Advertising by Motion
Pictures
BY
ERNEST A. DENCH
_Author of “Playwriting for the Cinema,” “Making
the Monies,” Former Vice-president Photoplay
Authors’ League, and Editor of the Late
“Photoplay Writer”_
[Illustration]
CINCINNATI
THE STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY
Copyright, 1916
The Standard Publishing Company
CONTENTS
PAGE
I Telling Your Advertising Story by Motion
Pictures 11
II Movie Advertising from the Viewpoint of
a Fan 18
III The Dollars and Cents of Advertising by
Motion Pictures 23
IV Some Film Advertising Methods for the
Manufacturer 30
V Slide and Film Advertising Contrasted 33
VI Using the Film to Secure Foreign Business 41
VII Approaching the Working Classes with a
Motion-picture Play 46
VIII Reaching the Public by Motion Pictures 52
IX Introducing Advertising into Motion-picture
Newspapers 59
X Employing Motion Pictures to Appeal to
the Children 64
XI Salesmanship Demonstrations by the Film 71
XII Equipping a Private Motion-picture Theater
for Business Purposes 74
XIII Introducing Competitions in Ad. Motion
Pictures 79
XIV Bringing Out the Individuality of Dry
Goods by Motion Pictures 85
XV Boosting Cities and Pleasure Resorts
by Motion Pictures 92
XVI Advertising Railroads by the Movies 98
XVII Getting Over the Pureness of Your
Food Products by the Film 105
XVIII Selling Automobiles and Accessories
by Motion Pictures 113
XIX Clinching Agricultural Machinery Sales
by Motion Pictures 120
XX How Publishers Can Capture Business
from the Ever-encroaching Film
Producer 126
XXI Advertising Your Newspaper with a
Motion Picture 131
XXII Selling Shoes by Motion Pictures 136
XXIII Film Advertising from the Photoplayer’s
Viewpoint 140
XXIV Advertising Film Circulation 146
XXV Covering the Motion-picture Field by
Magazines 152
XXVI Future Developments of Advertising
by Motion Pictures 156
XXVII Boosting Your Trade with a Popular
Player 163
XXVIII Boosting Your Business with an Advertising
Motion Picture 169
XXIX Pulling Movie-slide Advertising Out
of the Rut 173
XXX Maintaining the Interest in Slide Advertising 178
XXXI Individuality in Slide Advertising 183
XXXII The Personal Element in Slide Advertising 188
XXXIII Are Your Slides Truthful? 191
XXXIV Obtaining the Best Results From
Slide Advertising 194
XXXV Selecting the Theater for Your Ad.
Slide 199
XXXVI Handling the Anti-ad. Slide Exhibitor 203
XXXVII Having Your Movie Ad. Slides Shown
to the Best Advantage 207
XXXVIII The Ideal Slide Follow-up Medium 211
XXXIX Attracting Farmers to Town 215
XL Capitalizing Popular Screen Players
in Slide Advertising 217
XLI Attracting Trade with Photoplay
Stars 221
XLII Taking Advantage of Errors in Photoplays 226
XLIII How the Book Dealer Can Take Advantage
of the Movie Adaptation
Mania 230
XLIV Selling Real Estate by the Film 233
XLV Advertising Your Department Store by
Motion Pictures 238
XLVI Hitching Motion Pictures to Musical
Advertising 243
XLVII Developing “Have a Garden” Movement
with Photoplay Theater Help 248
XLVIII Naming Soda-fountain Concoctions
After Movies 252
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.