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. . Sales<br />
Playing Fair With Public Is Way<br />
To Keep Freedom, Says Schlaifer<br />
Charles Schlaifer, director of advertising and publicity for 20th Century-Fox, is<br />
shown with a film group at the Advertising Club of Washington, where he delivered<br />
a talk last week. Left to right: John O'Lcary, 20th-Fox; Glenn Norris, 20th-Fox; Carter<br />
Barron, Loew's, Inc.; Ken Clark, Motion Picture Ass'n of America; Anthony Muto,<br />
20th-Fox; Schlaifer; Frank Gatewood, president of the Advertising Club of Washington,<br />
and David Palfreyman, MPAA.<br />
WASHINGTON—It is time for the advertising<br />
profession in the U.S. to indulge in<br />
the new look. Charles Schlaifer, director of<br />
advertising and publicity for 20th Centm-y-<br />
Fox, believes the writers of ad copy and their<br />
bosses are as involved in today's struggle<br />
to maintain the democratic way of life as any<br />
other group, for if ad men are to ward off<br />
censors and dictators over this work, they<br />
will have to alert themselves to their responsibilities,<br />
including the responsibility of<br />
playing fair with the public and each other.<br />
Schlaifer spoke at a meeting of the Advertising<br />
Club of Washington in the Statler<br />
hotel.<br />
The advertising profession now enjoys complete<br />
freedom; there is no police board or<br />
censor to check ad copy line by line and throw<br />
offenders in jail, he said. "By the printed<br />
word, over the air waves, in picture and<br />
poster, color, black and white, car card, billboard,<br />
loudspeaker and screen we tell the<br />
story of the clients we represent, day and<br />
night, month by month, year by year, with<br />
never a curb upon our endeavors save that<br />
of the exactions of good taste, decency and,<br />
of course, salesmanship."<br />
STRICT OBSERVANCE NEEDED<br />
The film executive argued that strict observance<br />
of responsibilities to the public and<br />
others is the way to keep that freedom.<br />
He said that there are many shortcomings<br />
that should be corrected, but he struck out at<br />
any holier-than-thou attitude some advertising<br />
advertising.<br />
men may take against motion picture<br />
"Let's take a look, a rather furtive one,<br />
at the whole advertising field, rememt)ering<br />
that in one field, a minority one, we of the<br />
motion pictm-e industry are constantly accused<br />
of stretching our imaginations, overplaying<br />
sex and overmagnifying the magnificent,"<br />
he said.<br />
"Ai'e you completely satisfied about some<br />
of the ads which glamorize certain types<br />
of women's dresses and lingerie, leading the<br />
susceptible female to believe that the product<br />
will overcome all natural defects? How about<br />
cigaret ads, printed and spoken? Can it be<br />
possible that each brand is so superlative<br />
that no other can touch it and that any<br />
cigaret can be only balm to the throat?<br />
Ai-e you happy about the claims which are<br />
made about certain creams and cosmetics?<br />
And can you imagine what would happen<br />
if any motion picture involved itself with the<br />
kind of stark sex appeal made in many perfumery<br />
ads?<br />
"Do you really believe that only the film<br />
business is guilty of being super-colossal?"<br />
Schlaifer then told of steps that have been<br />
taken by the motion picture business to<br />
"put its own house in order" in advertising.<br />
JOHNSTON LEADERSHIP CITED<br />
"That has been done in several ways under<br />
the present leadership of Eric Johnston and<br />
our own Motion Picture Ass'n. For many<br />
years there has been not only a motion<br />
picture production code, but also a parallel<br />
code governing the content of motion picture<br />
Under the advertising advisory<br />
advertising . . .<br />
council, we undertook to resurvey the<br />
whole situation, and as a result, after months<br />
of painstaking labor, the code itself was<br />
strengthened, made more specific. Rigid regulations<br />
were drawn up for enforcement of<br />
the code and stiff penalties imposed."<br />
But this is not all, Schlaifer continued.<br />
He then told of the program for bringing to<br />
light the film industry's and Hollywood's<br />
good facets, which now is being taken up by<br />
all branches of the industry, including exhibitors.<br />
"None of us wants a counterpart of the<br />
federal food and drug act," he concluded,<br />
"to govern every line of our copy and every<br />
minute of our air time or billboard space . . .<br />
I say we can all stay free if we all stay<br />
responsible."<br />
Schlaifer Completes Series<br />
NEW YORK—Charles Schlaifer, director<br />
of advertising and publicity for 20th Century-Pox,<br />
delivered the final lecture in his<br />
five-week course in public relations at the<br />
New school Friday (28).<br />
THE IDEAL THEATRE CHAIRS<br />
JOE HORNSTEIN has them<br />
WASHINGTON<br />
/^lenn Norris, 20th-Fox branch manager,<br />
was the recipient of a broom to which<br />
was attached a card reading "Sweep Up for<br />
Andy." Ccmphments of Charles Schlaifer,<br />
head of publicity and advertising, in honor<br />
.<br />
of Andy Smith June Month, for which all<br />
members of the local 20th-Pox exchange are<br />
anxious to make a good showing . . . Nellie<br />
The exchange is<br />
Piss is vacationing . . .<br />
making plans for a wiener roast on June 5<br />
in Sligo paik Manager Gordon<br />
Contee is working with Salesman Joe Cohan<br />
in Baltimore this week . . . Ira Sichelman<br />
flew to Charlotte, N. C, on Tuesday to confer<br />
with Harry Pickett.<br />
Harry Valentine says he is closing the<br />
FrankUn Theatre, Franklin, Va., due to the<br />
Harry Wasserman<br />
lack of air conditioning . . .<br />
is closing his Capitol Theatre, Alexan-<br />
dria, Va., for the summer. His new Carver<br />
Theatre will "carry the load" until the Capitol<br />
Allen Dibble, March of<br />
reopens . . . Time Washington representative, has returned<br />
from his vacation in Terre Haute,<br />
Newt Carskadon is making plans<br />
Ind. . . .<br />
for the construction of an entire new front<br />
and boxoffice at the Music Hall in Keyser,<br />
Mrs. Lou Spates was a recent exchange<br />
W. Va. . . .<br />
visitor. Bill Spates underwent an eye<br />
operation in Johns Hopkins hospital, Baltimore.<br />
The Embassy Theatre in Cumberland,<br />
which was recently acquired by the Darnell<br />
Theatres, Inc., is to undergo extensive improvements<br />
and repairs. The theatre continues<br />
to operate as repairs are being done<br />
after show hours. Gilbert Kauffman manages<br />
the Embassy and G. Ray Light continues<br />
to manage the Maryland, which also<br />
was acquired by the Darnell chain.<br />
Art Jacobson has returned to Washington<br />
from his Florida vacation and looks "like a<br />
million" . . Eddie Perotka came in from<br />
.<br />
Middle River to visit FUmrow this week . . .<br />
John Caldwell made one of his rare visits<br />
to do a little buying and booking . . . C. J.<br />
Lee, Doric Theatre, Wardensville, W. Va.,<br />
has returned home following an operation<br />
in Washington sanitarium.<br />
Mike Leventhal and Lauritz Garman attended<br />
the Allied meeting in Denver. From<br />
there Leventhal flew to Los Angeles to visit<br />
his brother and sister who reside there . . .<br />
Little David O'Connor, grandson of 20th-<br />
Pox Shipper Stanley Summers, is laid up<br />
with the chicken pox . . . Betty Hoover has<br />
retm-ned to Monogram as Branch Manager<br />
Jack Safer's secretary . . . O. P. Leland, who<br />
. . .<br />
is on the staff of the Chinese delegation to<br />
the United Nations, is visiting Mr. and Mrs.<br />
W. Titus came in<br />
B. F. Young, 20th-Fox . . .<br />
from the Republic home office to visit with<br />
Jake Flax.<br />
Al Benson and his boys, together with Max<br />
Joice, attended the Paramount sales meeting<br />
in Philadelphia . . . Cecil Ward was in town<br />
to buy and book for his Bassett Theatres<br />
Soon to open is the Bellwood Drive-In,<br />
situated between Petersburg and Richmond.<br />
It has a capacity of 1,600 cars, said to be<br />
the largest in the country . . . Little Jolm<br />
O'Leary jr., son of 20th-Fox office manager,<br />
is down with the chicken pox.<br />
The former Pat Jones of advertising and<br />
publicity is publicizing the fact that on May<br />
11 Sharon Margaret Jeanrenaud was born at<br />
Arlington hospital.<br />
r<br />
52 BOXOFnCE :: May 29, 1948
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