.

by R. E. BUCHANAN, J. Walter Thompson Company

With a break-through in color television imminent, there will open a brand new "dimension of selling" in a totally different and dynamic fashion.

This belief is hardly new to the agency, which also holds leadership in radio and television billing, because the company has been an exponent of color since 1953.

At that time the agency took a hard look at the future of color television for its clients and decided that it would immediately learn everything possible about the use of color both for its programs and its client's products. And J. Walter Thompson recommended that its clients support color because, in the long run, they had the most to gain from the selling advantages color would bring.

"An agency can either wait until television ideas are brought to it, or it can, in concert with its clients, determine what it would like to see in television and then make it happen," comments Dan Seymour, director of the Thompson radio and television department. "We decided, years ago, to make things happen in color and we've been at it ever since."
.

• Anmerkung : Auch dieser Artikel ist reine Eigenwerbung für die Erfolge einer Werbeagentur mit RCA Farb-Equipment (für andere Werbeagenturen).

.

In the 1959-60 television season the agency created and produced more than 600 minutes of color commercials, the time equivalent of seven full-length motion picture features.

The agency looks upon its present leadership in the color field as a natural consequence of its pioneer efforts in color years ago.

In midsummer of 1953 "J. Walter Thompson" joined with NBC to produce the first full color Kraft Television Theatre. Three months went into the planning and preparation of this production. The result was a most beautiful color production.

In 1955, the J. Walter Thompson Company implemented Ford's intense interest in color as a means of bringing to the whole family group in its living room the high style of the Ford line with sponsorship of "FORD STAR JUBILEE".

Later for Ford, the agency employed color as a requisite for the every-week special STAR-TIME series. The agency believes that color for this program and its well-received commercials is essential to the objective of the entire series: To reach with the greatest possible impact every segment of the car-buying public, even those who seldom or never watch television.

The present line-up of clients' programming sponsorship with all commercials in color is:
.

• THE SHIRLEY TEMPLE SHOW, Beechnut and Nabisco.
• THE PERRY COMO SHOW, Kraft Foods Company, 6 minutes per week
• THE FORD SHOW, Ford Division of the Ford Motor Company, 3 minutes per week
• BONANZA, RCA, 2 minutes per week

.
These account for four of the nine evening color programs regularly scheduled by NBC.

In addition, other Thompson clients are represented in special color programs throughout the year, such as the Brewers Foundation hour-long musicals, "Summer on Ice," "The Esther Williams Show," and "The Donald O'Connor Show."

Other clients who have done color commercials in connection with color programs are Lever Brothers, Chesebrough-Pond's, Chase & Sanborn, and Red Cross.
.

In the development of color commercials, J. Walter Thompson maintains a complete television studio of its own which transmits by closed circuit to monitors in offices of the agency's creative personnel. In this fashion a true perspective of transmission in color and reception on an individual screen is gained.

For more than four years clients' products, ranging from "Kodak film packages" to an "Aunt Jemima pancake", have been tested in color. Particularly valuable has been the experimentation with packages against varying backgrounds so that when it comes time to actually put the product on camera - television or film - the agency producers know exactly what color and texture of background best complement the true colors of the package.
.

The seven fulltime technicians of the TV Workshop are available to work each day with a different set of copywriters, art directors and account men from any of the six domestic Thompson offices or its international offices to find the best way to take advantage of color to advertise the product.

J. Walter Thompson has a Fashion Coordination Department which is responsible for maintaining a consistent level of good taste in clothes, set decorations and props, locations and backgrounds.

During the past six years, the Fashion Coordination Department has been active in the color planning and coordination of color commercials for such clients as Ford Motor Company, Scott Paper Company, Eastman Kodak and Chesebrough-Pond's.

During the past year for Ford alone, the department has worked on 23 color spectaculars being closely involved, and in many cases completely responsible for color planning, selection, and coordination between the car, the backgrounds, and the people.

It has been responsible for working with color both in a studio and on location, including most recently the Rome series of television and print advertising.
.

The personnel of the department are familiar with many areas of color television and its advantages as well as problems. This wide experience has resulted in some important lessons in the use of color:
.

• 1. Color can be used to implement the telling of a story or to emphasize a product message or theme. The choice of a color can suggest warmth or coolness, laughter, or beauty. For example, Ford did a commercial in which the first half was a terrace scene with cool modern music and the latter half hot jazz. In the first half cool colors were planned - pale blues and greens with a white undertone against a black and white modern setting; in the jazz half bright clashes of color against a Japanese lantern-lit warm brick terrace were used.
• 2. Some colors bleed: an Eastman Kodak baby will look healthier on a pale warm toned blanket than on, for example, a green blanket; a Pond's beauty's skin tones may not benefit from the reflected color of a bright cerise dress.
• 3. Undertone colors must be watched; they sometimes come up strongly on color film or live television. A man's grey flannel suit may become a color-blinding blue; faded blue jeans may intensify to a brilliant shade of royal.
• 4. Colors vary with texture; satins or shiny surfaces often reflect light and intensify colors more than a light-absorbent texture or surface.
• 5. Too wide a value range between background and foreground colors can be dangerous. On screen, in color or black and white, the full skirted white hostess gown will probably flare against a Christmas tree or dark-toned room.

.

At this point there is no definitive criterion by which the advertiser can determine the degree of importance of color to his commercials. For certain products, however, the agency and its clients agree that the effect of color greatly enhances the sales message.

For instance, Kraft with its food preparation commercials has employed color for all its commercials since August, 1956. The agency has a special staff, highly skilled in all phases of "appetite appeal," which spends its full time on the creation and production of these commercials.

Kraft's firm belief in the importance of color for food advertising led the company last summer to use color commercials in two black and white shows, TATE and HAPPY. The effect on home color sets of full-scale food commercials suddenly appearing in color was startling and highly effective.

After early experimentation with color, Ford for three television seasons has produced most of its automobile commercials in color. In addition to its contribution to backgrounds - highway foliage, private driveways, resort marquees - color highlights automobile styling, both exterior and interior.
.

Thus, color, at J. Walter Thompson has become an integral part of its day-to-day operation. The agency looks upon its seven year experience and leadership in color, both for programming and commercials, as an investment which it believes will pay great dividends to its clients in the dynamic selling techniques made possible by color television.
.
FIG. 1. For development of commercials, I. Walter Thompson has established a complete TV studio, permitting closed circuit transmission of pictures to offices of agency's creative people.
FIG. 2. "The Shirley Temple Show"
FIG. 3. "The Perry Como Show"
FIG. 4. "The Ford Show"
FIG. 5. "Bonanza"