MPAA

Lucky Star Slimulant
Boosts Business and
Nets Five-Page Co-Op
A Luckv Star night proved an excellent
one-night' business stimulant over a fiveweek
period for Ted Ames, manager of the
Opera House, Millinocket. Me. To start the
ball rolling. Ames made a tentative layout
for a full-page ad and prepared copy for a
trailer and drawing coupons. With this material,
he approached local business men and
sold them on the idea of sponsoring it on
a weekly basis at a cost of five dollars to
Twenty merchants signed up which gave
Ames a $500 working fund. Part of this was
used to purchase five full-page co-op ads
which were run once each week in the local
paper. A portion of the money went to pay
the cost of coupons which were given to
the merchants for distribution to their customers.
The balance of the $500 went to pay
for a fur coat, a combination radio and victrola
console and three additional grand
prizes which were given away on the Lucky
Star nights.
Ames reports the promotion was extremely
successful, both from the standpoint of attracting
extra business and in creating goodwill
with the merchants.
Small House Responds
To Exploitation Aids
A little extra effort usuaUy pays off with
extra business, as W. H. Curley, manager of
the Rex Theatre, Mimico, Ont., learned during
the run of "Red River." Curley reports
that the slight extra expenditure for exploitation
helped to fill the 494-seat house
with a better than average three-day gross.
Fifty window cards were distributed
throughout the community. The background
of the card was especially desgned to represent
the canopy of a covered wagon. The
lettering was designed in the form of a huge
arrow and was striking and colorful in appearance.
Twenty-five arrows were tacked
on street corner lampposts throughout
Mimico. The arrows were four inches wide
and 25 inches long. Each pointed directly
towards the location of the theatre.
Home jRun on 'Ball Game'
Manny Winston, manager of the Wicomico
Theatre, Salisbury, Md., hit a home run with
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game." He tied
up with a local store selling baseball equipment
for a half-page co-op ad. It carried
pictures of four members of the local team,
and the first 25 persons correctly identifying
them received guest tickets to see the picture.
There was also a list of major league
opening games, and a cut of the theatre ad.
Sells Eight Page Co-op
Joe Bruns. manager of the newly renovated
Mohawk Theatre, Amsterdam, N. Y., promoted
a special edition in the Amsterdam
Evening Recorder, sponsored by local merchants,
well wishers, and firms which participated
in the renovation. The eight-page
section included congratulatory ads, with
writeups and stories on the theatre's past
history and the modern innovations which
were installed.
34
Milk Bottles Topped
With 'Father' Dates
Although fairly common in the United
States, tieups with milk distributors are
difficult to make in England. For the
engagement of "Life With Father" at the
Broadway Theatre, Eccles, Lancashire,
Manager H. Clayton-Nutt tied up with
the Legal Cooperative society which does
a large milk business in the entire district,
to get his theatre message right on
the neighborhood doorsteps. Cooperative
imprinted milk bottle caps with the title
and theatre playdates were used for a
week prior to opening.
A window display in the Cooperative's
downtown store featured posters on the
film production with the catchline, "Don't
cry over spilled milk if you miss seeing
'Life With Father.' "
The Broadway manager reports that
alltime records were established during
the engagement.
Armor Exhibit in Store
Sells 'Arrow Strikes'
To exploit "The Black Arrow Strikes," S.
Tenser, manager of the Central Cinema.
Cambridge, England, searched the town for
days until he located several pieces of armor
in a small museum owned by a private collector.
These were then placed in the window
of a prominent store dealing in office
furniture. Tiein copy compared the steel of
medieval times with the steel used today in
modern office equipment. Stills and other
accessories helped to attract the eye of the
perambulating public.
Several items of armor and ancient
weapons were also used in a foyer exhibit.
The extra effort, according to Tenser,
helped give the picture a better than average
gross.
Circus-Type Promotion
Aids 'Unknown Island'
Guy Hevia, manager of the Lyric Theatre,
Asbury Park, N. J., used a circus type of
campaign to exploit "Unknown Island." A
false front was constructed with 40x60 blowups
of prehistoric monsters as the main elements.
A 30-foot banner borrowed from
the distributor of the picture was draped
across the facade of the theatre building.
Hevia dressed three of his ushers in wild
animal costumes, complete with papier mache
hats. A flat decked truck toured the streets
while the ushers handed out heralds offering
prizes to children who could solve
a maze problem based on "Unknown Island."
School Essay Contest
For "Home of the Brave" at the Victoria
in New York, a citywide high school editorial
contest was conducted, with prizes
totaling $100 in cash. Theme of the contest
was the history-making treatment of a
Negro in American life portrayed in the
film. The tieup was made by United Artists,
distributors of "Home of the Brave," through
the coordinator of school theatrical activities
for the board of education.
—164—
Kid Show Anniversary
Marked by Radio and
Press Breaks
More than 2,000 boys and girls swarmed
into the Olympia Theatre. New Bedford,
Mass., to help Manager Morris Simms observe
the fourth anniversary of the inauguration
of his Saturday morning kiddy shows.
For the occasion. Simms arranged an amateur
talent show, with special prizes, which was
broadcast over stations WNVH and WFMR.
The rest of the program included a professional
act, five cartoons, a Junior G-Man
film and "Tarzan and the Mermaid." Mayor
Harriman of New Bedford officiated as master
of ceremonies. The Standard-Times newspaper
boys band was on hand to play Happy
Bu-thday as a special tribute.
A front-page story in the Sunday Standard-Times
with a continuing inside story and
columns of pictures rewarded Simms for his
painstaking efforts in building the kiddie
shows into high favor in the community.
Twenty congratulatory letters were received
from women's clubs and city and school officials.
During the last four years, animal acts,
puppet shows, quiz contests, sports contests,
games, the presentation of toys, comic books,
cash prizes and trips to major league baseball
games in Boston have been part of the
programs which built the kiddy shows into
popularity.
Matinee Rabbit Giveaway
Sponsored by Toy Store
Ray Light, manager of the Maryland Theatre,
Cumberland, promoted 25 live rabbits
for a giveaway at an Easter weekend matinee
kiddy party. A toy store sponsored the event,
and advertising included a special window,
newspaper ads in both daily papers, a trailer
and lobby cutout.
To exploit "Take Me Out to the Ball
Game," Light hit all rural newspapers and
used a teaser campaign in the local daily.
The Allegheny Citizen ran an eight-column
stream, three inches deep, across the top of
one page plugging the film. Window displays
were promoted in two music stores featuring
cutouts, stills, title, playdates and sheet music
of the song hits heard in the picture. Two
thousand heralds were distributed, and threesheets
and 24-sheets were posted on main
highways.
Heralds in Italian Sell
'Paisan' in Kent, Ohio
The large Italian population in Kent, Ohio,
was a factor not overlooked by Ben Geary,
manager of the Kent Theatre, in selling
"Paisan." Geary mailed out 200 penny postal
cards, made up in Italian, pointing up the
international fame enjoyed by this picture.
He also sold 1,000 heralds to an Italian
market, completely covering the cost.
An attractive 40x60 in the lobby, a trailer,
and teaser ads were used two weeks in advance.
Currently, two 22x82s were hung underneath
the marquee, glamorized with 11x14
stills.
Geary promoted a half-page newspaper
co-op from two local merchants. He also
sold the break ad to a merchant which gave
him a chance to use more space.
BOXOFFICE Shovionandiser : : May
28, 1949