Cinemadvertising

With the exception of those frayed asbestos curtains which, bordered with gauche testimonials, used to hang in provincial opera houses, the theatre has always been a form of entertainment reasonably free from extraneous advertising. Less for ethical than for practical reasons the cinema maintained the same policy until about a year ago when, searching shrewd methods to combat Depression, producers hit on the scheme of making short advertising films which were paid for twice--first by the advertisers, second by cinemaddicts who paid to see them as entertainment. The scheme was bound to arouse resentment from other fields which combine advertising with amusement. It received its first public attack last week in the form of a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, made by Eugene W. Castle, head of Castle Films, a small independent Manhattan company which produces short industrial pictures. Producer Castle attempted to secure newspaper support by pointing out that in some cases merchandising campaigns undertaken by film companies have resulted in an advertising loss to publishers. He argued that sponsored advertising films constitute deception and unfair competition. Said he: "The whole thing is based on trickery. . . . [Companies] should state clearly in their newspaper advertisements, in the theatre lobbies, and on the films themselves that advertising films, paid for by the sponsors, are being shown." So far, advertising films of the type alarming to Producer Castle have been produced only by Warner Bros, and Paramount. Paramount samples: a series entitled Movie Memories, comprising old newsreels, early shots of current stars, by courtesy of Liggett & Myers; My Merrie Oldsmobile, song cartoon; Jolt for General Germ, cartoon extolling Lysol. Warner Bros, samples: one-reel plays advertising Chesterfields; On the Slopes of the Andes, a coffee cultivation panorama to further Great Atlantic & Pacific grocery sales. Warner Bros, have contracted for a dozen or so more advertising shorts, Paramount for 50. Advertising films which cost advertisers $12,000 a reel, $40 a reprint, $5 per thousand "circulation" have already, according to Mr. Castle, made more than $3,000,000. Other producers have been reluctant to conduct similar experiments in the belief that exhibitors would resent them, attendance fall off. But RKO, affiliated with Radio Corp. of America, is thought to be on the fence. And alert reviewers have observed that recent Fox newsreels have contained enticing views of Cunard week-end tours and Cunard boat launchings which could easily have been construed as advertising.

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