Boxoffice-March.06.1948

Only
Endorsement by Mayor
Publicizes 'Night Song'
Sam Torgan. manager of the Keith in
Lowell, Mass., took advantage of the fact
that the leading citizen of his community.
Mayor G. A. Ayotte, is a choir director and
keenly interested in good music by obtaining
a public endorsement of "Night Song" prior
to the opening.
The mayor addressed a letter to Ned E.
Depinet, president of RKO Radio Pictures,
the producer, in which he expressed his
personal appreciation for the company's contribution
to good music. The letter was
publicized locally.
Torgan mailed postal card announcements
to music devotees in Lowell and posted
placards on bulletin boards of schools, libraries
and churches.
Another feature of his campaign was a
broadcast of the "Night Song" concerto by
station WLLH.
Usherettes at Depots
'Welcome Strangers'
To Santa Barbara
gives
FLAV^JR
they
favor
popcorn
^^^^
Simonin of Philadelphia
SEASONING SPECIALISTS
TO THE NATION
Merchants Pay Expense
Of Alliance Program
Pearce Parkhurst, publicity director for
Tri-Tlieatres in Alliance, Ohio, puts out a
weekly theatre program which is paid for
by cooperating merchants. The back page
is devoted to quarter space ads for the merchants,
the front page and center spread arefilled
with news stories and cuts announcing
coming attractions at the Strand.
Parkhurst had fake $10 bills imprinted to
exploit "The Frisco Kid" recently. On the
reverse side tiein copy announced: "Even
the 'Frisco Kid' couldn't this pass phony
. $10 worth of entertainment for the 30-
cent admission at the Strand ." . . Ushers
distributed the throwawa^-s at restaurants,
barbers and other public points.
Heralds on 'T-Man' Date
Distributed From Jeep
Robert Davis, manager of the Olean Theatre,
Olean. N. Y., obtained the use of a jeep
to ballyhoo "T-Men," using the vehicle to
distribute several thousand heralds at busy
street locations.
A bogus-money identification contest was
promoted with the Times-Herald. Threesheets
were posted and many window tieups
were secured.
Davis tied up with two local stores for
newspaper co-op ads and garnered extensive
newspaper stories in weekly papers.
Chief of Staff Promotes
'Timberlane' Co-Op Ad
For "Cass Timberlane," Kenny Green,
chief of service at Loew's in Indianapolis,
promoted a three-column, eight-inch co-op
ad from the Allied Florists Ass'n. The -ad
featured three-column art of Lana Turner
admiring flowers, with copy mortised into
the lower corner incorporating theatre
credits in the association's selling message.
Recruits 'Unconquered'
Charles B. Taylor, publicity director for
Shea's, Buffalo, arranged a tieup with the
army recruiting service for "Unconquered"
at the Hippodrome Theatre. "Keep America
•Unconquered,' Join the U.S. Army," was
the theme of one-sheet posters, displayed
throughout the city on federal A-boards.
Playdates were prominent.
According to Reg Streeter, manager of the
Mission Theatre in Santa Barbara, theatre
patrons in his area have been trying to recuperate
from the recent holidays, necessitating
special exploitation to get them to the
theatre.
Starting off with "Welcome Stranger,"
Streeter had three of his usherettes attired
in their regular uniforms act as official
greeters at all ports of enti-y to the city.
They distributed small cards to visitors with
"welcome" copy which drew attention to the
playdates at the Mission. They covered railroad
stations, airports and all bus depots,
creating excellent comment wherever they
appeared.
For "Desert Fury," previously publicized
in prior run theatres in the area, Streeter
distributed 500 envelopes containing sand.
An imprint on the envelope read: "Sand
from the desert. What a story of violence,
intrigue and romance it could tell." Theatre
mention followed.
In an effort to reach private homes,
Streeter tied up with a local merchant who
paid the bulk of the cost of mailing 1,000
list. heralds to the theatre's mailing The
heralds carried selling copy on "Born to Kill"
and an ad for the cooperating merchant.
A novel method of presenting a trailer for
"Mother Wore Tights" helped to focus attention
on its opening. A wire was strung across
the stage, with a banner attached through
eyelets. Just before the trailer was screened,
an attractive usherette appeared on one side
of the stage in tights, doing a dance step to
music from the opening of the trailer, and
pulled the banner with her across the stage.
As soon as she had crossed the stage, the
operator opened the douser and the trailer
appeared on the screen.
Streeter reports that although these little
stunts are not entirely new, they did much
to contribute towards bringing his attractions
before the public.
Tieups Prove Valuable
For 'Red Stallion' Date
Exploitation for "Red Stallion" at the
Station Theatre. Huntington, N. Y.. included
several art and publicity breaks in the local
press. Manager Dan Martin arranged with
the county watchman to sponsor a coloring
contest starting two weeks in advance. A
full page co-op ad was promoted from a
stationery concern and 3,000 heralds were
promoted at no cost through another merchant
co-op.
—416— BOXOFFICE Showrmandiser Mar. 13, 1948