Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

314
THE PROGRAM ANGLE
cial to sell its audience it must show the people how they need
and can use the product. If it shows Joe Citizen actually using it,
it can be a good selling point, but if it is not a glamor article,
is static, or otherwise impossible to demonstrate easily, a cartoon
may do a better job.
The comparison between live and cartoon appeal is well re-
flected by an experiment at one of the author's classes. This class,
studying films for television, was shown a reel of film consisting of
forty minutes of Ford commercials. This included both cartoons
and live actors. The theme of every film was "Bring your Ford
home." Probably most readers have seen it. The length of each
varied between twenty seconds and one minute. Some of the ani-
mated spots contained the same subject matter as the live action
films with the result that it was possible to watch a story unfold in
live action and then see it again in animation. At the end of the
session the class was asked, "Which do you prefer, and why?"
The overwhelming concensus of opinion was that the animated
spots made more impression. The live spots, while factual, did not
make the same deep impression as the former. One sequence in
particular that they felt suffered by comparison was one in which
the little animation man pushed a testing rack over to the auto
to test the motor. In the next live action a Ford drove into a garage
and the mechanic struggled over to the auto with a similar piece
of equipment. The animated spot made a much deeper appeal
to them. It is interesting to note that the sixty students in all, who
saw it in a number of sessions, represented a very good cross
section of the public. Only about three of them had any working
connection with television or radio; the balance worked at all
trades and were merely drawn to the class by the lure of television
and the hope of getting a job in it after graduation. Asked why
they preferred the animation so much more, they gave varying
replies but the gist of it was that the animated spots made every-
thing so much easier and they felt that it highlighted the smoothness
of service at Ford dealers.
This reply is interesting in view of the desire of people to
identify themselves with situations and characters. They probably