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.