Boxoffice-11.11.1950

I
I
American
-1 bVANCE PROMOTION REPORTS;
TWENTinH century-fox's "Flower of France"
National Tieups Helping
Presell New Product
Major film companies are making important
;trides with preselling promotion tieups.
To acquaint the public with star players and
itles, far in advance of release dates, and
nore directly to assist the exhibitor in reiucing
local sales resistance, the trend is
limed at getting manufacturers and dealers
extend greater cooperation to the theitreman.
This particular type of tieup makes
t possible for the theatreman to obtain free
iccessories and to gain community saturation
celling for his product through wholesale
ieups with all retail dealers handling the
iein merchandise.
GREETING CARDS, HOSIERY
TIEUP FOR 'LET'S DANCE'
Paramount, as an example, has set a deal
with American Greeting Publishers, Inc., one
]f the largest manufacturers of greeting cards
whereby exhibitors who play "Let's Dance"
~ Avill be able to obtain poster displays in
countless stores. The tieup is timely, coming
just before the holiday season when stores
are anxious to dispose of their stock of
seasonal cards. It is timely from the exhibitor's
vantage since "Let's Dance" will be
playing in theatres concurrently with the
buyers' splurge for greeting cards.
is backing the campaign with
^45,000 posters to be distributed among its
^retail outlets. The poster features a color
illustration of Betty Hutton and calls atitention
to her newest release. Exhibitors
iwill natiu-ally take advantage of the tiein
,: potentiality through local tieups for addi-
.tional display material and co-op ads.
A second major preselling promotion created
for "Let's Dance" has been created in cooperation
with Prim Hosiery, Inc., of Chester,
111., which has, for the occasion, introduced
"Let's Dance" nylons. The campaign was
launched with cooperation advertisements in
Life, Photoplay, Vogue. Seventeen, Charm and
'Mademoiselle magazines. However, the campaign
is not being ended with the national
advertisements. It is being carried down to
the retail level. The manufacturer has sent
a complete promotion package to all dealers
—including posters, streamers, counter cards,
Betty Hutton photos, mats, etc. As a special
incentive. Prim is offering prizes to the best
window displays tieing in with the picture.
The campaign has been arranged so that
exhibitors can tie in with the national promotions.
Names of local dealers may be
'
obtained from Ken Consaul, Prim Hosiery,
[Inc., Chester, 111., and exhibitors may make
I arrangements to tieup with the window displays,
1 local advertising and other merchandising
plans through these home town merchants.
P U-I'S
PRESELLING TIEIN
^ WITH DAIRYMEN HELPS
The U-I tieup with the National Dairymen's
Ass'n on "The Milkman" has already
proved fruitful in conjunction with the premiere
of the film at the Riverside Theatre
in Milwaukee last week.
Mayor Prank Zeidler of Milwaukee proclaimed
"The Milkman" day to honor the
premiere and the three stars of the film who
were in the city. As part of the premiere
activities, milk trucks from Milwaukee's
dairies participated in a parade hooked in
with State Teachers college homecoming celebration.
Local dairies distributed milk punch
streamers to fountains and milk bars
throughout the city and groceries and delicatessen
stores displayed window streamers
and posters heralding the premiere of "The
Milkman." Large co-op newspaper ads were
another important part of the campaign.
National promotion which reached a large
portion of the television audience also helped
to focus attention on the Milwaukee opening.
The three film stars appeared on Durante's
Wednesday night television debut.
They presented a skit which took place theoretically
backstage at the Riverside and
posed in front of a seven-foot poster announcing
the premiere.
20TH-FOX CREATES TIEINS
ON SIX TOP PICTURES
Twentieth Century-Fox is keeping pace
with strong national preselling tieups on
many of its forthcoming releases. "I'd Climb
the Highest Mountain" will benefit from a
tieup with Lever Bros., manufacturers of Lux
soap. Some 4,000,000 mailing pieces will be
sent out by the distributor featuring a star
illustration of Susan Hayward as she appears
in the picture.
More than a score of national tieups will
support "The Jackpot." Dealers and retailers
handling Sherwin-Williams Paint Co. products
will display posters showing star players
of the picture. Farberware kitchen utensils
and Libby frozen food products will advertise
the film in thousands of posters and co-op
ads carrying a Barbara Hale endorsement.
Tied in with preselling campaign for
"American Guerrilla in the Philippines,"
Micheline Prelle was selected by the National
Florists Ass'n as Queen of National
Flower week. More than 30,000 posters will
be displayed in florist shops throughout the
nation carrying a direct plug for the picture
and opening the door for local promotions
between the florists and theatremen.
Look Magazine Play
To 3 MGM Films
The Look magazine issue dated November
21 and now on the stands has
about 12 pages devoted to three MGM
pictures. These include photos of Clark
Gable and Lady Ashley on seven consecutive
pages and mentioning "Across
the Wide Missouri." There also is a
full page of photos of Leslie Caron,
who appears in "An American in Paris,"
and part of four pages on "King Solomon's
Mines," selected as Movie-of-the-
Weeli by the publication.
NATIONAL FLOWER WEEK
SAY
>TOR inearre NOV./
iTWlWHOWtHS
Baldwin piano dealers and retailers handling
the Kirsch Venetian blinds have been
alerted to give allout cooperation to local
exhibitors in their respective areas. Twentieth-Fox
has also established tieups with
most of the companies whose products are
used in the air show from which the picture
is adapted.
Lever Bros, will participate in a national
magazine plug for "I'll Get By" through a
full-page ad scheduled to appear in 11 publications
having a combined circulation of 50
million. Two-thirds of the space is devoted
to a scene illustration showing William Lundigan
and June Haver.
Doubleday & Co., book publishers, will
launch a national campaign advertising a
reprint edition of "The Mudlark" in magazines
and newspapers with emphasis on the
fact that 20th-Fox has just completed the
motion picture based on the novel. Doubleday
salesmen are equipped with kits of stills
from the picture and instructions to urge
complete cooperation among dealers in local
tieins with the picture.
With continued emphasis on the national
phase of preselling motion picture product
by the producers and distributors, exhibitors
have special opportunity to supplement their
own advertising by taking advantage of the
cooperative tieups in their local situations.
BIG AD CAMPAIGN OPENS
ON 'WEST POINT' STORY
Full page and double-spread advertisements
on James Cagney's return to the songand-dance
in "The West Point Story" have
been scheduled by Warner Bros, for 25 national
magazines.
•The first ads appeared during the week
and will continue to appear every few days
through December. The film goes into national
release Thanksgiving Day. It Is
Cagney's first musical film since his "Yankee
Doodle Dandy" won the Academy Award
eight years ago.
Publications include: Life, Look, Time,
Newsweek, Saturday Evening Post, Quick,
Cosmopolitan, Collier's, Redbook, Photoplay,
Motion Picture. American, Good Housekeeping,
Modern Screen, Movieland, Screen Guide,
Movie Stars Parade, Screenland, Movie Story,
Hit Parader, Movie Life. Silver Screen, Popular
Songs and Song Hits.
BOXOFFICE Showmandiser Nov. 11, 1950 — 373 — 37