Advertising on Television

ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION Volume 19 (approx. 55 min.)

Back in the 1950’s commercials could be incredibly overt and presented in an extremely aggressive fashion.

THE ARTHUR MURRAY SHOW, sponsored by Newport cigarettes, was one of the classic examples - the 30 minutes or so that we have from the program doesn’t feature any spots from the show, but it does have Bill Nimmo, the show’s announcer, insinuating himself into dozens of different live spots plugging Newport.

The range of spots for the cigarettes is astonishing. The first features a pair of tin soldiers who are transformed into a male-and-female dance team in soldier outfits.

But most feature Bill Nimmo plugging Newport around various slogans: “Just the right choice: Perfect balance, the coolness of menthol, and a hint of mint, blended with high quality tobacco”, “Newport, the most refreshingly different cigarette ever made”, “ocean breeze freshness.”

Nimmo plugs the cigarette from a piano, while playing the accompaniment for a pop quartet for Murray’s wife to sing along in one spot: a man and woman do a soft shoe dance set to a song delineating Newport’s virtues; and he gives us a close-up look at a giant cigarette.

STOKELY VAN CAMP is best known for its pork and beans, but the canned goods company has also aggressively pursued the entire canned food market, as can be seen from these commercials dating from the 1950’s to the 1970’s.

“Stokely vegetables are like having a farm in your cupboard,” declares a young housewife from an early 1970’s commercial, and as she opens the cupboard, sure enough a silo and field appear, and cans grow out of the soil.

The cans popping out of the soil are a favorite image of the company’s in commercials for fruit cocktail, corn, string beans etc. “We only pick when the color’s right” they tell us, and “You can taste a rainbow when you taste Stokely’s.”

Earlier Stokely’s commercials from the 1950’s, taking off from such products as Alka Seltzer and Philip Morris cigarettes, feature a boy messenger declaring “it’s easy,” about preparing dinner with Stokely canned foods, including saladettes.

ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION Volume 20 Not available



ADVERTISING ON TELEVISION Volume 21 HANKSCRAFT #1 (approx 55 min)

One of the liveliest, most interesting films devoted to advertising and selling ever created.

Hankscraft is the single company most responsible for the use and success of motion displays in stores since the end of World War II, and this film explains the company’s success - that “the secret of sales is to keep on the move.”

The level of innovation achieved by Hankscraft, from its first high efficiency motors to the development of transistorized flasher units, which made the displays stand out even further.

Instore displays for Post cereals, Seagrams, Hamilton Beach Blenders, Black & Decker Grass Cutters, Campbells and Pillsbury, Alcoa, Schmidt’s Beer, L&M Cigarettes, Kelloggs, Bissell Sweepers, Jello etc., all designed around different customized units are shown.

The psychology behind different kinds of displays is also discussed - how certain categories of products, and household supplies, are impulse purchases and, thus, helped especially by the use of motion displays to attract attention.

Motion displays also show how to use certain products, and tell stories behind the products, all analyzed on this tape. And we see how motion displays recreate images used in television advertising-bringing the advertising campaign right into the presence of the customer, in 3-D - thus allowing a more integrated sales campaign than a still store display would permit.



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