

It must not be thought that I am wishing to denounce slide advertising; far from it, let me assure you. It has its uses.

Naturally, to secure the desired results, you have to work in co-operation with the dealers throughout the country. Now, with a film alone you can accomplish this much satisfactorily, but an attractive slide shown on the screen after the film has been run over fills the gap O. K. It also acts as a follow-up and direct-appeal stunt, for it is no earthly use familiarizing people with your goods without acquainting them where they may be obtained locally. Put forward some attractive proposition and get the people to action. The slide has always been a device more eminently suited for retailers on account of it being inexpensive, and the manufacturer should therefore only employ it as an ally to his movie publicity campaign. Then both will work to mutual advantage.

VI. USING THE FILM TO SECURE FOREIGN BUSINESS

At this time, when every live manufacturer is hastening to place his “made in America” goods on a large scale in foreign countries cut off by the European war, he will, naturally, be responsive to all publicity mediums which offer value.

Creating a demand for your wares in new lands is, as one is well aware, a far harder task than is capturing fresh business at home, so, if the desired volume of trade is to be obtained, there must be no stinting on the advertising campaign expenditure. It is doubtful whether there is any publicity outlets that can outshine the versatile motion picture in the all-important capacity of a results bringer. If you are inclined to doubt the pulling powers of this medium, allow me to draw your attention to some convincing facts in its favor.

In Serbia, most of the photoplays shown in the theaters there hail from the United States. On the authority of Deputy Consul R. J. Nevakavitch, of Belgrade, I am able to state that, two years ago, American fashions became suddenly popular in Serbia. It is of frequent occurrence to run up against men—and it is not confined to the younger fraternity—in Belgrade with their hair cut a la American, while their clothes show that the native tailors are endeavoring to approach Uncle Sam’s style. In addition, American types of hats, shoes and boots are largely in demand.

If films of the fiction variety have such an effect on foreigners as this, there can be no possible room for doubt that advertising pictures pure and simple can produce even better results individually.

The main setback to the opening of business relations in new countries is the strict conservatism of the dealers, who have a great dislike to entering into negotiations with foreign manufacturers, just because the language, money, weights and measures are different to what they are accustomed to. The Belgrade consul furthermore suggested that this might be overcome by tackling the prospective consumers first at the movie shows. The preference that would ultimately spring up for American products would practically compel the local dealer to respond by stocking the same.

Before the present war was in the air, a commercial body named British Industries, Limited, comprising the leading manufacturers, prepared an eight-reel film. The principal industries were dealt with, each merchant being allotted eight hundred feet in which to tell his “story.” The complete picture was exhibited, not only in John Bull’s colonies, but in foreign countries as well.

Germany, too, recently boosted its industries in foreign markets. The Association for the Promotion of Foreign Trade arranged for the taking of a series of films. These were shown abroad, and the lecturers, who discoursed on the pictures, worded their speeches so general in appeal that the public was unaware of the true purpose of such demonstrations.

Now, of course, these things have been knocked on the head, which is all the more reason why our biggest manufacturers should get together.

It is obvious, however, that an undertaking on these extensive lines only appeals to the recognized leaders in each line of business, so smaller commercial concerns will find it advantageous to carry out a movie campaign entirely of their own.

A good proportion of the motion-picture theaters abroad are always glad to snap up such pictures free and to include them on the ordinary entertainment. To monopolize the advertising in the theater program, and defray the printing of same, is a reliable follow-up campaign.

VII. APPROACHING THE WORKING CLASSES WITH A MOTION-PICTURE PLAY

It was the Bard of Stratford who said that “the play was the thing.” Although it then referred to the legitimate stage, as it does now, it can to-day apply aptly to the motion-picture theater. A good story is, also, the ideal vehicle for film advertising.

The twenty million movie fans in this country frequent their favorite form of amusement to be entertained, and some greatly resent the pure advertising or semi-educationals which they often have to sit out.

It must be borne in mind that it is the one kind of relaxation by which the working classes are able to get away from the monotony and hardness of their every-day existence. They, therefore, want their fare served up in an appetizing manner. Anything else is apt to prove a bore, and you can thus see what kind of a receptive mood by which you have to approach the average motion-picture audience. That is why it is advisable to have your advertising points ingeniously incorporated in either a comedy or drama, the former preferably.

The most common type of ad. film is the industrialog, portraying the processes by which certain goods are manufactured. Several of these subjects I have seen at the picture shows lately were so unnecessarily padded that they were enough to send spectators to sleep. No wise advertiser would attempt to cram in all the matter he could into the smallest possible space in his press announcements, neither should he try it on the film.

Industrialogs undoubtedly appeal more to a better-class audience, but it must be remembered that a good proportion of the movie theaters are still nickel shows, which attract the working classes. These folks see enough of factory and business life in the daytime, so they do not want to be inflicted with it when endeavoring to get away from the atmosphere. Here you have a large audience which is extremely difficult to address via the press, for the majority go in for hardly any reading at all. Maybe they haven’t got the inclination or money to do it. Their custom is certainly worth while cultivating, and no doubt they can understand pictures better than books, as, when the world was young, pictures were drawn on slabs of stone to indicate what otherwise could not be explained. Compelled to go out to work at an early age is responsible for a good proportion of the masses being poor readers and writers. By the motion pictures, however, you can approach a public previously beyond your reach.

I recently was commissioned to write a short comedy scenario for a well-known tobacco manufacturer, and here follows the synopsis of the plot:

Bill, a workingman, is enjoying his pipe of —— Tobacco in the parlor of his home, when a passerby notices smoke issuing from the window. Thinking the house on fire, he brings the fire department on the scene. They turn the hose on the house, and, after a severe drenching, Bill escapes. He is indignant at being duped by the passerby, and the firemen also resent being made fools of. They then turn the hose on the culprit, who pleads for mercy. Bill offers to release him if he buys four packages of —— Tobacco all round. The passerby agrees, and hurries off to the shop to buy the same, pacifying his victims, who are left enjoying the tobacco.

For some things drama is better for hammering points home, but stick to comedy as much as you can—it is more popular with movie audiences.

The French branch of the Remington Typewriter Company recently had a photoplay story produced which concerned a working girl, who, on her father’s death, was the only support of the family. Through the firm cutting down expenses she is dismissed, and vainly endeavors to obtain another position as a stenographer. At the end of her resources, she obtains a Remington typewriter on the installment plan and obtains sufficient clients to provide her with work.

It is seldom advisable to go beyond a reel, which occupies about eighteen minutes on the screen, for that is the ideal length. Audiences will stand this without a murmur of protest, since they appreciate one good extra reel on the program. It matters little whether they realize that it is advertising disguised. Quick action is one of the things that have been responsible for the great present vogue of the motion picture, so have your producer compress all he can into every foot of film. It should then bring you more than the desired results.

VIII. REACHING THE PUBLIC BY MOTION PICTURES

After an advertising film has been produced, and the owner wants to get his investment back with a fair amount of interest, the question naturally arises as to the means of distribution. A convincing motion picture is half the battle won, but it is obviously practically worthless unless the prospective purchaser be reached. Like the placing of ordinary publicity matter with the press, the marketing of a commercial photoplay is a science. No ironclad rules can be laid down, for the simple reason that everything depends on the proposition itself. I shall, therefore, confine myself to methods that have been employed in general campaigns.

Improving the Ordinary Theater Plan

Once upon a time—and it was not so far back, either—it was a comparatively easy matter to coax a motion-picture exhibitor to take an advertising picture for one or more days’ showing, but nowadays it is hard work to do so, for there are now ten manufacturers to every one that adopted film advertising as part and parcel of its publicity campaign in the past. For another thing, the movie showman has begun to realize that it is advertising pure and simple, although an attempt may be made to disguise this significant fact. Being a business man, he naturally considers it only fair that he should be appropriately remunerated. His attitude has prevented the screen medium getting into a rut, since it has allowed enterprise to enter into the intricate problem of reaching the public, a condition that was formerly confined to the actual film. One without the other only tends to spoil the results.

Here in New York the American Druggists Syndicate recently brought out a motion-picture theater accommodating six hundred, for $150 per day during the first three days of the week. The ordinary dramatic and comedy photoplays were used to entertain audiences, and the program only differed in that ten minutes was set apart for a trained lecturer, discoursing on a series of slides setting forth the merits of his firm’s goods.

All the box-office receipts went to the pro tem. exhibitor. Every patron, on paying for admission, was handed a coupon which was good for twenty-five cents at any A. D. S. store in the locality. The house was filled to overflowing on every occasion as the result of this dandy scheme, thus proving the value of a good premium to which the sporting element is not attached. It is safe to say that their products were introduced to many for the first time, and innumerable new permanent consumers were added to their already long list.

Co-operating with the Dealer

In the case of a proprietary line, the dealer has to be “roped in” before a successful appeal can be made to the public. He would be first advised of the forthcoming motion-picture campaign through the medium of his favorite trade journal. And, unless it is localized, he will probably regard it as of no consequence to him.

When the Jewell stoves and ranges were, a short time ago, boosted by motion pictures in numerous towns, the two-reel film, occupying about thirty minutes on the screen, which depicted the various processes in the making of the goods, was exhibited after the ordinary program was over, a small fee being paid for the privilege. The film was advertised in the local newspapers, and an arrangement was effected with the local dealer whereby his advertising copy linked up with the film, resulting in people being sent to his store.

Touring Rural Communities with Films

Another excellent plan is to equip a commercial automobile with cinematographic apparatus and films, and, under charge of a trained lecturer, despatch it to rural communities that may be desired to reach. There are a good many places too small to support a movie show even to-day, and such a one given nightly in the main street would attract all the surrounding population. In a way, it would be a novelty to them, and more especially so as the exhibition is free.

This was done by Acetylene Publicity, Limited, of London, who toured the small villages in Britain to demonstrate the advantages of acetylene lighting and cooking apparatus by means of a film lecture. When the weather was not fit for outdoor shows, a tent was erected, or else a local hall hired for the purpose. The route was made to extend to one year, a stop being made at all villages and towns passed on the trip, the duration of which depended on the size and importance of the place. It was usually, however, for one night.

Although, as far as I know, this is a new idea to America, there is no reason why it can not be adopted successfully over here. It can be applied to practically all lines of business appealing to the consumer.

Mr. C. M. Lemperly, advertising manager of the Sherwin-Williams Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, who attribute a fourteen per cent. increase in actual sales during the last business year to motion-picture publicity, declares that, as a medium of small-town circulation, it is doubtful if there is any better advertising proposition on the market than the motion picture. Further to this significant statement, it is satisfactory to note that the firms to take up this new medium continue to increase, and they stick in for good.

Greatly exaggerated circulations are held out by inexperienced industrial film producers, so the advertiser should take his proposition to the recognized specialists along this particular line. Their statements, he will find, will stand being tested and proved. He will also be assured that his film will be satisfactory from a technical point of view.

IX. INTRODUCING ADVERTISEMENTS INTO MOTION-PICTURE NEWSPAPERS

A New Opening for Publicity Enterprise

It is as well to know, if you were not already aware of it, that motion-picture advertising is a passing fad no more. Instead, it is a tested ad. medium and is worthy of as much attention as are the old established publicity outlets, so, if you are one of its devotees, it is up to you to impart some originality to your next movie campaign, for there is danger of permitting this excellent medium to drop into a rut.

Since newspaper advertising is so highly valued, why, therefore, neglect the splendid chances offered by the motion-picture equivalent? I refer to the several animated weeklies published by the leading film factions. I have approached the producers on the subject, but they all seem to be averse to selling their “space,” because they have their fears that they will incur the displeasure of the exhibitors who hire their pictures. This is a very narrow-minded way of sizing up the situation, for, if the producers added additional films to allow for the advertisements carried, it could be settled in an amicable manner to both sides, while a new source of revenue would be opened to the movie publisher. It would be a comparatively easy matter to sandwich in a small ad. film, devised to fit the purpose, between the news items. As in the case of advertising that is placed between the text-matter in the press, it would possess greater publicity values.

The possibilities of the medium may be judged by the fact that these animated newspapers reach something like twenty million people of all classes weekly, from Maine to California.

All film ads., irrespective of the position they may be placed, would command concentrated attention and call no effort on the part of an audience, if the appeal is presented through the eye and there is nothing to distract attention or allow any member to deliberately not give your ad. at least the once over. In these all-important points, the motion picture has a considerable advantage over the press.

Who would think of inflicting the press agency stuff on film producers? Yet the English branch of Spratts, the well-known dog-food specialists, did so on a recent occasion. They were favored with a contract to house the special breed of dogs that were to be employed for transport work in the Antarctic expedition and to supply their biscuits. This news item was given out to one of the animated newspapers, which was invited to send an operator. The film concern snapped up the chance like a starving man does a slice of bread, for great interest was centered in the expedition at the time. Before the camera man’s arrival at the kennels the chance was not neglected to display posters and other advertising matter in the yard. Not only did they figure prominently on the film, but the explanatory matter told all about the firm’s accomplishment. Anything that possesses genuine news value, and can be got over by motion pictures, is good for capitalizing.

It is now extremely difficult to persuade an exhibitor to put on an ad. film after his ordinary program for nothing, so ingenious ruses have to be resorted to. One firm hit on the brilliant idea of getting out an animated news weekly of their own. Half of the reel each week comprised topical events covered by their own cinematographer, while the remaining portion was a booster for the firm’s goods. The reel was offered free to movie showmen, who found the something-for-nothing bait too good to be resisted.

Indeed, by looking across the horizon, there are going to be some surprising developments in this particular direction very soon, if I am anything of a prophet, and those who strike the iron while it is hot, which is right now, will reap the advantages.

X. EMPLOYING MOTION PICTURES TO APPEAL TO THE CHILDREN

In these days of strenuous competition and enlightenment, the aid of the children is a factor not to be lightly reckoned with. If advertisers have discovered it worth while to appeal to them through such publicity channels as the press and special literature, then so must it be productive of advantageous results if you pay particular attention to this element in your next motion-picture advertising campaign.

The other afternoon, while partaking of lunch at home, a sample-man came to the front door and handed the maid a liberal trial of Shredded Wheat. This was brought in by her, and my friend and I myself being both keenly interested in advertising problems, our conversation naturally drifted to this topic. Much to our mingled surprise, my friend’s little girl of twelve chimed in:

“The factory in which Shredded Wheat is made represents the last word in cleanliness, and is sanitary in every respect.” She didn’t say these words, but they were to this effect.

“How do you know, dearie?” we asked, dubiously.

“Well, at one of our Sunday-school entertainments a film came on, showing the Shredded Wheat plant at Niagara Falls, and I remember all the details of the picture.”

What better proof can you have than that? A child absorbs everything eagerly, and there is no likelihood of its attention being diverted elsewhere in the darkened hall. He can also understand things better from pictures than from words, because the eye is the magnet and attracts everything that appears on the magic white screen.

Nor is this the only example which has come to my notice lately. I used to conduct the young folks’ department in the Motion Picture Magazine, and in this capacity I recently had the opportunity of judging the numerous entries received in the “What I Have Learned from Motion Pictures” competition. One of the competitors—a girl of fourteen—stated that she has seen how the Ford automobile is put together, the number turned out in a day, and the roads it can be made to go over. Take good note of this fact, too—the film demonstration was produced in Detroit, Michigan, and she saw the picture in Coronado, California.

An effort submitted by a boy of thirteen contained a statement that he knows how many things are manufactured, although he neglected to specify whose ad. films he had witnessed at the theater.

At the present time the schools in various parts of the country are, more or less, adopting the motion picture as part and parcel of their educational course. They are, for the most part, only too glad to receive the free hire of a film depicting how your goods are made, inasmuch as it costs them at least $5 for the day’s rental for a single-reel, anti-ad. industrial picture. Films along these lines blend well, in that they possess educational qualities for school use and general theater consumption besides containing advertising for your goods.

In some cases the mothers are invited to these demonstrations, and, even when they are not, you may rest assured that their offspring will not overlook enthusiastically reciting all they have seen.

The largest publishing organization in England, to boost their morning paper, the London Daily Mail, had a motion picture produced covering all the stages in paper manufacture, from the time the tree was felled until the finished product lay on the breakfast table of the reader.

The direct advertising incidents presented were those of the making of the paper in their own mills in Newfoundland, its arrival at their London wharf, and the spectator was then transferred to the printing-plant, where the complete editions are turned out rapidly by the latest machines. The publishing to catch early trains to all parts of England was, unfortunately, omitted. This is done outside in the wee hours, when it is too dark for filming purposes, so it had, instead, to be done at their Manchester branch, where they print a big northern edition at daylight.

Prizes of $15, $10 and $5, respectively, were offered for essays on the picture written by schoolchildren under sixteen. There was also a similar competition for adults. All this was announced in their daily, and schoolteachers in and around London were circularized, advising them when and where the picture would be shown in their vicinity. They were asked to kindly bring it before the notice of their pupils, which they did.

Motion-picture exhibitors availed themselves of the opportunity to run the film for three days and Saturday matinee free, owing to the advance advertising accorded the picture and its attractive qualities. At the Saturday matinees the children attended in full force.

I understand, on very good authority, that the fifteen hundred feet (one and a half reels) cost $750 to produce, while the six positive copies used for circulation purposes were furnished for the inclusive sum of $600. The campaign was such an advertisement and circulation stimulant that its evening companion, the News, followed it up by inaugurating a series of weekly children’s matinees, admission being in return for a coupon cut from the paper. Theaters were bought out for each separate occasion, the amount varying according to capacity and location. The program comprised six reels of educational and comedy films, a house in a different locality being bought out each week, and a new variety of pictures shown. The publication in question did not employ a film of its own, but relied upon the advertising received in connection with the shows as being sufficient.

With a little adjustment, to suit the particular line of business, there is nothing to prevent the London Evening News’ plan from proving equally as effective on this side of the Atlantic.

XI. SALESMANSHIP DEMONSTRATIONS BY THE FILM

Motion-picture publicity is so pliable that arranging with movie theaters to put on a film of your product in the making and equipping salesmen with a reel and apparatus to demonstrate before prospective customers does not exhaust its uses.

I have unearthed a New York manufacturing concern in a large way of business who have fathomed the all-important matter of deriving the fullest value from their movie-advertising investment. They utilize their film to teach salesmanship to the employees. A large room has been rigged up as a miniature picture theater, and every week half-hourly pictorial demonstrations are given to the staff. The film depicts most thoroughly the manufacture of goods sold by the firm.

It requires no great stretch of the imagination to realize that to attempt this knowledge in the ordinary way is oftentimes a too lengthy and intricate task, but the motion picture is so competent in simplifying the essential details that, after seeing the movie several times, even the veriest novice can talk intelligently to the likely buyer on every little point in connection with the making of the goods. Such clinching arguments make it easier to effect sales, and should the prospect imagine that the salesman is attempting to convince him with a lot of hot-air talk, there remains the actual film to back up his arguments.

An engineering firm I have come across in my travels make use of their private theater to take their out-of-town customers through the manufacturing processes of their wares. They being middlemen, the information thus obtained is passed on to the dubious consumer, with invariably satisfactory results.

Practically every manufacturing firm that has adopted—or intends so doing—the film as a branch of their advertising campaign may profit by applying the plans herewith outlined to their own special circumstances.

XII. EQUIPPING A PRIVATE MOTION-PICTURE THEATER FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES

The manufacturer who intends adopting the motion picture as his advertising offspring for all time will find it necessary to install a private theater in his office building or manufacturing plant, according to what he may decide suits him best. This miniature theater can be made to serve three useful purposes. One is to try out each new advertising film before putting it into circulation and to be on guard for defects calling for improvement. The second is to give regular demonstrations before the employees, so as to keep them up to efficiency pitch. Thirdly, it is always available for giving shows for the edification of prospective customers.

The authorities throughout the country are getting exceedingly strict anent the showing and storing of films, so the room selected for the purpose should be made as fireproof as possible, for films are mighty inflammable.

Although no actual case has come before my notice, it might be interesting to compare the example presented by the wealthy homes in Cincinnati. There are private motion-picture theaters there owned by the well-to-do. Both architects and fire insurance men view the innovation in the light that no ordinary fire insurance policy holds good under such circumstances. Were there a fire to result, the fire insurance company having a claim on the same would fight the case out in the courts to be immune from compensation.

The danger from fire, however, is considerably lessened if the proper precautions are taken. But, after you have equipped your private theater, it is best to call in your fire insurance agent to investigate and discover what his company’s action will be in the matter.

A miniature projecting machine will suit you just as well as one of the standard machines, which cost three times as much and consume more current. The only difference is that the standard machines are larger and have a longer throw on a bigger screen. But your theater will necessarily be a miniature one, and this makes it ideal for a small projector focused on a medium-sized screen at a close distance. The cost of the average miniature projector—there are several makes on the market—is $100. Apart from lessening the danger from fire, such a machine can be easily connected with the electric-light current at present available.

There is a dandy film booth listed in the catalog of a large motion-picture accessory concern for $50. It is portable and made of steel, the size being four feet wide, five feet long and seven feet high. Only twenty minutes is occupied in erecting it or pulling down. This, of course, need only be done when the floor space is required for some other purpose when the theater is not required. Inside the booth the operator can manipulate the machine with perfect safety, for if the film was to catch fire, the blaze would be confined to the booth and the operator could quench the flames quickly with a fire-extinguisher.

The screen that gives the best results and is used in the majority of motion-picture theaters is that known as the “Mirroroide.” There are several grades, but the best is a medium silver white. These screens are guaranteed for five years against deterioration, peeling or cracking.

The size of your screen will depend upon how your room is situated. I should not advise a too small one, for it is desirable to display all the selling points in as advantageous a way as you can. I therefore advocate a screen of not less than four feet by three feet. The material for same costs $3.25 per square yard.

You will, of course, have to make provision for seating accommodation, and it is optional whether you purchase some special theater chairs or use those you have already in use.

A competent operator will expect from $20 to $25 per week salary, but as you will only need the services of one for part time, I suggest that you have one of your mechanical staff act in that capacity when his services are needed.

The steel vault or safe is the best storing-place for films when not in use.

XIII. INTRODUCING COMPETITIONS IN AD. MOTION PICTURES

The one element in motion-picture advertising films I have found lacking is enterprise. I do not mean to say that this is the case of the pictures themselves, but in the principle of the whole proposition. Compare the printed matter gotten out by the big advertisers. What do you discover? Why, numerous devices to attract readers. A photographic firm offers several hundred dollars in prizes for the best photographs taken with their camera. A food manufacturer wants to know of new receipts for his standard line, so he pays liberally for such suggestions. Another food concern will give an attractive present for a certain number of labels taken from the packages of their goods. These are but a few examples of what, in my mind, constitute enterprise.

All this attracts the interest of the public and acts as a direct booster for the goods thus brought into prominence, but just because you can obtain the attention of motion-picture audiences with little effort, that is no reason why you should let ENTERPRISE go by the board. Your constant aim should be to go one better than your competitors and, at the same time, arouse the most sluggard to action. There is a certain glamor about an article being offered free and money to be had for a little effort, and the opportunity to strike out along new lines at the movie theater is awaiting your prompt attention. No advertiser has attempted what I am going to propose. Neither would you attempt what you have done before through the press and dealers for the simple fact that this new publicity medium possesses a technique of its own. This, you can see, necessitates a different proposition altogether.

One way of gauging the precise lines you should pursue is by keeping track of what the ordinary motion-picture producing concerns are doing. This is why I advise frequent visits to the theaters, in which you can combine pleasure with business. If these producers have experienced the fact that enterprise pays, after long and diligent study of what the fickle public wants, it only goes to bear out my assertion that users of motion-picture advertising should emulate their example.

It also carries much weight in establishing friendly relations with the exhibitor, for the average one is no great lover of advertising films unless offered a fee, and even then his enthusiasm is of the watery kind. But, however, if offered a photoplay of the nature which forms the basis of this article, gratis, he knows that the joint boosting of him and the advertiser is a sure tonic for a full house. He, therefore, may be relied upon not to let the chance go begging and have it snapped up by his rival a few blocks away.

The $10,000 offered for the solving of “The Million Dollar Mystery” film serial caused a furore throughout the country. Briefly, the plan was this: Through the installments, each getting more complicated than its predecessor, a million dollars disappears, and the thief and his hiding-place can not be located, although spectators are led to suspect certain characters and places. The mystery is only known to those higher up, the correct solution capturing the big money prize. The extra installment, which was put out after the judging was finished, informed competitors whether they were successful or not. Now, can not you detect the possibilities of the idea? Supposing somebody hides something in your advertised goods and you have all the action revolve around that situation.

The Universal Company recently experienced great difficulty in selecting an appropriate name for a certain feature film drama, so they released it devoid of a title and launched an advertising campaign announcing their intention of paying $50 for the one accepted.

A no small amount of enthusiasm was created by the Cines Company in their plan to remunerate the best scenario with a thousand dollars, with several smaller prizes for the ones next best in merit. Almost everybody is writing photoplays nowadays, and it would be a dandy idea if you were to launch an extensive advertising campaign linking press, dealer, film and exhibitor. You could then offer a substantial cash prize for the best photoplays written around your products. The interest can be sustained when the films are put out, by inviting criticisms with the bait of additional prizes. The latter was done with excellent results in the Cines contest.

XIV. BRINGING OUT THE INDIVIDUALITY OF DRY GOODS BY MOTION PICTURES

The motion picture is the ideal channel for enterprising dry-goods manufacturers who want to bring out the individuality of their goods.

Printed matter, no matter how attractively gotten up, leaves a lot to be satisfied, both in appeal and the results. First of all, you have got to get your stuff read by discriminating buyers, and that is no easy matter in these days, when the mails are swamped with it. You have got to humor those skeptical folks who want to be shown that your statements are correct. They have been deceived so many times by unscrupulous advertisers that even the honest ones come under suspicion. To sum it up briefly, motion-picture advertising is a vehicle for pictorial treatment. Your reader sees the thing in actual reality, instead of pen paintings or still photographs.

Movie audiences have come to regard films as next to life itself, and no fraudulent advertising has crept in on the screen to shatter their illusion.

You interest your readers with little effort. At home he or she can toss your costly literature in the waste-basket without even giving it the once over. Or, come to that, if it is a magazine or newspaper ad., there is a whole mass of matter claiming attention at the same time. Your ad., therefore, stands precious small chance of gaining attention. But at the motion-picture theater the situation is entirely different, for your audience is already waiting to be tackled. Their attention is literally glued to the screen. No matter what species of film you adopt to get over your arguments, then the spectators will give it the self-same attention. They can not do otherwise, since only one thing appears on the screen at the same time, and the hall is too dark for them to do anything else. It is hardly likely that they will vacate their seats if they have not seen the whole program. So the results depend mainly on how your appeal is presented.

Becker, Mayor & Company, of Chicago, preferred to do theirs with the aid of a film carrying the interesting title of “The Sheep Industry.” It opened with scenes of sheep grazing on Montana plains, and then dealt with the whole operation of making clothes—in their way, of course—from the time the sheep were sheared until the clothes were on the back of the customer. It was a rather intricate subject, but it was put over in a clear and entertaining manner. The selling talk that came to the surface out of the mass of material was this: The sanitary conditions under which the “Graduate” coats were turned out, and the several hand operations which ensure perfect-hanging sleeves, smooth shoulders and the coat keeping its shape; hanging the clothes in the stockroom as a precaution against wrinkles. Then followed a typical retail store stocking the well-known “Graduate” and “Woolly Boy” brands. Their arguments that their clothes were made of all wool and hand-made assumed a deeper meaning, adding the desired convincing touches.

Perhaps you would prefer to have your statements woven into a comedy or dramatic photoplay, and so avoid the direct advertising element. Well, the Printzess concern had one produced in three reels, taking about an hour to show, but incorporated industrial stuff like that mentioned.

Personally speaking, I should advise the advertiser to get out a short film at regular intervals, about a reel in length. You can then take each thing separately and release a film at intervals, and so maintain the interest. You wouldn’t think of having one big splash at press advertising and then do no more, would you? The same principle holds good in filmland. There is nothing that gets the goat of a picture-goer quicker than having to see the same film more than once, and it should have the run the ordinary films are given—one day.

Harken back to the Printzess campaign, their story possessed a very weak plot, and it was the many interesting incidents that made the picture entertaining. Reduced to the bare outlines, here is the story: A society leader accepts an invitation to attend an informal ladies’ costume pageant. She promptly gets her dressmaker busy on new gowns, for her wardrobe did not fulfill her exacting demands. When they are completed, however, they turn out misfits, and there is no time for alterations. In her dilemma, she conceives the idea, suggested by a magazine ad., of buying a ready-made gown at the nearest department store. To her delight, she obtains a stunning dress that fits perfectly, and creates a sensation at the pageant. She is declared the best gowned woman, a gold mesh-bag being the prize, and gains the title of “Her Royal Highness Miss Printzess.”

When the Printzess people heard of the honor paid them, they invited her to inspect their plant in Cleveland, Ohio. She has a sister in the town, which gives her a good motive for making the trip. After being shown over the works, she is full of admiration for the workmanship of Printzess dresses. Back at home, she muses over fashions, which are visualized by beautiful living models, attired in gowns shortly to be introduced.

Like with publications, one must, of course, discriminate between the good and the bad. What Becker, Mayor & Company did was to arrange matters with their string of retailers and loan each the film. They naturally knew the best theater suited for their purpose, and got the exhibitor to show the film for a small fee at the evening show. When each was through with it, the film was despatched to the retailer in the next town, until the whole territory was covered.

If you want to do this everywhere at the same time, it means a little more expense in having copies of the film struck off. Pictures of ladies’ underclothing can hardly be shown in the ordinary way. The Gossart corset concern surmounted this difficulty by showing it only at matinees, to which ladies only were admitted. The film showed the corsets being fitted on living models.

XV. BOOSTING CITIES AND PLEASURE RESORTS BY MOTION PICTURES

The first aim of the city boosters and Chambers of Commerce is to get the public to visit their communities. How, then, can this be accomplished? The usual way is by distributing attractive literature setting forth everything calculated to “lure” the visitor, but, in the majority of cases, the efforts of the publicity man fail to have the desired effect. “It is all very well of you to inform me of the advantages of your city or pleasure resort,” the man in the street might say, “but how on earth am I to know whether it was not written by somebody with a tendency to exaggerate? Again, I have to picture things before my eyes from cold print. Why not, therefore, have this done for me?”

It is for this precise purpose that the motion picture has made itself conspicuous as an advertising medium—one differing from all others.

An exemplification of what can be done came to the limelight when the Western Michigan Development Bureau had a series of films, comprising three reels altogether, taken to boost western and northern Michigan. The principal features of the pictures were the scenes of such prosperous towns as Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Petoskey, Cadillac, Manistee, Frankfort and Charlevoix. These show the industrial buildings, shipping industry by lake and rail, public parks, commercial and residential portions and recreation resorts. Additionally, the rapid development of western and northern Michigan was covered, as also were the excellent roads, fertile agricultural lands recommended to prospective homesteaders, fruit orchards, and the various industries.

Among other towns to employ motion pictures in a similar way may be mentioned Pittsburgh and Santa Barbara. The latter distinguished itself at the San Francisco Exposition by arranging a forty-minute show at intervals during the day. A lecturer heightened the interest in the films. The exhibit covered a floor space of four thousand feet.

The St. Louis municipal authorities made use of a motion picture several months ago to educate ignorant foreigners and their offspring to know the main features of their city in particular, and America in general. These American citizens in the making are now able to say a good word for their home town when called upon. The film was exhibited free in suitable places, like a Catholic church, police station, Jewish synagogue and a public school. On the first evening over two thousand children, of Italian, German, Greek, Irish and Russian parents, were present, along with their guardians. The picture depicted scenes of St. Louis, New York Zoo and American industries.

Because America can learn from England is my reason for citing the case of Blackpool, which is the Coney Island of Europe. In this case a photoplay was employed, a comedy of fifteen hundred feet, to be exact. A glance at the synopsis below will reveal its mirth-provoking possibilities. I was not able to see the film, so present the version gotten out by the advertising manager.

The plot is laid by August and September, the famous clowns of the Blackpool Tower Circus, inviting their old uncle and aunt to see the sights of Blackpool.

The scene opens at Talbot Road Station, where the elderly relatives are cordially welcomed and escorted to the Promenade and Sands. Donkey-riding, paddling and sea-bathing are indulged in, and the party then visits the Central Pier, where the delights of roller-skating and open-air dancing are enjoyed, to the accompaniment of many ludicrous and side-splitting situations.

Then follows the tour of the Pleasure Beach. Here we see aunt and uncle the victims of many thrilling, exciting and amusing adventures—joy rides on the Velvet Coaster and Scenic Railway, a trip on the Witching Waves, the descent of the Water Chute, and many other similar episodes, lead up to the ascent of the famous Blackpool Tower, which may be described as the outstanding feature of the film.

Other incidents follow, and the picture finally winds up with a screamingly funny Golf Tournament, in which the whole of the characters take part.

It is the custom to offer exhibitors a fee for showing an advertising film, but in this instance the picture was meritable enough as a comedy to offer a theater in each town the exclusive rights for a special price. The example of “Fun on the Sands at Blackpool”—for that was the attractive title—may be followed when you wish to boost some rural or seaside retreat.

Another point in favor of motion-picture advertising is that, if done on the right lines, a film does not appear to be an ad. Motion-picture fans—and there are twenty million of them in this country—have become so accustomed to seeing scenics and educationals that they would not realize the true object of city boosters and Chambers of Commerce. This is a considerable advantage, for folks are likely to evince more interest in a picture.

XVI. ADVERTISING RAILROADS BY THE MOVIES

For railroad companies, the ideal advertising medium is the motion picture. It has something to offer which can not be done justice to by any other publicity vehicle. How true this is was brought home to me the other day while traveling on one of the elevated lines in Brooklyn. Sitting next to me in the car were two young men engaged in conversation, and I could not help but overhear what they said to each other.

“I have been trying to decide on a place for a vacation this summer, but I have simply grown tired of poring over advertising literature.”

“Yes,” assented his companion, “it leaves so much to the imagination.”

Here, then, is the crux of the situation—printed matter of all descriptions appeals to the brain, whereas the nature of your business demands that the mental strain be non-existent. Folks are more than likely to throw your expensive literature away unused when you expect them to use their brains to imagine things. With motion pictures you don’t have to—everything is taken in by the eyes.

You have got to show them. And how? Well, do not motion pictures fill the breach admirably? Be honest with yourself. Is there any other medium in existence by which you can bring the actual things before the gaze of a skeptical public? I will admit, though, that there are still photographs and lantern slides, but these only permit snaps here and there. On the film, however, you can cover the whole place at one sweep, so to speak. This is no idle boast. It has been accomplished. Let us, to begin with, take the prospect of boosting your line for vacations. The Northern Pacific Railway Company did theirs by having a film made depicting the beauties of their line and Yellowstone Park, recommending the latter as the ultimate destination of the tourist.

The results, I am glad to say, were highly satisfactory.

Although it is unusual, much more has been done in this particular direction in Britain than at home.

The Great Western Railway Company established its individuality by proving that it is “The Holiday Line,” for their picture showing the beauties of the west of England, Wales and Ireland leaves a hankering to travel by the route covered by them, if only to pass by the most charming portions of the British Isles. The film was hired out free to numerous movie theaters throughout Britain, and the atmosphere of the picture was further enhanced by the orchestra playing old English airs.

The Great Northern Railway Company conceived a different idea in circularizing their three-reel travel film of the Scottish Highlands. A descriptive lecture was prepared in connection with this, and any lecturer, educational institution or theater requiring the use of both could hire them free.

The best way to lessen the expense and at the same time work to the mutual advantage is by arranging with chambers of commerce, etc., who wish their pleasure resorts to develop. Considerable success has attended the efforts along these lines in England.

Southport, a northern seaside resort, is a case in point. Previous to putting out a motion picture showing its advantages as a winter resort, there were very few visitors in the dull winter months. The nine copies of this film, however, were loaned to the various railway companies running excursions to Southport, who in turn arranged for the showing of the film in connection with their advertising campaign at the picture theaters in their territory. The outcome was that the enterprising town reaped a harvest of winter holiday-makers, who were transported by the railroads.

The motion picture is also invaluable in developing towns and various little-exploited territories, with, of course, special emphasis on the fact that yours is the best line to travel by. The Southern Railroad Company had a film produced along their line in South Carolina in order to bring out the possibilities of farm, city and industrial life in that State. The film was exhibited in the North and Middle West.

Nor is this an isolated case, for the Great Northern Railway and Oregon Trunk Company joined forces in order to record the development of central Oregon on a motion picture. The most convincing portions of same were those of the great Blitzen Canal which will open up one hundred thousand acres of land, homesteaders arriving, a big cattle round-up, and vast picturesque stretches of land which are ripe for settlement.

You can also call attention to the precautions taken to ensure safety traveling. The Rock Island Railroad film dealt with some of the every-day dangerous experiences of their employees, besides pointing out the right and the wrong way of doing each thing. These pictures served a twofold purpose. In the first place, regular demonstrations were given to the other trainmen, so that they can guard against the dangers that attend their work. This, in turn, rebounds on the passengers, who are ensured being reasonably safe from any accidents occurring. The public were also invited to view the film, which could not fail to leave a favorable impression. Societies, schools and theaters were also at liberty to show it.

XVII. GETTING OVER THE PURENESS OF YOUR FOOD PRODUCTS BY A FILM

The motion picture stands in need of a nickname. The one most appropriate would be, “Conveyor of things as they are.” Not only are audiences regaled on a feast of comedy and drama, but the aid of the screen is often sought to educate them in reforms of various kinds.

And this is where the food manufacturer can hitch the movies to his next campaign. Let me tell you this much—the screen is no ordinary publicity medium. It possesses a pleasing individuality of its own. This is the art of vision. You don’t let your pen loose and turn out printed matter that but half satisfies. In these days of food adulterating, the alert housewife wants to be shown, so the case of the man from Missouri is not an isolated one. The film accomplishes more than printers’ ink, and allows you to take people through your plant, which it is often not convenient to do in person.

Before we proceed further, I want to call your attention to a two-reel drama which was recently put on public exhibition. It is a lecture in celluloid, and was produced by the Kalen Company, in collaboration with Professor Lewis B. Allyn, who has achieved fame in connection with the Pure Food movement. He also acts in this gripping screen drama. The Ladies’ World ran the fiction version.

The story opens with Jack, the son of a canned-food manufacturer, entering his father’s business. Jack is thoroughly disgusted with the plant, for dirt is allowed to accumulate and the employees are sweated. Some are so ill that their infections are liable to be transferred to the consumer. One of the employees dies of ptomaines as the result of consuming the canned goods, and Jack is urged to reform the existing state of affairs. To this end he receives instructions from Professor Allyn, but Jack’s father will not listen to effecting a reform, for wealth comes first. The manufacturer then tries to bribe the Professor to place his goods upon the Westfield Pure Food List, but the Professor will only agree when he makes the needed alterations.

It happens that Jack is in love with the daughter of another food manufacturer, and Jack’s father visits the plant. The cleanliness and the quality of the raw materials impress him greatly.

His little daughter steals a jar of his fruit jelly from the closet and is taken seriously ill. Then he learns that his factory is on fire, and we leave him vowing to build a factory which shall be sanitary, the material of the best, while the health of the employees will be cared for.

At the lowest estimate, this was seen by five million out of the total twenty million movie fans in this country, besides being read by two million or more Ladies’ World readers. The film is sure to make the public more discriminating than ever. Here, then, is the ripe opportunity to gain their patronage by following it up with an effective advertising film.

This is not mere theory, for the Postum Cereal Company recently had a motion picture taken at their Battle Creek factory depicting the making of Post Toasties, Grape Nuts and Instant Postum. The healthy conditions under which they are made were well brought out. Human interest—which fans are so partial to—was added by introducing several bunches of happy children enjoying the products heartily. An exhibitor was selected in each town to show the film for a small consideration, the campaign proving very successful.

Cadbury Brothers, an English firm renowned for their cocoa and chocolate, got out a very interesting film to boost their cocoa. It showed their cocoa plantation in Trinidad, the natives gathering the pods, and various other stages until the cocoa reached the consumer. Their other film went further, with special emphasis on Bourneville, their garden city. The most valuable points presented were these: The picturesque surroundings of Bourneville works, storing raw cocoa, daily arrival of new milk for milk chocolate, men’s recreation-ground, a walk round the plant, showing the airy work-rooms and open windows, the factory fire brigade at drill, open-air baths for boys and girls where they swim during working-hours, girls’ physical drill, preparing creams ready for covering with chocolate, covering chocolate creams and decorating chocolates. All this tended to favorably impress the millions who witnessed the film. As it also had educational qualities, it was offered to exhibitors free, over three hundred theaters taking advantage of the offer. It is usual to pay exhibitors a fee for this privilege, but when the advertising element does not unnecessarily obtrude, it can be put out on its own merits.

The manufacturers of an English beef-tea preparation called “Oxo” sent an operator to their ranch in the Argentine. He filmed a reel of entertaining stuff which was put out under the title of “Life on the Oxo Cattle Farms.” The firm was also wise in only mentioning the name of their product once.

In this instance movie exhibitors could hire the film free, and the advertisement in the trade papers had not been a day old before two hundred bookings resulted. What made the offer so attractive was to insert free advertising in the local newspapers announcing where the film could be seen. Dealers, too, were put in a good frame of mind, for at the bottom of the ad. appeared the names of those stocking Oxo locally. Exhibitors were also invited to write to the local schools and get the pupils to attend a special matinee as their guests, for an appeal to the children is worth something.

Motion-picture audiences go to see interesting stories, and it stands to reason, therefore, that they would better appreciate your ad. got over in this way than by any other method.

The plot written around the Hecker Mills introduces us to the harvesting of the grain, and in the mills the various processes come in for due attention. Additional interest is imparted to “The Chef’s Redemption”—for that is its alluring title—by showing how useful the Hecker flour is in making various kinds of bread popular in foreign countries. The ideal conditions prevailing in the plant carried conviction.

There now exist several firms who specialize in motion-picture publicity, so the advertiser need have no fear of inexperience holding him back. The old adage, “Do it now,” applies in this case.

XVIII. SELLING AUTOMOBILES AND ACCESSORIES BY MOTION PICTURES

It is not every day that a new and reliable advertising medium is unearthed, and it was decidedly a good day’s work when the selling powers of motion-picture publicity became known.

You appeal to the public at their leisure and there is no competition to fear, as exhibitors will not show more than one ad. film on a single program. You also enjoy a monopoly of the audience’s attention, for folks can only see one thing at a time in the darkened hall. The photoplay used to attract the poorer classes, but now the theaters have divided up into grades, and the well-to-do and middle classes are quite as enthusiastic patrons.

The manufacturer of automobiles and accessories can take up motion-picture advertising with every confidence that it is going to prove a good business producer. Naturally the latter depends on the efficiency of the campaign, for, like in everything else, system has to be applied.

It saves the trouble and expense of having to give numerous tests in order to prove your claims, and as the film records them once and for all, you are avoided any annoying hitches in demonstrations. The ideal film for advertising is that which carries the vague definition of industrial. The Reo Motor Car Company had such a one taken, and made it serve three useful purposes instead of one. The picture depicted conditions in their plant and how the autos were manufactured. In the office building they possess a private motion-picture theater in which the film is regularly exhibited to the employees, especially the salesmen, to keep them efficient. The result is that they are able to discourse with the completest knowledge of the goods they have to sell and enable them to land a sale easier. The film also comes in handy for sales demonstration purposes, while, with alterations, it is made suitable for showing before the general public to rope in prospective auto enthusiasts.

A noteworthy film gotten out by the Ford concern showed an automobile being erected in two and a half minutes, when it was speeded off on its own power. Henry Ford also recently devised an interesting plan which combined news with advertising. Each week he arranges to have the important events in Detroit filmed and offers the picture to exhibitors throughout Michigan. In Detroit alone fifty theaters show the picture. Henry Ford not only gets himself known as a booster of his home town, but in addition, avails himself of the weekly opportunity to boost his cars.

The Pierce Arrow Company had a film produced setting forth in a convincing manner the powers and capabilities of their autos. You can not demonstrate a motor truck on any street, and this is where the film triumphs.

The Straker Squire Company, an English firm, not so long ago introduced, within the compass of a single film, the making of the various parts of a modern automobile, erecting a car in sixty seconds, trying it out on rough roads, work tracks and on timber support. Then came a hill-climbing test and racing cars speeding at ninety-eight miles per hour. Lastly, the 980 employees were seen leaving the works.

The reel depicting the Diamler Motor Works at Coventry, England, was distributed in a different manner. The film was on show at a recent London auto exposition and caused a hit because it was an interesting novelty. This plan could also be allied in connection with future auto expositions held at the Grand Central Palace, New York, by enterprising firms.

And if you want to boost your tires, here follow some successful methods.

The De Laski and Thropp Circular Woven Tire Company put out a film dealing with their methods of manufacturing tires. It revealed also that it only takes five minutes to complete one. This film was used in connection with their campaign for capturing business in foreign countries.

In the fifty motoring centers in Britain, the Goodrich Company has been conducting film lectures extending over a year. The film was entitled “From Tire to Tire,” and in an entertaining way motorists were educated from the time the rubber was gathered from the tree until the tire was on the auto. In the course of the lectures, which were attended by large audiences, much practical information was imparted on the use and care of tires.

A story within a story. Did you ever think it was possible? If you want to approach an audience by means of entertainment instead of education, then it can be done. A trained scenario writer is capable of weaving your advertising story into a comedy or dramatic plot. It has been accomplished, as witness the “silent representative” of a Birmingham concern manufacturing a patent dual rim for motor cars. The plot concerned a gang of thieves who robbed a bank messenger of $25,000. While fleeing in an auto they are held up by the police, but escape after a struggle. The police then chase them in an auto. The crooks, however, come to a halt through one of their tires being punctured, and the police meet with the same misfortune. It so happens that the latter’s car is equipped with the Patent Quick Change Dual Rim, by which they complete the repairs before the thieves are half through with theirs. This allows them to capture the thieves with ease.

If you intend working the campaign in conjunction with your dealers, it is best to get up a list of them in order of territory and arrange for each to retain the film for a day. They then persuade, for a small consideration, the best-class theater in the town to show the film at the evening performances, after which it is despatched to the dealer in the next nearest town.

XIX. CLINCHING AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY SALES BY MOTION PICTURES

The manufacturer of heavy agricultural machinery and merchandise of an intricate nature is placed considerably at a disadvantage, yet, by enlisting the aid of the versatile motion picture, he can greatly improve his selling tactics.

The idea of the salesman being burdened with such cumbersome things is, naturally, not to be thought of, so his abilities are confined to selling talk, aided by the literature of the publicity man. However convincingly these may be presented, the one clinching argument is conspicuous by its absence.

Almost every prospective customer, like the man from Missouri, wants to be shown, and when his desire can not easily be gratified, his business is often lost. It is usual in these cases for a firm to pay his traveling expenses to visit the plant, but if this is done, very frequently it is a mighty expensive way and takes the profit off the deal. The buyer, on the other hand, may not be able to spare the time for the trip.

But with a film, all doubt on the subject is scattered to the wind. The salesman carries a miniature projection machine, which is quite inexpensive, in a natty case. And when he wishes to demonstrate before the farmer, the blinds in a room are pulled down and a socket fixed to the electric light; if this is not available, he uses acetylene. A table-cloth is borrowed and tacked to the wall. He then turns the handle, and as the possibilities of the machine are unfolded on the screen, the salesman explains thoroughly all the difficult points. All the time the farmer is comfortably seated in a chair and is favorably impressed.

One firm I know went one better with the producing of their film. They arranged to have it taken on a farm where one of their machines was at work, and filmed the laborers using the implement in actual practice.

Both the Holt Caterpillar Company and the M. Rumely Company have successfully employed the motion picture to set forth the merits of their farm machinery.

Another effective plan has been to arrange a special show with the local movie exhibitor when the farmers come to town. Each farmer in the neighborhood was sent invitations, inviting himself, wife and children to attend an exhibition of select photoplays free. They were entertained with several dramas and comedies, but the star turn was the advertising film of the enterprising firm. This sank in to the right audience in a receptive mood. The exhibition of the picture to a number of the farmers at the same time saved much of the salesman’s time and trouble, and clinched a whole lot more business in the bargain.

There are times when certain experiments have to be made with intricate articles. The dynamite made by the Du Pont Company, who advocated the use of same to farmers, is a case in point. Tests were given in stump blasting, deep plowing, tree planting, ditching, etc., and effectively shown to farmers at institutes, land shows, State and county fairs, and on other suitable occasions. In all, over one hundred copies of the same film were shown at the same time in rural communities throughout the country. And what is more in favor of the method is that the demonstrations were given on winter evenings, when the farmer had his liberty and no outdoor tests could be held, owing to the average weather conditions. Nor must it be overlooked that the extra expense of this form of publicity was gotten back in the saving of the dynamite which would have been necessary in each actual test. There was also no fear of failure.

At those times when the farmers attend important functions on business bent it is customary to erect machinery and rent a large amount of space for same. The demonstrations are cramped and can never be so thorough in scope as were a special cinema show to be erected and demonstrations given at stated intervals by means of a film. This would be a good investment, which I can vouch for by the success that has attended the plan at various expositions held at the Grand Central Palace, New York.

On first thoughts, the idea of erecting a private motion-picture theater in your office building may appeal to you as an unnecessary expense, but an agricultural machinery concern in Hull, England, has such a place in which to show its implements to prospective purchasers. On the whole, it is rather a bore and unpleasant having to take the prospect through your plant, and everything is in favor of the short-cut method. Perhaps a prospective client will request even to be shown the machinery in actual use, and a lot of inconvenience is saved in not having to trouble already satisfied customers. This is only of importance when the film is produced, after which it is good for all time.

XX. HOW PUBLISHERS CAN CAPTURE BUSINESS FROM THE EVER-ENCROACHING FILM PRODUCER

It has been asserted by some that the movies are a new menace to the publisher. While not denying the truthfulness of the statement, I can not pass by without remarking that the publisher is to blame for such a deplorable state of affairs coming to pass.

The motion picture has created a demand for clean-cut stories, without a particle of padding. Yet there are publishers who have continued to turn out fiction of all kinds with frightfully slim plots. In the motion-picture play, the story is the thing. Sometimes one of these compressed plots that the average author would weave into a good-sized novel can be unfolded on the screen in eighteen minutes.

The longest novel—from a plot stand-point—when converted into a photoplay, would not, at the most, provide more than two hours’ entertainment. As a rule, they run to an hour or so, while those that rely, to a great extent, upon description rather than plot, and are also deficient in plot qualities, could not be put on at all.

It seems to me that the person who has reaped most of gold for this fiction adaptation mania is the author. Now, why shouldn’t the publisher likewise benefit? Well, he can, if he gets into action right now.

Down to date, the greater part of the adapted fiction—short stories and serials—has not been filmed until after publication, when, of course, it would not increase the sales one little bit. If all are to profit, united co-operation is necessary. When a piece of fiction—no matter whether it be a short story, a serial or a novel—appears, an endeavor should be made to arrange with a film concern that the photoplay should appear simultaneously with it in fiction form. Tagged on to the end of the film—or both beginning and end for preference—should be a notice announcing where the printed story can be seen. This publicity the publisher will reciprocate by informing the readers of his publication that they can see the photoplay version at the movie theaters, and so forth.

The millions that visit the moving-picture shows daily have come to regard their favorite amusement as a “Guide to Literature.” They prefer to see it on the film first, because it is the quickest and easiest way to arrive at a decision. It is also the truest test.

Since the movie manufacturers have made good with the speeding-up process in stories, so must the offending publishers follow suit if they do not wish to be put out of business.

When a film form of a well-known copyright-expired work has been exhibited, a run on the cheap editions has occurred, while in many cases the book dealer has been totally unprepared for the demand. The publishers should keep a weather eye on the different releases week by week and watch out for opportunities.

Fresh developments have resulted in more business slipping out of his hands. The latest move of the film producer is to produce an original serial play, have the scenario author write it up in book shape, add some photographs from the film, together with a signed one of the leading actor. The first attempt along these lines has been distributed among the picture shows in lots of twenty-five or more at 15 cents per copy. The first edition of fifty thousand copies sold like hot cakes, so to speak, and the second edition sold well.

Why, I maintain, should not the publisher have the business that is legitimately his? There is little chance of co-operating with the ordinary one- and two-reel photoplay, as the fiction rights of these are given to the motion picture magazines, whose staffmen write them up. There are, however, opportunities for the publishers to handle the big feature photodramas, as well as the linked series and serials. It is a paying proposition for all concerned if operated on the right lines.

XXI. ADVERTISING YOUR NEWSPAPER WITH A MOTION PICTURE

Enterprise is a restless thing. Once let it remain still and all the good work is undone. This fact is brought more closely home in the case of a newspaper, for enterprise does so much to hold a reader. One stunt is soon forgotten, and it is therefore imperative to keep the ball a-rolling.

You, as a newspaper man, know the huge following the motion picture has, and if you are a small-town member of the fourth estate I want your attention right now. Mr. Big City, your turn will come next.

Several small-town newspapers have tried out the following plan successfully. A prize, usually $25, is offered for the best one-reel scenario, comedy or dramatic, as you may choose, only it must possess a plot which can be effectively taken amid familiar local surroundings. Usually the editor, dramatic critic and the movie director act as the judges.

This is followed by a voting contest for the selection of the most beautiful young woman and handsomest young man in town to play the heroine and hero, respectively. A prize of, say, $25 each, should be offered.

Nominations are best made by coupon, accompanied by a photograph. The judges can weed out the hopeless ones and print the photographs of the good-looking ones in the newspapers, as well as having them thrown upon the screens of the local motion-picture shows. Interest may be maintained each day by announcing the standing of the candidates.

It is up to readers to vote for their favorites, who, if successful, would be trained to act in the prize-winning story.

The advantages of the indirect advertising campaign are many, and it will be found to pull more results than ordinary advertising could accomplish in a lifetime. I say this in all seriousness.

In the first place, almost everybody has a hunch to write a photoplay, but few see their efforts on the screen. In a local contest they stand more chance of making good. The winner is aware that there is more than $25 and local fame awaiting him. His success does much to remove the barriers from the doors of the regular motion-picture producers, who, knowing he is one of the “arrived,” give his future efforts special consideration.

The acting bug is strong within many, especially boys and girls in their teens. The speaking-stage used to be the attraction, but nowadays they get screen-struck instead. Can’t you imagine how proud the winners would be to act in a photoplay and be viewed by their admiring friends? It may prove a stepping-stone to an engagement with a big film company. Events have turned out this way before now.

Important links in the chain are the local motion-picture exhibitors. All are fully alive to the value of a photoplay possessing a strong local appeal. Therefore, if you agreed to announce in your newspaper where the picture was being presented, you would find all the local exhibitors clamoring to hire it. You would probably be able to charge a nominal fee to help cover the cost of production, for it is not as if the photoplay is advertising pure and simple. You get your publicity as the promoter of the production.

Apart from getting your newspaper on the lips of everybody, every candidate would enlist the aid of friends to secure votes, the additional coupons required for this purpose increasing your circulation many times over, temporarily, of course. On the other hand, you would secure new permanent readers.

You may be too far removed from such movie-producing centers as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Jacksonville. Fortunately, however, there exist private concerns throughout the country which make a specialty of local work.

XXII. SELLING SHOES BY MOTION PICTURES

Mr. Shoe Manufacturer, take your choice. Which would you prefer to boost a brand of shoes by—an industrial film, a comedy photoplay or a trick film? That is a matter for you personally to decide, for my responsibility ceases after mentioning how each type of motion picture has been employed by other shoe manufacturers.

The George E. Keith Company, manufacturers of Walk-Over shoes, introduced themselves to the motion-picture public with “The Making of a Shoe,” said film being exactly one-reel in length. The camera man went to Campello, Massachusetts, for his material, and first panoramed his camera outside the Walk-Over plant. Once inside, evidently nothing escaped his notice, for he covered everything, from the leather inspection to the polishing of the finished soles.

Credit must go to the Krohn-Fechheimer Company, of Cincinnati, for being the first to present photoplay stars. Their film, “A Footwear Romance,” featured, to use a studio term, Ruth Stonehouse and Bryant Ashburn. It was easy to capitalize these two attractions, so full-page announcements were taken in the leading motion-picture magazines.

This was how the fans were appealed to: Glancing across the aisle on the Pullman, Edward Blair saw a pair of feet so small, so bewitchingly dainty, that at once he lost his heart to the pretty feminine possessor. But who was she, and where was she going? Resorting to a bit of clever detective work, he found that she wore the Red Cross shoe—a clue that led up to some startling information. But afterwards came the greatest shock—when he discovered her as the servant in the home of Miss Eugenie Hatton, the girl he must marry to win the fortune of his eccentric uncle.

How would you have this story end? Would you have him marry the servant-girl, whom he really loves, or Eugenie and a fortune? How it really does end will be a big surprise to you.

The star players, of course, were especially mentioned, as well as advising readers to see the film when it came to their town.

The opportunity to present the direct appeal was not overlooked, for the Krohn-Fechheimer Company offered to send the complete story of the film. With the synopsis was enclosed a card of introduction to the local Red Cross dealer.

I understand that the film was handled by a Red Cross dealer in every town, who arranged for its showing at the most desirable local photoplay theater, calling attention to the fact in his newspaper announcements.

The trick film is capable of putting over many amazing advertising stunts, and for impressing a name on the public it can not be surpassed, if equaled. While I can not recall any American shoe manufacturer having adopted same, we can take a leaf out of Germany’s book.

A clever idea was carried out by the Dorndorf Shoe Stores, which establishment used a film that presented a jumbled heap of letters, these eventually merging into the word “Dorndorf.”

The same concern employs another film which shows shoe-boxes traveling unaided from the shelves to the customer, who allows the shoes to try themselves on his feet until a pair proves suitable. Then appears the apt subtitle, “Dorndorf Shoes Sell Themselves.”

XXIII. FILM ADVERTISING FROM THE PHOTOPLAYER’S VIEWPOINT

Business and art do not usually go together, but this can not be said of Edward Earle, the popular photoplayer.

“Perhaps why I evince such a great interest in advertising,” Mr. Earle began, “is the fact that without it a photoplayer would soon find his popularity on the wane. A player must, first of all, possess ability, as otherwise the most brilliant publicity campaign in creation will fizzle out.”

Having thus broken the ice, I got down to business.

“Do you advocate the film as an advertising medium?”

“Well, yes, and then, no,” he remarked, thoughtfully. “It is the forceful methods adopted in film advertising to which I am opposed, and which, incidentally, are responsible for the medium not having attained the popularity of its older sister—press advertising.

“One of the points in favor of the latter is that you are not compelled to read the advertisements. They win out on their own merits, for if one is sufficiently compelling your attention is automatically attracted.

“But the ‘make-up’ of the motion-picture theater screen differs in that only one thing may be presented at a time. If an advertising film is unfolded, you have no other alternative in the darkened hall than to give it your attention.

“Nothing is more abhorrent to the people of this democratic country than compulsory methods,” Mr. Earle continued, “and it is my belief that motion-picture advertisers unconsciously get in bad with their prospects. It is a human trait in buying to be able to choose between goods of the same kind, but as the exhibitor only rents out his screen to one advertiser in each trade, the public can not possibly discriminate.

“You will have to go far to find a magazine or newspaper that doles out monopolies to advertisers. I honestly think that this condition of things has a tendency to make advertisers dull and listless. Competition is the life and soul of publicity, and makes the advertisement writer put plenty of ‘pep’ into his copy.

“Once the present forceful methods in film publicity presentation are abolished, the medium will enter an era of prosperity.”

“Do you consider this treatment can be avoided?” I asked.

“That all depends,” Edward Earle replied. “You see, the average photoplay program occupies two hours. To lengthen this in order to include advertising picture, the exhibitor has either to open his show earlier or else curtail his performance. The former step would not be practical, as his busy times are from seven to eleven in the evening, in which hours he has to give two performances. The latter move, however, would not meet with the approval of his patrons.

“If the advertising film was about one-reel in length, the exhibitor could just about squeeze it in. This should be shown at one theater for only a day, as the regular fans dislike to see a picture more than once. It will also allow other advertisers a look-in.

“If the ad. story can be told in less than one thousand feet, so much the better. I notice some commercial producers offer to release several subjects by different advertisers on the same reel. I know in the case of press advertising that it is a serious mistake to cram as many words as possible into a small, displayed announcement, but in film publicity the reverse is the case.

“The more material you compress into a film the snappier it will be,” commented Mr. Earle, “though clearness should not be overlooked. The bugbear in the motion-picture industry to-day is padding, and I should be sorry to see national advertisers fall for it. A film may occupy the screen longer, but it will certainly not impress spectators any the more.

“The big advertisement has its place in filmdom if the story succeeds in maintaining the interest from beginning to end, but you must remember that a whole page magazine ad. can be read inside of two minutes, while a feature, its motion-picture counterpart, demands at least an hour of a fan’s time.

“But there is no room for the big feature in the regular motion-picture theater. If I am not mistaken, there will spring up a chain of photoplay theaters in the large cities to which the public will be admitted free. At these ‘billboard stations’ short, regular photoplays will be sandwiched in between the ad. films so as to attract the folks inside.”

Mr. Earle raises some interesting points, which deserve the consideration of every national advertiser.

XXIV. ADVERTISING FILM CIRCULATION

Motion-picture advertising has presented its crop of new problems, and probably none so involved as circulation. Let us, first of all, compare the film with printer’s ink. To my mind, a motion picture is like a press agent’s story syndicated to a chain of newspapers throughout the country, yet it is different in some respects. A write-up may be released for simultaneous circulation and published in several thousand newspapers on the same day, but this stunt would not be practical in the case of a motion picture.

The regular photoplay producers have specified release dates for their productions, and although several thousand exhibitors may book the same production, their dates will be spread over a period of about six months. Each print supplied by the film manufacturer costs the exchange at least $100. The leading theaters are in a position to pay the high rental demanded for first run, but the exchange has to keep that print working overtime in order to make a profit, so it is hired out to other exhibitors at proportionately reduced rates.

Now, suppose you have a one-reel industrial film produced. The negative, we will say, costs $500, but for every print you need the charge is $100. Now, if you are going to have your film shown at every theater simultaneously, it means that you will have to supply one print for each theater. As the picture will only be retained for a day or so, it is extremely doubtful whether the expense will be justified, so it is best to utilize only one print in each territory. A film does not generally begin to show signs of wear and tear until after about six months’ constant use, and, if we allow one day for each theater, each copy of the picture will be shown in about 156 theaters. Allowing an average audience of one thousand at each of the two evening performances, the film will have been seen by 312,000 people. There are more in these than appear on the surface, for, although a publication may guarantee such a circulation, you have to allow for those readers who skip all advertisements. In the motion-picture theater this can not be done, as only one thing is shown on the screen at a time, and in the darkened hall a spectator can not turn his attention elsewhere.

Another thing which must be taken into consideration is the fact that the one-reel film occupies the screen for eighteen minutes, which is several times greater than the time a reader devotes to a press advertisement.

The film must be charged to the copy writer’s account, for an exhibitor charges from $12.50 to $50 per week for renting out his screen for advertising purposes. A film, I admit, represents a big outlay for the copy writer’s services, but it is a worth while investment.

The Maxwell Motor Sales Company, for instance, had a series of films produced which were presented over five thousand times in America, Canada, Australia and England. It is estimated that they were seen by at least two million people. The circulation was mainly achieved by dealer co-operation, the dealer making arrangements with the local exhibitor and presenting free tickets to all who cared to accept same.

Those advertisers who do not make their appeal to the general public will find that quality circulation is far preferable to quantity circulation. Hoggson Brothers, the New York contracting designers, realized this when they showed their film exclusively to business men who contemplated having buildings erected or remodeled.

The film owned by the Columbia Paper Manufacturing Company, of Washington, D. C., was exhibited by one of their traveling representatives before printers in various parts of the country.

The film which boosted the products of the Peabody Coal Company, of Chicago, was shown at a number of educational institutions, as well as to individuals interested in the coal business.

The Reliable Incubator and Brooder Company took advantage of a recent poultry show held at Quincy, Illinois, to present a motion picture, “taking spectators through their plant and showing their poultry-raising methods.”

Both the French China Company, of Sebring, Ohio, and the National Tube Company were represented at the Panama-Pacific Exposition by motion-picture exhibits.

Under these conditions, the motion picture becomes a catalogue in celluloid. It is more powerful than the printed page, and helps to substantiate the claims of the salesman. Whether it is best suited to general or class circulation is determined at the outset, after which it is necessary to seek the right channels, these being determined by the character of the proposition.

XXV. COVERING THE MOTION-PICTURE FIELD BY MAGAZINES

Not so long ago photoplay audiences were content to just see the films through, so the players remained mere shadows until the industry advanced a few steps further, when stock companies were formed. Now, this meant that the fans saw the same actors, week in and week out, instead of a fresh face every time, and, very naturally, they began to evince an interest both in the screen players and the brands of photoplays. Then the motion-picture companies were bombarded with inquiries asking for the name of the man with the curly hair, and so forth.

It occurred to one of the film companies that there was scope for a magazine appealing expressly to the fans, and now the motion-picture field is represented by nearly a dozen publications of all sorts and descriptions.

The motion picture to-day has such a tremendous hold that it is estimated that there are twenty million fans in this country. Just think of it—one-fifth of the total population.

It has been truthfully stated that motion-picture fans are the most inquisitive folks in the world. They make it their business to read every word in their favorite photoplay magazine, and this ensures an advertiser’s announcements being read.

I have discovered that the majority of the readers are girls and women, but the publications are taken in the homes and eagerly devoured by the rest of the family.

It has long been thought that motion-picture audiences only comprised the poorer classes, but now the habit has spread to folks in comfortable circumstances. These publications reach the largest city as well as the smallest rural community, and are equally good for mail order or dealer campaigns.

The photoplayers thrive on popularity, and you would be surprised what a lot a fan thinks of his or her idol, so the appeal goes closer home when the copy is linked with the name of a prominent screen performer. For instance, in one publication the Charles William Stores, the New York mail-order house, ran three cuts of popular players in the full-page ad. They first showed Harold Lockwood wearing one of their spring hats; the second was of Romaine Fielding attired in one of their business suits, while Marguerite Clayton was seen with one of the dainty afternoon dresses on. In the same issue Ruth Stonehouse testified to the merits of Sempre Giovine Soap.

The logical follow-up medium for your film is the motion-picture publication field, for every fan takes regularly at least one publication devoted to photoplays, and the cover of national magazine or periodical you have in mind may only catch his eye at the news-stand.

XXVI. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS OF ADVERTISING BY MOTION PICTURES

There is a great future before advertising by motion pictures, and it is only with the most careful deliberation that I have concluded in what way the future developments will assume shape.

The medium is practically only in its infancy to-day, for, despite the vast possibilities offered, most concerns have seemed to favor following the same groove. I do not wish to insinuate that this is because the work has been placed in the hands of the several firms specializing in the producing of commercial motion pictures. Such a thing never entered my mind. I do think, however, it is due to the fact that advertisers have been reluctant to deviate from the exploited fields. The path of the pioneer may be speculative, but it need never be, if the alert advertiser studies the other end of the business, where photoplays are made and exhibited for entertainment purposes. It is a reliable thermometer to watch, believe me. That much only stands to reason, for are not the majority of ad. films shown on programs along with the ordinary photoplays?

To achieve permanent results, the spasmodic plan at present prevailing must be abandoned. You would not dream of inserting a solitary one advertisement in the press and then expect it to be business-bringing for all time, would you?

Well, perhaps you have gotten the hunch that the film is a permanent ad. So it is, only, to have it do so, you must keep it on the rounds to folks who have not seen it before. It is the greatest mistake in the world to present the same film before the identical audience day after day. Let us come to an understanding. Would you employ the same copy in the newspapers in more than one issue? Hardly. You would alter it so as to eventually capture the most skeptical customer. You must, then, apply the same methods to film publicity.

And this is why I hold the opinion that a moving-picture expert will be on the staff of every large manufacturing concern. His duty will be to present his employer’s copy to the best possible advantage on the film. At the same time, each large advertiser will lay down a film-producing plant. It is going to incur him a big initial outlay, what with an artificial light studio, accessories, stock company and developing plant, but he will obtain his expense back by the considerable saving effected in not having to have his work done outside. Naturally, this expenditure will not be justified unless the advertiser is prepared to launch his publicity campaign along the same extensive lines as in the press. We shall find him, I fancy, releasing new films with clockwork regularity. By having all the facilities at his command for the producing of these, he will be dependent on nobody, and can impart the necessary individuality into his pictures.

His first big move will be to coax some of the leading movie stars to be featured in an advertising film which is to be produced in an elaborate manner. The fee for his or her services will be very large, but, on the other hand, exhibitors will simply clamor for the free hire of the film, with, say, Earle Williams as a bachelor who has his housekeeping worries lessened by some article on the market. The great saving in the fees paid to exhibitors for showing an ordinary ad. film will be effected. Such a picture would also secure a larger circulation, apart from the fact that movie fans will sit up and take notice when they behold their idol in a role similar to the one mentioned. This will mean the ad. appeal getting over more convincingly.

The next development will be the advertising film serial. As you are probably aware, the dramatic serial has taken the photoplay world by storm. It is the ideal vehicle for the advertiser, inasmuch as it permits the interest to be retained. The story, if sufficiently gripping, will keep audiences in suspense from one week to another. There will be none of those trite stories that form the basis of ad. films to-day. An aim will also be made to avoid permitting the advertising element to obtrude.

One peculiar thing about the motion-picture equivalent of the newspaper is that it does not carry advertisements, but this state of affairs will not exist much longer. For these mediums a special type of ads. will be needed. They will be sandwiched in the news items and be of a topical character, so as to preserve the same atmosphere. For instance, when a battleship is launched, you won’t forget to be told the brand of the bottle of champagne that is smashed upon the vessel.

The feature production does not appeal to me much as a paying proposition for the advertiser. It is too reminiscent of trying to cram as much matter as possible in a single advertisement.

One thing to be said in favor of the film is that it is a perfect paradise for the honest advertiser, for, as yet, fraudulent advertising has not been allowed to mingle with the genuine.

The plant of a food manufacturer, for instance, may be unsanitary and inferior raw materials used. Should this type of business man be unscrupulous enough, he might have his conditions of his plant pictured as ideal, by faking the whole thing in a film studio.

What is sapping the progress of film advertising is that no systematic method of circularizing exists, for, naturally, this end of the process is as important as the picture itself. What I predict is publicity agencies specializing in motion-picture theaters. Then when an advertiser has a high-class proposition, a circuit of high-class theaters in select localities will be chosen, thus eliminating waste circulation.

XXVII. BOOSTING YOUR TRADE WITH A POPULAR PLAYER

Motion pictures are to-day a force to be reckoned with, and the national advertiser can not do better than to take advantage of the weaknesses of the fans, who are enrolled from all walks of life, and no one, from the boy in short pants to the old man of seventy, is immune. When they get the motion-picture bug badly—and the majority succumb—their interest in a photoplay only really commences when they view it at their pet theater. They next turn to their encyclopedia—the latest issue of their favorite photoplay publication—in which they will probably find the story of the play and some dope on the producing of it. By the time they are through they are sure to know the photoplay from A to Z.

The star player is a greater magnet than the play. The fans literally pester the lives out of their screen idols via Uncle Sam’s mails, and generally implore their pet magazine to publish an interview. Practically anything linked with a motion-picture star is sure to find a ready response. You can not secure a popular photoplayer to appear in a thinly disguised advertising film, so the next best thing you can do is to work along lines which other advertisers have successfully tried out. Here follow some examples.

Pearl White, of “Exploits of Elaine” fame, was shown in an ad. which appeared in the Motion Picture Magazine, wearing Vantine’s Panama hat.

Mary Pickford owns a Maxwell Cabriolet, so the manufacturers secured a snapshot of her boarding her car. The photograph was used in a New York Morning Telegraph ad. to back up the following argument: “This car is the easiest car in the world for a woman to drive. That is why Mary Pickford selected it.”

A photograph of Lillian Walker in a smiling pose accompanied an ad. in the Motion Picture Magazine for Carmen Complexion Powder. This was the significant argument: “One that adds every charm to your complexion, as well as Lillian Walker’s, without seeming artificial.”

Marguerite Snow supplied the following testimonial for Sempre Giovine: “I am pleased to attest to the merits of your skin preparation, Sempre Giovine, conscientiously, having found it a necessary adjunct to my toilet table. Its use after a day out in all kinds of weather leaves the skin in a velvety condition.” This supplied the “pep” to a full-page announcement in the Photoplay Magazine.

Mary Charleston permitted her name to be used in connection with Dr. Bellin’s Wonderstein for a New York Morning Telegraph ad.

The Richardson Silk played up Mary Fuller prominently in a displayed advertisement which graced the columns of the Motion Picture Magazine. “Free: Mary Fuller’s Own Pillow” was the headline. Below the cut of the pillow appeared Miss Fuller’s testimonial: “I prefer this design to any I have seen.”

The Red Cross Shoe manufacturers started off their full-page ad. in the Photoplay Magazine as follows: “Are You Making the Mistake Ruth Stonehouse Did?” “I had always heard so much about the comfort of your shoes that I did not realize how very stylish the different models were,” ran her quoted letter.

Even child players can be turned to advertising account, as witness the following full-page ad. in the Motion Picture Magazine: “Your Little Friend, Little Billy Wirth, Whose Mother is Glad to Testify to the Value of Imperial Granum, the Unsweetened Food.”

National advertisers, up to the present time, have paid considerably more attention to the heroines than the heroes. Possibly it is because it is much easier to appeal to the women, but the odds should be more balanced. Tobacco, hosiery and sporting-goods manufacturers are to name just three kinds of advertisers who could employ a prominent male player to advantage.

Why not name the next new branded article you put on the market after a motion-picture star? I happen to have advance information of a cigar manufacturer who has christened a new cigar after King Baggot. I understand, too, that Lillian Walker, Edward Earle, Leah Baird and Eleanor Woodruff are open to receive offers.

How can the photoplayers be approached? In the first place, a player can not secure too much publicity, and if he neglects this important factor he loses much of his popularity.

Great as is a motion-picture player’s need for publicity, he will seldom allow his name to be exploited by an advertiser without adequate remuneration, as he feels that he, too, should reap some of the financial benefit.

XXVIII. BOOSTING YOUR BUSINESS WITH AN ADVERTISING MOTION PICTURE

Are you a storekeeper who would blazon the path of originality, yet would not object to the increased outlay?

The advertising powers of the motion picture have been fully realized by the large manufacturers of this country, but the average retailer has confined himself to the slide.

With a film, however, you can cause a small-sized sensation in your town, for folks will look upon your effort as a home product. You can not, of course, live upon publicity, and the true test will be the extra amount of business it brings. Once the interest of people is aroused, there can be no doubt concerning the latter.

The most suitable kind of photoplay is the comedy. You may have a commercial motion-picture photographer located near by, in which case you can avail yourself of his services. Failing this, however, there are a number of concerns who do nothing else but produce films for commercial purposes.

If you have the film produced along economical lines, you should get the negative produced and developed for an inclusive charge not exceeding seventy-five cents per foot. A useful length is from two to five hundred feet. Then you will want a positive, which will cost you ten cents per foot.

In regard to the actual producing of the photoplay, I strongly advise you to have some scenes taken amid familiar local landscapes. You might persuade members of the local dramatic society to attend to the acting end. It would improve the play if you could manage to introduce well-known local citizens. This will save you the expense of having to hire regular motion-picture actors, and the folks who see the film will not be critical as to the technical defects. The concern you engage to put on the picture will send along a capable director, who will knock the players into passable shape.

Considerable additional expense is involved in the use of interiors, such as a store, house or office building. These have to be specially erected in the studio and plenty of electric light used for photographic purposes, so keep to outdoor scenes. It can easily be done by exercising a little ingenuity. For instance, instead of arranging certain action to take place inside your store, you can get it over equally effective by arranging for it to occur outside your premises.

For economy’s sake, you need only one copy of the positive in circulation. Now, if you approach local motion-picture exhibitors in the right spirit, they may not demand a fee for showing your advertising motion picture, as they realize too well the value of anything with a local appeal. You should arrange with the leading theater to have first run of the photoplay, say, for a week, after which you can loan it to the next on the waiting-list, until all have been covered.

Plenty of newspaper publicity is yours, too, if you invite the local press to be present at the producing of the film, and also when it is about to be released for public exhibition.

XXIX. PULLING MOVIE-SLIDE ADVERTISING OUT OF THE RUT

From a study of the motion-picture screens up and down the country, I have come to the conclusion that the average dealer does not take the trouble to get the fullest possible value out of his investment.

The majority of the announcements are merely plain business notices that simply bore the spectator who has the doubtful pleasure of sitting them through. They do, in fact, remind one only too strongly of the early days of newspaper advertising, when every advertiser thought it sufficient to have a formal announcement, unchanged from year in to year out. Few dealers now would think of spending good money in newspaper publicity in such a hackneyed and uninteresting fashion, because they are well aware that their ad. has to compete with many others, and it is only the attractively prepared ones that command a hearing.

The same methods must be applied to movie-screen advertising, if it is to be pulled out of the rut. There was a period when audiences were attracted by anything that resembled a picture. But these days are gone and buried, and the fans are only satisfied with a program of the best photoplays. This being the case, it goes without saying that they expect the same of the efforts to hold their attention during the reels. You can not really expect the ad. appeals to sink in otherwise.

Although you would dismiss the idea of having a short commercial film of your own made on the grounds of expense, much remains to be done in order to make slide advertising interesting to picture patrons rather than tiring them, as it does at present. It is going to cost you a little more money and effort, but your slide will be distinctive and will stand out above the rest. Your reward will be increased results.

Just bear in mind, too, that you haven’t merely got to have them look at your slide, but arouse them to action. This can be done by having prepared a serial story in picture form on similar lines to the comic supplements in the metropolitan Sunday journals. Have a series of slides made of it, showing one each day until the story is told. A few days before putting it on the screen of the local movie show, get the operator to throw on a rough slide to this effect: “Watch out for the story, ‘The Good Smith’s Meat Did for the White Family.’” This applies to a butcher, but a story can be written around every trade. There are firms who specialize in this kind of work. This plan has been attended with excellent results wherever tried out.

If, by ingenuity, you can make the picture on the slide move, so much the better. A London manufacturer boosted his bottled beer by showing the slide of a dog drinking his master’s beer when he was out of the room. Every time the dog lapped up the dinner stout, the audiences could not refrain from laughing heartily.

One way by which to get on good terms with the motion-picture exhibitor is to offer a liberal sample of your special line to the first hundred attending the performance on the morrow. This allows a direct appeal to be presented, and a Brooklyn grocery store has made good in drawing marked attention to their own brand of tea.

Another way to make the fans laugh is to have a witty verse written alongside an appropriate picture. I forget the actual verse of it, but a Brooklyn hand laundry draws the distinction between the ape days, when clean laundry was not necessary, and the vital importance to-day.

Slide advertising puts one over the press in securing the concentration of readers. Surely, then, it is worth while paying more attention to this excellent medium.

XXX. MAINTAINING THE INTEREST IN SLIDE ADVERTISING

It is hard to keep pace with the progress of the motion picture. But a short time ago the one-reel subject was considered the maximum length; then came the feature, requiring up to twelve reels to tell its lengthy story. This was followed by the photoplay series—a number of stories linked around a set of characters, but each complete in itself. The movie producers, however, were not satisfied, so they tackled the serial proper, making a fifty-reel production and releasing it in two-reel installments.

The bearing these facts have on this article amounts to this: In motion-picture theater publicity, and slide advertising in particular, you have to cut the cloth according to the length, which, to be more explicit, means that you must watch the entertainment closely and follow the general trend.

You, as a slide advertiser, are in much the same position as the photoplay producer, who is not content to rest upon his laurels, thereby not giving the fans an opportunity to complain. All this has a certain physiological effect upon picture-play-goers, who expect slides to advance in a like manner. Now, let us see how you can benefit by running a series of ad. slides.

It will, in the first place, give you greater confidence in entering into a contract with the motion-picture exhibitor, as you owe it to the spectators to complete the series, or serial, you will begin so auspiciously. It is good money thrown away otherwise.

It is hard to maintain interest with single slides, but with a good series, or serial, you can actually make folks look forward to the next slide.

It is essential to secure the exclusive rights for your town. This is already possible, for the slide manufacturers have produced a number of excellent series in slides. This concession, which may be obtained by paying an additional fee, is important, because the slides can be filled in to suit almost any business.

You must, however, be prepared for increasing your advertising revenue, but why begrudge it when you can go one better than other advertisers? The point is this: Probably your exhibitor has a dozen advertisers under contract. Not one business is in competition. It goes without saying that a snappy series or serial will sink in, whereas a plain announcement slide of another dealer will be skimmed.

In a series of slides you can put over an entertaining story, humorous in parts, and educational in that you point out why folks should trade with you. A clever scenario writer-artist and skilled slide manufacturer can do wonders for you in this connection.

Equally important is arranging for the exhibition of your slides. Most theaters change their program daily, and only a proportion of patrons attend regularly. Some days the program does not appeal to them, so they favor the rival show. Therefore, if you were running a slide subject of the “to be continued” kind, you could not expect to have many follow it from beginning to end unless you took a system in charge.

Every now and then a motion-picture producer releases a serial or series. It is booked by the exhibitor, who arranges for its showing at his theater in weekly installments. The majority of his regular patrons are present each week on the evening set aside for the installment. So if your slide series or serial started off with the photoplay it would be seen in its entirety by most folks. When you are planning your slide series or serial, arrange with your chosen exhibitor to run it simultaneously with the film production.

XXXI. INDIVIDUALITY IN SLIDE ADVERTISING

You have heard that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” so you do not strive to emulate the other fellow. You prefer to go one better and raise yourself out of the “type” clique, thus establishing your individuality. I am fully aware that I am treading on dangerous ground in quoting slide advertising as an example, for the simple reason that it stands in a class all by itself. How? Well, permit me to explain.

Suppose you prepared a dandy advertisement, and one entirely different from that of your competitors. Would you not commission your most desirable local newspaper to insert it, with the request that they give it as good display as possible. If you didn’t do this, you would be foolish.

Suppose again, when next week came round, you were hard up for a bright, new idea, and time was precious. Rather than go unrepresented in the next issue you would promptly set about to prepare a stereotyped announcement, which would not cost you a cent more for composing.

Yet, if you blazoned the path of originality in slide publicity without knowing the correct way to go about it, the results would be disappointing. Even though you had prepared your copy, you would want a humorous illustration to back it up, and it would doubtless occur to you to hire a local artist. Lastly, you would put your announcement before prospects on a home-made slide. Slide-making, let me tell you, is an art which has only been perfected by years of experience.

If you present your screen ad. in a crude manner, your purpose will be defeated. So the only alternative is to have one of the slide manufacturers make a special slide to your order. It should cost you about $1 additional, for which amount you will obtain an artistic slide.

Possibly it has never occurred to you that you can use the stock slide and still give photoplay goers the impression that you are decidedly distinctive. The motion-picture exhibitor believes in hiring his screen to one advertiser in each trade, consequently, if the slide has been prepared specially for your trade, there is no fear of overlapping. What I mean is this: There are slides on the market which, by filling in the name, address and business, can be made applicable for several trades. Here is one example: “You’ll Treat Your Pocketbook Right if You Do Your Shopping at ——.”

It would be rather embarrassing, for instance, if several other traders employed the self-same slide. The best stock slides are those that can not be adapted by any other trade, and there are plenty of this kind to be had. Now, on the other hand, there may be occasions when a special slide is a necessity. Maybe there are some exclusive features about your business, to boost which slides of a general character would be out of place.

The only chance a person would have of discovering that your stock slide is used by a competitor would be if he happened to be a patron of more than one motion-picture theater. Here, again, you would gain a brilliant victory. The fan, not being in the know, and having seen your announcement first, would proclaim you as the originator. And his respect for you would naturally have a tendency to increase.

So if you notice a fellow-trader using a stock slide which takes your fancy, don’t go and do likewise. Select something different. Thus, you see, you can make your slide advertisements distinctive without incurring any additional expense.

XXXII. THE PERSONAL ELEMENT IN SLIDE ADVERTISING

The versatility of the stock slide ends just where it is essential to present the intimate appeal which counts for so much.

What is that elusive something, the personal touch? To my mind, it is by introducing yourself to your prospects. Now, stock slides can and do emphasize the reasons why folks should patronize your store, but as I take it for granted that you desire to further convince them, you have got to “shake hands,” in a figurative sense.

Where is your store located? True enough, you will not neglect to include the address on the stock slide, but first impressions are lasting. It is my intention to advocate the adoption of what I may term the photo-slide, for want of a better name.

On your visits to the local motion-picture theater you will have noticed that the exhibitor is prone to using announcement slides of forthcoming photoplays. On this kind of slide an important scene is reproduced from the picture and tinted in natural colors, while the blank space is used to good advantage with brief description of the film.

These are stock slides, of course, but if you wish to plan an advertising campaign along similar lines, it is up to you to have some photo-slides specially designed to conform with your individual requirements.

The best way by which to present the personal appeal is by having a photograph taken of the exterior of your store. You can then forward same to a reputable slide manufacturer, who will make a slide out of it in natural colors and add the desired description.

The slide should have two marked effects upon spectators. Firstly, visualize for them exactly where your establishment is situated, so that they may be able to recognize it on sight, and, secondly, it will leave a favorable impression.

XXXIII. ARE YOUR SLIDES TRUTHFUL?

A new thing is liable to be contaminated with the faults of its elders, but this can not be said of motion-picture slide advertising, which has been kept remarkably clean and truthful.

It is to the credit of the slide manufacturers that they have never accepted any dirt-money. In other words, they have refused to make slides for loan sharks, whisky manufacturers, undertakers and such like undesirable advertisers.

Even had this type of advertiser got his slides made by hook or crook, he would yet have to pass another barrier, who had no desire to present obnoxious announcements before his patrons.

Another thing, slide advertising has steered clear of exaggeration. I am not absolutely sure whether it is due to the indirect appeal or not, but I do know that the announcements, for the greater part, have maintained a high standard of truthfulness.

Here, again, the influence may be directly traced to the slide manufacturer, who, when preparing a stock slide for a jeweler, for instance, has to make it apply equally well to jewelers throughout the country.

Occasionally, however, he slips a cog, but this is not altogether his fault; the dealer himself is partly to blame for purchasing a slide which misrepresents his business. It may, on the other hand, just fit in with the individual needs of his competitor a few blocks up the street.

Photoplay audiences should not be disillusioned; the screen must be kept free from abuses, for once spectators discover that advertisers are in the habit of misrepresenting the facts, they will evince less interest in slide announcements.

Therefore, when purchasing a stock slide, let the deciding factor be: “Does it apply truthfully to my own store?” If the answer is in the affirmative, your slide will not strike a false note.

XXXIV. OBTAINING THE BEST RESULTS FROM SLIDE ADVERTISING

Not even the most successful business man makes good in every enterprise he undertakes. That is an impossibility, especially in these competitive times, but, if certain rules are observed, success can be achieved in the majority of cases.

The photoplay theater is a comparatively new advertising medium. You may have tried it out and failed, while your competitor, for some reason you are unable to fathom, has won out. The mistake too often made is to treat the motion-picture show as a new thing—a kind of scientific toy—but as a popular form of amusement it has long discarded its long pants. The photoplay, as a matter of fact, has settled down to enjoy a long and flourishing career, with strict adherence to business principles.

You do not find the modern exhibitor housed in a converted store, where he presents the crudest of films under the most vile conditions. He would soon find himself a bankrupt if he continued these pioneer-day methods.

Maybe you have developed a similar misunderstanding, so it is well that we have a heart-to-heart talk.

It is a serious mistake to have a slide thrown upon the screen of the least desirable theater in your neighborhood. You make matters a thousand times worse if you allow it to be shown at every performance for months, until it gets cracked, dirty and faded, all in turn.

To begin with, the folks whom you are addressing must be carefully considered. They step inside the photoplay theater to be entertained with attractive films, though this is not to say that advertising in connection with same is entirely out of place. Some theaters run a performance through without a stop, while others, mostly the nickeldromes, introduce an intermission during the change of each reel.

The former shows are continuous like the latter, so that the one intermission is not intended to clear the house to make room for another audience. In reality, it is to give the orchestra a rest and allow time for other things, not the least important of which is the projecting of a batch of slides. Some of these relate to forthcoming attractions of the theater, and the remainder comprise advertisements for live local traders.

Audiences appreciate these slides when they do not number too many, as they are the means of affording them something to turn their attention to instead of having nothing to do but idly gaze around the hall.

Motion pictures appeal to the eyes, consequently spectators pay much more attention to slides which contain clever illustrations, preferably humorous, backed up with apt sentences.

On the market are stock slides from thirty-five cents and up. Space is left for your name and address, and most of the needs of your trade are taken care of. New designs are constantly being put out, which make it possible to change slides as often as once weekly. We all grow tired of seeing the same thing over too many times, so if you fail to introduce fresh pictorial announcements you are liable to lose the respect of spectators. Once a week is an ideal interval, but in no case should it exceed a month.

There are really no standard rates for slide advertising. Each exhibitor has his own ideas in regard to the value of the location and size of his theater.

The one great pull the photoplay theater has over other publicity mediums is that you obtain one hundred per cent. of attention, for folks, in the darkened hall, must concentrate upon the screen.

XXXV. SELECTING THE THEATER FOR YOUR AD. SLIDE

The other half of the battle of slide advertising is selecting the most suitable theater. If you are situated in a residential section, and you decide upon a downtown theater for your announcement, you are paying for scattered circulation.

The exhibitor also rates the advertising value of his house at a much higher figure, and, as you draw the bulk of your trade from the surrounding blocks, it is advisable to pick out a local photoplay theater.

Motion-picture theaters may be grouped into two divisions. One is the nickeldrome which has been converted from an empty store, and seldom accompanies more than five hundred. It usually shows the oldest films and caters for a cheap patronage. This class of show is on the decline.

Although the motion-picture theater is a democratic institution, the well-to-do working classes prefer to patronize the classy building which has been exclusively erected for motion-picture entertainments. It is not because they refuse to associate with their poor brothers and sisters; quality is the deciding factor. For five or ten cents more they see a longer and better program, amid more comfortable surroundings.

So far, so good; the rest depends on the managerial policy. The best way to discover this is to visit a desirable theater as an ordinary patron. If you note your trade is already represented on the screen, then the theater is unavailable for the time being.

This may strike you as peculiar, since no newspaper grants a monopoly in one particular trade, but it is the custom in slide advertising. The healthiness of a newspaper may be judged by the volume of advertising it carries, but, in so far as the photoplay is concerned, the fewer the slides the better. Time is precious, and, if the exhibitor is to give each advertiser the service he pays for, he can only do so when the slides do not exceed one dozen. When the number is more, the operator usually whips each off before spectators are able to read it.

After you have satisfied yourself on all these things, you can take the matter up with the exhibitor. You may frown upon a six months’ contract, but the rental, which will vary from $5 to $10 per month, according to size and location of theater, will work out more cheaply than on the weekly basis. It will also afford you protection in that your competitor can not put one over. Another thing, the public may only give your first slides the once over, but the constant seeing of your name will go right home.

The slide manufacturers find that there is so much correspondence involved in executing orders of less than one dollar that they prefer they be given to the exhibitor, who orders slides in quantities.

XXXVI. HANDLING THE ANTI-AD. SLIDE EXHIBITOR

Have you ever had legitimate advertising turned down by a newspaper? I don’t suppose this rare experience has fallen to your lot, so it is perhaps as well if I acquaint you with the conditions that exist in the motion-picture theater advertising field.

The motion picture has not reached maturity, and consequently some branches of the industry are not so far advanced as others. In the former category comes slide advertising.

There are some exhibitors who throw up their hands at the very mention of slide advertising, yet the strange part about it is that they themselves can not get along without this excellent form of publicity. They run a bunch of slides on the screen pertaining to current attractions and house announcements. These occupy the screen for five minutes or more, and are repeated at every performance for fully one week.

It is not necessary to advertise productions so far in advance, and this would allow “foreign” advertising to have a look in, but this type of exhibitor generally refuses to listen to reason. And the worse still is the fact that he knows he has the upper hand of you.

Let me assume that you are located in a neighborhood section, which is catered for by one photoplay theater. There may be another in the next section, but, however desirable this theater, it will not produce so much business, for it is a trait of Americans not to walk further than is necessary.

If the exhibitor on your block favors slide advertising, the rest is easy, but if he is opposed to it, it is up to you to assume a resourceful attitude.

The chances are that this exhibitor issues a house organ of some sort, for which he is prepared to accept advertising from desirable local stores. Here, then, is your opportunity. If you have ever glanced over a slide catalogue, you will agree with me that slides, when reproduced in black and white, make dandy press advertisements.

Many dealers who believe in attractive slide announcements undo all their good work by following same up by stereotyped ads. in the theater house organ. It is, of course, a great advantage to have the former already prepared by expert advertising men, so the stock slide in the latter capacity would seem to leave little to be desired.

Contract for, say, three inches of space weekly, with weekly change of copy, for which purpose a suitable stock slide should be selected. Your slide manufacturer will willingly grant you permission to have cuts made of his slides and reproduce them, if you give him the credit. Your ad. will stand out prominently from the rest, and readers will admire its all-round excellence.

The question now arises as to what use you are to make of the slide. If there is another theater within easy walking distance, it would do no harm to arrange for a weekly change of slides. Between the two, you should hit the mark.

XXXVII. HAVING YOUR MOVIE AD. SLIDES SHOWN TO THE BEST ADVANTAGE

Watching motion-picture screens is my hobby, and, incidentally, my business. Four times a week do I combine business with pleasure, and it is these on-the-spot investigations that have given me good grounds for asserting that the average exhibitor does not appreciate the fact that there is an art in showing your slides to the best possible advantage. He seems to imagine that they can be thrown in any slipshod way, so long as he can claim to have shown them according to arrangement.

He does not realize that he is under an obligation to you, represented on his theater screen by paid advertising. Were the local paper you favor to print your ad. full of typographical errors and badly blend the type faces, or place your ad. in the most inconspicuous portion of the paper, you would, naturally, be offended and be likely to transfer your advertising account to the rival publication. This is why I advise you and your friends to frequent the theater that carries your advertising and see if you are getting value for your money.

At a certain motion-picture theater in Brooklyn about thirty slides are shown at the end of every performance. You have only got to look at the faces of the spectators to realize the resentment caused by the bad practice. That number of slides at one time is entirely too many. The exhibitor of this type is attempting to cram the stuff down the necks of his patrons, whereas he should accomplish it in an unforced manner. The latter is easily gotten over by showing only several slides at the end of each reel. They are thus spread out and have a far greater chance of sinking in, because picture-play-goers are not called upon to memorize a lot at one gulp, so to speak. In this way the patience of patrons is not overtaxed. The exhibitor can never tell, when he puts over his all-at-a-time slide stunt, whether or not he is sending spectators away to his competitor a few blocks up the street. I have personally known exhibitors who have been unable to account for the falling off of attendance, yet the whole root of the trouble was the slide dodge.

It is typically American to shirk telling openly anything that displeases, so that offended patron says nothing and is never seen inside the theater again. This rebounds on you, for these offended folks become your mortal enemy and lay the blame on the ads. themselves.

Even at those halls that follow the commendable methods outlined, spectators often see the entire performance through without witnessing all the slides. The mistake made by the exhibitor in this case is to project one of his own slides first to tell what the next photoplay will be. This serves to reveal to patrons that they have seen the reels over once, so they rise and leave the show right then. Instead, why not tell your exhibitor to hold back this condemning slide until the last, in order to have the audience sit out the others? Besides, the one advantage of this form of advertising is that there is no competition in commanding attention simultaneously. Each slide is projected separately, and it is advisable, if only for the reason stated, to run only a few at a time instead of the whole bunch.

As the provider of this extra revenue for the movie showman, it is up to you to see adequate treatment for your investment.

XXXVIII. THE IDEAL SLIDE FOLLOW-UP MEDIUM

To obtain the greatest possible results from slide advertising, there must be an effective follow-up scheme. You may have gotten the hunch that as you change your slide frequently it is quite sufficient.

As a matter of fact, only half of the battle is won, for the slide is not sufficiently elastic to perform everything demanded of it. At the motion-picture theater your slide is probably one of a dozen, and it is well-nigh impossible for a spectator to retain a vivid recollection of them all. You have got to remind him, and, incidentally, present the direct appeal. That means your advertisement being presented in a permanent form. It may occur to you at first to use the columns of the best local newspaper, and, while this has its good points, it falls short of the type of follow-up medium needed for slide publicity.

A newspaper, as a rule, covers the town like a blanket, but the neighborhood photoplay theater draws the majority of its patrons from the surrounding blocks. So, if you wish to obtain 100 per cent. value from your investment, it is up to you to employ the house organ gotten out by the exhibitor. This publication gets into the hands of all patrons of the theater regularly every week, and the fans study it from cover to cover when they reach home.

The grave mistake some dealers make at this stage is to forsake the slide for the house organ. It may be an economical plan on the surface, but, believe me, it is penny wise and pound foolish in the long run.

The slide serves to get acquainted with your prospects, who can not possibly ignore it in the darkened hall, so you secure their attention, while the printed page might escape their notice.

I have frequently remarked upon the attractiveness of the stock slide, and this time I am going to contrast it with the stereotyped business card.

This is a snappy slide recently used by a Brooklyn dyer and cleaner: “Don’t Get ‘Held Up’ for Inferior Cleaning and Pressing. Try Us for Expert Work at Fair Prices.” In the left-hand corner was a sketch of a New York tough pointing his revolver at a terrified meek man.

The follow-up advertisement in the theater house organ was as follows: “Suits Pressed, 25c. Sponged and Pressed, 35c. Cleaned and Sponged, 50c. Dry Cleaned, $1.00. Pants Sponged and Pressed, 10c. Also Ladies’ Work.”

It was as easy as kiss your hand to be entertaining in the first instance, because the slide was one of the stock kind. This fact, however, does not excuse the advertiser from putting some real thought behind his announcements, for, otherwise, the interest of the reader fizzles like a damp firework.

XXXIX. ATTRACTING FARMERS TO TOWN

If you are a country town merchant, you are at the mercy of the weather, and trade suffers accordingly. The farmer is a good customer, and you must offer some inducement if he is to be persuaded to make his customary trip to town when the weather is bad.

Practically everybody likes motion pictures, and the farmer is probably as keen a fan as his city cousin, only circumstances preventing him from attending so often.

I know of a merchant down in Harrisonville, Missouri, who got wise to the fact and presented his farm customers with free motion-picture theater tickets. He now finds that the weather makes not a particle of difference.

How, then, can you make certain of doing good business every Saturday, rain or shine? I would suggest that you try out the self-same stunt.

In the first place, the local motion-picture exhibitor, being a business man, is always on the warpath for opportunities for increasing his patronage, so, if you approached him on the subject of selling admission tickets at a reduced price, he would undoubtedly come to terms with you.

It might be well that you ask him to put on mostly rural pictures. This may seem like carrying coal to Newcastle, but it has been proven that rural folks much prefer farming subjects.

This settled, mail two complimentary tickets, with a letter about the character of the program, to your farmer customers sufficiently in advance to be used, and mark them good for only the Saturday matinees.

XL. CAPITALIZING POPULAR SCREEN PLAYERS IN SLIDE ADVERTISING

The national advertiser often links up his products with that of a popular photoplayer by christening a branded article after the actor. Failing this, he secures a testimonial, for which privilege he pays handsomely. The reason is obvious, for the stars are worshiped by countless thousands all over the country, in smallest village and largest city, and, naturally, the use of a name means a big boost for the article advertised. You see, the fans do not see their idols in the flesh, which causes them to evince unusual interest in anything to which the player’s name is attached.

Perhaps motion-picture audiences have been spoilt through the ever-changing flow of new productions, as this demand for something new has had a marked effect upon slide advertising. The dealer never hesitates to try out something original.

The value of an article linked up with a photoplayer increases a thousand-fold when advertised in the photoplay theater, and consequently the slide on which mention is made of a screen favorite will attract more attention than the slides you are at present using.

I am not going to suggest that you apply to the fountain-head, so that you may follow in the footsteps of the national advertiser. In the first place, it is out of the question, for the photoplayer, unlike his legitimate brother, does not travel from town to town. Now and then, it is true, he does tour certain motion-picture theaters, but these occasions are not sufficiently frequent for you to wait for one to occur in your town.

I have a method in mind which will cost you nothing additional outside of the slide. This is just a rough draft of the wording:

“We Know of a Girl Who Tried to Manufacture Dimples Because She Envied Lillian Walker’s.

“As Miss Walker is Famous for Her Dimples, so Are We for Our Candy.”

At the side of the slide you should have your slide manufacturer reproduce a photograph of this popular Vitagraph player.

This item about Miss Walker, you will note, implies no recommendation from her, so the same can not possibly be misconstrued. Here follows the original paragraph, as submitted by Lillian Walker’s press agent: “Don’t you dare attempt to manufacture dimples; they are a monopolized product, and Lillian Walker has the motion-picture field all to herself. The other day the popular Vitagraph player received a letter from a girl admirer, who, desiring a beauty dent on each cheek, endured great pain, but all to no avail.”

The press agents in the motion-picture field are so prolific that seldom a week goes by without one appearing which may be adapted to your business.

If you adopt the photoplayer slide, it is imperative for you to change the slide frequently, not only because spectators dislike to see the same thing over again, but because each fan has his or her favorite, and by constantly changing the players you eventually cover them all, and thus please each and every patron.

If your local newspaper runs a motion-picture department, study it thoroughly for possible material. If it does not, one of the many motion-picture publications will admirably serve the purpose. As the items are news, there is no copyright.

XLI. ATTRACTING TRADE WITH PHOTOPLAY STARS

Both the legitimate and vaudeville professions have their followings, but neither can even slightly approach the huge and widespread popularity enjoyed by the motion picture. A conservative estimate places the number of fans in this country at twenty millions, which number support the twenty thousand photoplay theaters.

The personal element counts big in this industry, and the leading photoplayers come foremost in the affections of the fans. There are more than two hundred well-known motion-picture players appearing before the camera to-day, and each movie patron has his or her favorite. And this is just where the enterprising storekeeper can pounce upon this opportunity for all it is worth, which is a good deal.

If in view of what has gone before, you are still skeptical that an amusement can not be mixed with publicity, I have only to cite the method adopted by a trader in Los Angeles. He gave over his window display to photographs of famous film players and arranged them in an artistic manner. His window happened to face the sidewalk, and the pictures created so much attention that the sidewalk was congested. Two policemen, to cope with the situation, had to have the crowd line up and only allow each spectator three minutes in which to view the photographs. All day long the line extended over a block, the windows arousing the same amount of interest during the subsequent days of the exhibition.

It might hardly be a sound business policy to display only photographs in your store window to the total exclusion of your ordinary wares, for the underlying idea to get passers-by to view the goods set out in the window and act as a sort of temptation to buy. I would therefore propose that the photographs be mounted on boards at the back of your window, so as to allow the window to be dressed in the ordinary way. This should achieve the desired object satisfactorily.

You will find, on approaching the motion-picture producing companies, that they will only be too willing to give or loan you photographs of their stock players. The local exhibitor will supply their addresses.

Another dandy plan, if you are in the custom of offering premiums, is to present each person making a purchase of a certain small amount with a post-card of a popular screen player. You can purchase these for $3 per thousand and have the selection you prefer, for you will naturally require more of Mary Pickford and Charles Chaplin than players of lesser renown.

I am not acquainted with any instances where retailers have adopted the preceding plan, but if same can bring full houses on dull nights to motion-picture theaters that distribute such pictures to spectators, then it is a positive thing that it will help along your slack days.

Popularity contests are all in the fashion to-day, and it is possible for every town to arouse the patriotism of the fans by permitting them to vote for their favorite player, presenting, perhaps, the one heading the poll with a suitable souvenir on behalf of the town. This stunt, of course, must be worked in co-operation with the near-by motion-picture theater.

It can be arranged that each patron on entering receives a voting blank, which he is to fill up and return to the girl in the pay-box. The exhibitor should announce on a slide that the standing of the contestants will be announced each day in the window of your store.

You will secure, for practically no expense at all, plenty of publicity, resulting in increased business.

XLII. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ERRORS IN PHOTOPLAYS

Every now and then a motion-picture producer comes a cropper. With the speeded-up production methods at present prevailing, he can seldom give adequate attention to the little things that count. It matters little whether the play is historical or modern—it is almost certain to contain at least one error of some kind. Now, photoplay fans pride themselves upon their smartness in detecting these silly slips, and therefore an added stimulant would please them greatly.

In addition to your ordinary slide at the local movie theater, why not have same preceded with one worded somewhat as follows:

“If You Find a Mistake Pertaining to the Dry-goods Business in a Photoplay Screened at This Theater, We Will Present You with 25 Cents’ Worth of Goods Free”?

The first thing is to determine as to what constitutes an error. In one photoplay a daughter ran away from home and returned to the family fold five years later with the same dress on her back.

Almost as bad was another picture in which the chief character, an old gardener, began his day’s work with an old overall. At the end of the day he blossomed forth in a new garment.

Mistakes are quite as prevalent in Western dramas. Imagine, then, as I did, seeing an Indian girl wearing silk hosiery.

There are much worse mistakes in historical films. You will remember that “Jane Eyre,” Charlotte Bronte’s famous novel, was set in the early part of the nineteenth century, but the heroine in the photoplay version was up to the minute in fashions.

It is quite likely that more than one spectator will detect the same error, in which case it will prove too costly a stunt, so it is advisable to limit same to the first four persons who report the error. As the average motion-picture theater changes its program daily, it will be hard to verify the mistakes, which may not prove to be such. To guard yourself against the unscrupulous, it is well for you or somebody you can trust to see each program. Failing this, stipulate that spectators report the error to the exhibitor immediately after seeing the picture.

This stunt, besides drawing additional attention to your regular slide, should result in permanent customers. Moreover, those folk who delve beneath the surface will realize that were not your goods satisfactory you would, instead, offer a quarter in cash. Do not neglect to have the names and addresses of the winners, together with particulars of their errors, screened, for it will assuredly prove an incentive to the unlucky ones.

XLIII. HOW THE BOOK DEALER CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MOVIE ADAPTATION MANIA

The saloon-keeper may attribute decreased business to the versatile motion picture, but to the average book dealer the industry can be most beneficial.

It is what might be called the adaptation mania from which both publishers and book dealers have profited. To prove this, you have only to take into account “Les Miserables,” which, when released at the picture theaters, created an enormous sale of cheap reprints of the popular book.

This has been followed up by many other adaptations from novels and stage plays, and in every case it has meant extra trade for the book dealer who has been keen enough to make good use of the opportunities thus presented. Many movie fans, after seeing the photoplay version of a popular book, and finding it to their liking, have a desire for reading the story. Instead of borrowing the book from the local library, they prefer to spend up to a quarter on a cheap edition—and this is precisely where the book trade comes in.

Hardly a week goes by without some popular book or play has been produced in motion-picture form.

There are apparently few book dealers who have given this new field of business activity the close attention it demands. Some have been content to wait until the demand came—a most short-sighted policy that meant customers going elsewhere—whilst others have sat down and let the exhibitor reap the harvest.

I think it worth while for every book dealer to make a friend of the local motion-picture showman. The benefit would be mutual. The exhibitor could inform the book dealer well in advance whether he had any adaptations booked, so that the book dealer could lay in a stock to meet the demand. He could also announce outside his store that the picture was being shown at the theater in question, whilst all could obtain the book of the film from him.

The exhibitor would reciprocate the publicity thus given by announcing that the book was obtainable of the book dealer, or by allowing the latter to distribute circulars to the audience.

These are but suggestions. Other possible schemes may be devised by the wide-awake book dealer. It is, however, well to know that here is a source of revenue to be tapped.

XLIV. SELLING REAL ESTATE BY THE FILM

The real-estate agent operating from a distance in selling vacant lots and houses is placed at a considerable disadvantage.

When a prospective purchaser comes along the chances are in nine cases out of ten that he has been so misled by some other members of the fraternity that all the arguments in the world will not convince him that a certain piece of property on your books is just the very thing he is seeking.

When you invite him to pay an inspection, he will probably say: “I’m not going on a wild-goose chase, so I want some tangible evidence that it is likely to suit me.”

The unfortunate thing about it is that the innocent have to pay for the sins of the guilty, and the only effective way you can convince such an individual is by a motion picture.

Then, on the other hand, there is the client whose time is limited and may not be able to make the trip on chance.

The motion picture is next to the actual thing, for it shows everything as in real life without any tendency to exaggerate or allow false claims to enter. It can not be thought, however, that the deal can be clinched without the personal visit. The film serves to pave the way for this.

This is not mere theory conjured up from the vision of an armchair. The credit for putting the plan into actual operation is due to Western enterprise. I refer to the Newell Murdoch Company, who own the San Francisco suburb of Forest Hill.

Bearing the title of “A Drive Through Forest Hill,” the film opened by showing the grand stairway at the main entrance, with the tract office in the offing. Then came a number of panoramic views, introducing the spectator to the serpentine turnpikes, streets and avenues. Finished houses were revealed, as well as those in a partial stage of construction. A tract salesman is also shown meeting automobile parties of prospective purchasers. This film was presented for public exhibition in the ordinary way at twenty of the downtown theaters, where it created much interest and ultimately produced some more buyers.

It might also be well to show the interiors, for the inside of a house is even more important than its exterior aspects. This was formerly impossible, owing to the adverse photographic conditions and the difficulty and expense in installing adequate artificial lighting equipment. Lately, however, an invention has rendered it both possible and practicable.

Additional interest would be lent to the motion picture by introducing residents in typical poses, recreations, and so forth. This would enable the prospective resident to gain some idea of what his neighbors would be like. Another convincing touch would be added if the transportation facilities could be introduced.

Romance figures in practically every photoplay. Of all the themes, domestic troubles form the most prolific one for the scenario writer. It stands to reason, therefore, that motion-picture audiences would better appreciate a comedy. There is abundant material for introducing the advertising element, such as a newly married couple who finds paradise on your estate, or a family who experiences a great difficulty in securing the right house, and yours measures up highly to their exacting wants. These are but suggestions to indicate just what lines you should pursue. A story can be easily woven around your estate, introducing characteristic scenes in a perfectly natural manner.

The local theaters will be more than glad to have your film, if it conforms to the usual run of photoplay stories, and you may get them to show it for nothing instead of for a fee.

Maybe you would not care to go to the expense and trouble of fitting up a room in your office as a private theater and installing special motion-picture apparatus, so would suggest that you make arrangements beforehand with the nearest movie exhibitor for the hire of his hall and operator when not engaged. You can then show your dubious prospect at any time convenient to him.

XLV. ADVERTISING YOUR DEPARTMENT STORE BY MOTION PICTURES

Department stores, whether large or small, in search of new ways and means of attracting the public in face of competition, will find in the versatile motion picture a publicity medium which fully comes up to their requirements. Having the novelty element, it is bound to create unusual attention, resulting ultimately in increased business.

The idea, however, is not new to England, for the well-known London department store of Selfridge’s, owned by the American of that name, had a one-reel film produced some time ago. This showed how customers and staff are treated by the firm, dealing with accidents and illness, and keeping the employees fit by physical-culture drills on the roof garden.

The picture, besides capturing the fancy of the public at a cinematograph exposition held in London, was also put on at the principal theaters throughout London and suburbs.

To acquaint the public with how their welfare is studied and that of the employees is just the very thing to form the basis of a successful film. It is, on the other hand, hardly practicable to extend the advertising to specific bargain offers, such as you often set forth in newspaper announcements. The boiled-down stories of every-day life, which are so frequently seen on the movie screen and are so popular with the majority of picture-play-goers, offer their counterpart in the advertising field, so department stores would be wise to follow the fashion.

Such a photoplay would stir more interest than an ordinary industrial, and it is safe to say that your points would get home better. Audiences would be delighted in recognizing it as a home product, set amid familiar scenes in the neighborhood. It might also be advisable to introduce well-known local players in the cast.

There is abundant scope for a trained scenario writer to block out an interesting story. You can have, for instance, Mrs. Brown, all tired out and discontented after a tour of all the shops except yours. She happens to meet Mrs. Smith, her friend, on her way home. Mrs. Smith is the picture of content, through trading at your store, and, after sympathizing with Mrs. Brown, invites her to try your store. She takes the tip and is too pleased for words.

This is just a rough outline so as to give you an idea of what can be done.

You could also have the story written up in fiction form and insert it in the columns of the newspaper you favor, announcing at the bottom where and when the film version is being presented. The exhibitors of the theaters in question will be more inclined to entertain your proposition and accept a smaller fee if they know they are going to obtain some additional advertising.

As much discretion in selecting motion-picture theaters must be used as if you were selecting reliable press mediums. You will find that the downtown theaters attract the workers of both sexes in the lunch hours, and in the afternoons the audiences, for the most part, comprise ladies seeking relaxation after shopping tours.

But out in the suburbs and residential districts business men and their wives go to the shows in the evening after supper to drive away the worries and irritations of the day.

If yours is a high-class store, it naturally will not do to have your film shown at a nickeldrome attracting the poorest of the working classes. I would especially advise you, before putting your motion picture into circulation, to make a tour of the photoplay theaters in your territory. It is not enough to judge by the outside appearance—mingle with the audience—and size each one up from the point of view of your proposition.

XLVI. HITCHING MOTION PICTURES TO MUSICAL ADVERTISING

The versatility of the motion picture is not confined to the varied entertainment offered. Both the films and theaters can be linked together and be converted into business producers for the musical trade.

Should I be accused of presenting mere theories, then I would respectfully call your attention to the fact that what I am about to suggest is based upon actual successful cases of the movies being employed as an advertising medium.

Some time back the Edison Company started to issue musical selections for motion-picture orchestras, so that their photoplays could be played to as appropriately as possible. When one realizes that the majority of the shows change their program every day, it can be seen that there does not exist much time beforehand to prepare suitable musical pieces. It may scarcely be needed to add that the exhibitors appreciate this co-operation on the part of the film producer.

This example has since been followed by the Universal Film Company. They devote almost a whole page in their house organ to the correct music to accompany their motion pictures with.

The field is a good one for plucking, for there are twenty thousand motion-picture theaters from Maine to California, and the average show puts on six fresh reels every day. The average number of selections for each reel is three, brought about by the quick-changing situations presented.

The method of one song publisher by which to popularize his wares to the folks in front is to arrange with a number of neighborhood theaters to take on a singing act between the reels. The singer has the assistance of the band, and the audience is encouraged to join in the swinging chorus by a slide thrown upon the screen containing the words. At the top of this is a notice stating that the So and So Company publishes no bad songs.

To hark back, on the musical page of one of the house organs is a notice to the effect that if the orchestra leaders do not happen to possess the music, they can obtain it from certain concerns in New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia.

I am quite in the dark as to the actual inside arrangements which have been come to, but I presume that this is a sort of co-operative plan, whereby, in return for reviewing the company’s productions from the musical point of view, this publicity is provided in return.

Inasmuch as only two of the thirty or more motion-picture producers are helping the exhibitor in this manner, it would seem that there exists a particularly good opportunity to endeavor to coax the others to follow suit.

Movie fans are mostly home-loving folks, and are at all times on the warpath for new songs to play at home. This is proved by the fact that it is nothing unusual for an exhibitor to receive an inquiry from a patron asking for particulars of a certain piece of music that has taken his or her fancy.

Some songs lend themselves particularly well to motion-picture production, and such popular ones as “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary” and “Home, Sweet Home,” have already been filmed, thus further helping to popularize them. The ideal song as a photoplay is one which offers abundant scope for action and is also true to life. Most film versions thus far have been prepared after the song has achieved considerable fame. If, however, the publisher is to reap the full benefit, the movie picturization should be released simultaneously with the publication of the song.

XLVII. DEVELOPING “HAVE A GARDEN” MOVEMENT WITH PHOTOPLAY THEATER HELP

The spring and summer are the busy seasons for the nurseryman and florist, for the thoughts of the city folk fly in the direction of the open air. The garden being the first haven of refuge, the garden “outfitter,” if I may be permitted to coin a term, benefits financially.

The neighborhood theater is best suited to your purpose, as the majority of the patrons are located in residential sections. You approach them in the right mood, for one of the charms of the motion picture, as you are doubtless aware, is the natural backgrounds. Although a fair sprinkling of the stories are set in the city, there are a goodly number located in rural communities, consequently spectators see lovely gardens, farms, ranches, to say nothing of the handiwork of nature represented by the prairies and forests. All this makes the city dweller feel as though he would like to get away from his artificial surroundings, so he unconsciously thinks about converting his back and front lots into gardens and have his window-sills filled with plants.

He may have just gotten to that wavering point where it needs an incentive to stir him to action, for he is apt to forget his cherished hopes when plunged in business on the following day.

It is customary, at some motion-picture theaters, to present premiums on a certain night each week. Each patron on entering is given a numbered ticket, and at an appointed hour about four numbers are drawn, the lucky ones being presented with a useful article. The exhibitor, in most instances, has neglected to enlist local co-operation and has purchased his premiums at wholesale price from headquarters. It may be because it is hardly profitable to local traders, since only four out of a possible thousand would feel kindly disposed toward them.

A friend of mine who recently returned from a tour down South informs me that he discovered a plan in his travels which has overcome this apparent difficulty. It appears that each lady paying for admission to the Columbus Theater at Mount Allen on a certain Wednesday night was presented with a ticket good for either a fifty-cent rosebush or else a plum or peach tree at the local nurseryman’s.

Each woman duly presented herself at the nursery and was permitted to select her own plant. This afforded the florist an opportunity to introduce many others of his line, and there were very few who did not spend from $1 to $10 with him.

The only criticism I have to offer is that the proposition might have been extended to the men, as there were undoubtedly married men in the audience, unaccompanied by their wives, as well as single ones who would care to take up gardening as a hobby.

The nurseryman in this case charged the exhibitor the absolute rock-bottom price for each plant, relying upon the extra permanent business secured to compensate for the sacrifice made.

XLVIII. NAMING SODA-FOUNTAIN CONCOCTIONS AFTER MOVIES

Druggists should not be backward in availing themselves of one of the strongest forces of modern times—the motion picture. It is a poor town that does not contain a photoplay theater, and in most towns they are as plentiful as druggists—one on every few blocks.

The proportion of motion-picture goers in this country is one to every five inhabitants, and, however it may work out in your town, it is practically certain that the majority of men, women and children spend their evenings at the motion-picture show. After they have seen the performance through, they are in the right mood to pay a visit to a soda fountain. Do you make any inducements to attract their patronage? Maybe you don’t, so let me suggest how you can accomplish this.

Why not introduce a Lillian Walker sundae, an Edward Earle frappe and a Charlie Chaplin soda? The name goes a long way, but if you can make the concoction distinctive it is an added advantage. Lillian Walker, for instance, is famed far and wide for her dimples, which are not without their publicity possibilities.

Do not adhere to any one particular player for too long a period, for each fan has his or her favorite, and if you make, say, a daily change, you eventually cover them all.

Obviously, the most effective advertising medium is the motion-picture theater. If the exhibitor rents out his screen to retailers, you should arrange to have a slide shown. Failing this, an advertisement in the house organ or program should produce the desired results.

In regard to the well-known brands of photoplays, I know of a pharmacist in Beatrice, Nebraska, who invented the Triangle sundae. This comprised a mixture of vanilla and dark chocolate ice-cream, over which was placed a confection triangle, the work of a local baker. On the top of this were three cherries and three green candied plums. This stunt was pulled off in co-operation with a local photoplay exhibitor, who was as satisfied with the extra business secured as was the druggist.

Triangle is only one brand of popular photoplays with advertising possibilities. Others are Paramount, Red Feather, Blue Bird, Metro, World, Mutual, Universal, Gold Rooster, Beauty, Biograph, Kalem, Vitagraph, Edison, Essanay, Selig, Lubin and Thanhouser.

It may be argued that it is giving the manufacturer free publicity, but it does not sell him any more prints, for the exhibitor, as a rule, contracts for all the productions released under a certain banner. You would, of course, benefit the manufacturer were you to boost brands indiscriminately, but the success of the stunt depends on securing the assistance of the local exhibitor. When that is secured, you only christen soda-fountain concoctions after the brands of photoplays to be seen at his theater. A little extra time and effort in devising new soda-fountain lines will be well repaid.

A.&H.

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efficiency

WE ARE LIGHTING EXPERTS FOR ALL PURPOSES IN MOTION PHOTOGRAPHY

We outfit operators for studio, transit, commercial and unusual purposes.

Rental terms on request at headquarters.

Lowest Cost per Operating Unit

Allison & Hadaway Corporation

Photographic Manufacturers and Importers

235 Fifth Avenue, Dept. D, New York

EVERYTHING-FOR-YOUR-PLAYHOUSE
HOMMEL’S
COMMERCIAL BUILDING
422 FIRST AVE.
PITTSBURGH. PA.

My Specialty is

Motion Picture Publicity

Is there a photoplay you wish written around your goods? I supply the plot, technical scenario, or both.

How about boosting your picture? It will pay you to entrust me with the preparation of the literature.

Is there a unique publicity stunt you have in mind? Why not enlist my aid?

Are you using regular photoplays? If so, I can furnish a weekly report of the latest productions.

Is there a problem on which you seek advice? Perhaps I can be of service to you.

ERNEST A. DENCH, 326 Decatur Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.

AS A COMPANION VOLUME, BUY “MAKING THE MOVIES”
(MACMILLAN CO., $1.25)