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Newly Organized TeleSales Department Produces Outstanding TV Tape Commercials for Outside Clients - by JERRY MADDEN, Director of TeleSales, NBC

With the advent of video tape, there came a new dimension to broadcast production. At last, we had a vehicle to transcribe sound and picture that was developed specifically for electronic transmission. It retained all of the editorial advantages of "live," instantaneous switching, built-in optical effects, the ability to see what you have as you record.

In addition, it gave us the one magic ingredient that had hampered our live production techniques from the outset - margin for error. Now, we could strive for absolute perfection, for were it not acheived in "take one," we now could go on until we did the job - without compromise.
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Tape usage grew, and with it the demand for a new type of business became evident. NBC TeleSales became a department within the company to service the needs of clients in video tape production. Acceptance was almost immediate. In the few short years that NBC has offered its tape facilities to outside clients, we have experienced a most impressive record.

Let us examine why the tape commercial business has grown from literally zero to an estimated national gross of over ten million.

At the outset, most agencies used tape for one of two reasons: one - it was faster; two - it was cheaper. Gradually, as they became more familiar with tape techniques, they realized that they now had tools to achieve exceptional artistic quality.

At this point, tape commercials really started to come into their own. For example, at the 1960 Commercials Festival where commercials were judged on their artistic merit, and not on the recording technique employed, NBC won nine awards out of fifteen submitted. An interesting note on the nine awards that were won - eight were tape recorded in color.

Practically every major commodity has had dramatic success with color commercials. The "Kraft Food Company" last summer used color commercials, even though the film shows that they sponsored were in black and white.

One critic made the comment, "When the commercials came on, it was like turning up the audio." Clients have found that in taping their color commercials, they retain the production ease of black and white, plus a chroma fidelity that is far superior to any chemical process.

Color commercials have not approached their ultimate. Every day we are finding new methods through color to increase impact.
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NBC has done extensive experimenting in color correction to assure absolute fidelity. The product must be seen exactly as it is in the supermarket, or on the showroom floor.

• Anmerkung : Das ist beim amerikanischen NTSC natürlich schön geredet. Auf dem Weg "over air", also von der Sendeantenne zum Fernseher verschoben sich die Farben dramatisch, sodaß der Zuschauer konstant nachregeln mußte. Das war der Grund, warum es später SECAM und PAL gab.

The development of chroma-key by NBC marked another significant gain in attracting more clients into color. Chroma-key is a matting device whereby logos, miniature sets or films may be inserted into the main scene, thereby saving a great deal in scenery construction, and giving almost unlimited artistic dimension.

Certainly, in the next year, and thereafter, the use of color in commercials will increase. There are impressive statistics on its impact by independent survey organizations. One advertising executive said to me that color TV commercials were, in his opinion, "Perfect Advertising." And so they are. In no other media can you have all of the artistic tools to assure consumer acceptance.
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