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February 1933 Radio-Craft
 [Table
of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics.
See articles from Radio-Craft,
published 1929 - 1953. All copyrights are hereby acknowledged.
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The
Star Radio Company, in Washington, D.C., was lauded in its day
for pioneering the use of humor in its print advertising. This 1933 issue of
Radio-Craft magazine presents a few examples of their handiwork - some of which
would probably never be approved for publication in today's hypersensitive environment.
I searched for more info on the company, but all I could find was a Library of Congress
photo of a display of automatic washers and ironers - considered as high tech in
the day as any vacuum tube radio. My grandmother had one of those wringer washing
machines back in the 1960s. The wringer mechanisms were real safety hazards, hence
the old quip about there not having been so much excitement around the house since
granny got her <3-letter word> caught in the wringer. Anyway, enjoy the cartoon
ads as you're waiting for the first weekend in spring.
Cartoon Advertising for Radio Service Men
A follow-up cartoon which is bound to focus attention on the
comic strip.
Fred E. Kunkel
The most remunerative form of advertising has long been a matter of dispute.
In this constructive article, the author presents some interesting views on cartoon
advertising.
Not all advertising clicks, and many radio dealers are merely fumbling the ball
trying to score a touchdown in their newspaper advertising. But one radio dealer,
the Star Radio Company in Washington, D. C., has stumbled upon a productive medium
which challenges attention and brings home the bacon in the shape of an enthusiastic
consumer response, by using a cartoon advertising stunt, a 3-column by 50-line feature,
run every other day as a means of winning attention for their advertising and to
put their radio stores in the spotlight of public attention.
People want to be amused and entertained nowadays, even in their reading, and
that humorous ads help to pay dividends in the radio selling game is aptly demonstrated
by the comic strip advertising one sees coming into greater and greater vogue every
day; for these ads not only attract attention, but they also invite reading. They
cater to public demand for entertainment and that is why they are gaining in popularity
every day.
"I believe that cartoon advertising attracts twice as much attention as ordinary
advertising in which you simply show pictures of radios, because it appeals to the
American sense of humor and somehow strikes a responsive chord," says N. N. Wallack,
the manager. "People nowadays like to look at something funny and at least 500 out
of every 1,000 people who glance over the daily paper, will read your cartoon advertisements.
Although it may not give you immediate results, it is at least constructive advertising.
Our idea is to make our name synonymous with radios, and so far this is the most
effective way we have found.
"The main thing about cartoon advertising is that it gets your name well known
about town, even though it may not result in direct selling. It has helped us. In
fact, it has become so popular that I think in future years larger concerns than
ourselves are going to use it.
Above, an example of a form card distributed to residents of
Cache Valley.
"My first favorable impression of cartoon advertising was when I started to smoke
Murads, because with every package comes a little cartoon advertisement, which catches
the eye, and the reading matter which goes with it just touches the spot, e.g.,
'When you have accepted an invitation for dinner on Wednesday night instead of Friday
- be nonchalant - light a Murad.' This attracted my attention right away, and every
time I lighted a Murad I thought of the clever cartoon advertisements. So I decided
to try it out in our advertising to see how it would work.
Advantages of This Type of Advertising
"There are many advantages in this type of advertising. For instance, a good
comic strip will be read, laughed at and talked about by many people. Sometimes
on a street car, one overhears people laughing about a funny ad, and quite often
in a business office someone will say, 'Did you read that comic ad in the paper
last night about the Star Radio Company?' And if not, this person will proceed to
relate it, and there is a laugh from everyone.
"In this way our name is placed on the lips of a great many people, especially
the majority of newspaper readers. When they see our advertisements so often in
the papers, our name registers on their mind and they know we are a reputable firm,
and that we are going to be in business for a long time to come, also that we are
dependable and reliable. At the bottom of our ads, we have a few words to say about
our service or perhaps our tubes, and other accessories. We use less copy in cartoon
advertising, and where it cost me $100 heretofore to run an ad, now I can do it
for $30.
Below, three examples of cartoon advertising that really bring results.
"We run these cartoons about three or four times a week, each of which is a different
comic strip under the heading, 'Imagine My Embarrassment,' which uses the cartoon
vehicle merely as an eye catcher and then, when the cartoon has been read, the eye
naturally follows the rest of the ad and the reader catches the message such as:
Imagine Your Pleasure when you take one of our new radios on
trial and discover that it surpasses in both tone and volume anything you've heard
before at anywhere near the price. Deferred payments, of course.
Imagine Your Embarrassment, Too, when you overhear friends commenting
on your old battery set. But also imagine your happiness when you replace it with
one of our modern radios - why not do it today?
Imagine Your Surprise when you get the bill for the repairs
we make and find it's even less than you expected. Expert workmanship at no extra
cost is a certainty when you phone and get us!
Imagine Your Embarrassment, Too, when the maid brings out word
that the radio is dead just as you were expecting guests. But it needn't last -
a phone call will bring an expert repair man on the run.
Imagine Your Satisfaction when you come here and know you're
in the Right Store to get real value in a radio. Our reputation for reliability
is as important as the maker's reputation for quality - that's why it pays to go
to The Star Radio Co.
Imagine Your Pride when the guests at your party comment on
the fine radio you got here. One of our modern cabinet models will lend beauty to
your home and add hundreds of happy hours to your life.
"The most important thing in all this advertising is that our name appears on
each ad in such a way that it is the first thing a person sees and is the first
thing that registers on his mind. He is bound to see it even before the comic strip
is read. My personal opinion is that an ad, whether a full page or a half page,
is absolutely fruitless and useless without the firm name in prominent letters where
it will be seen the first thing.
"I believe that ninety per cent of one's business is done through advertising,
and although it may not produce direct results, immediately, eventually you will
become so well known by the public that your store will become the logical place
to buy a new radio or get a radio repaired, and you will get more than a fair share
of the business to be had because of such sales promotion and publicity.
"We have tried all types of advertising but none of them have been so effective
as newspaper advertising. It reaches more people, and where an ad is run 3 or 5
times a week, the name of the advertising firm be-comes impressed upon the minds
of the public. Billboard and novelty advertising did very little for us. It was
not only expensive but a waste of money, so now we use the newspapers exclusively.
"Cartoon advertising suits our particular needs more than any type of newspaper
advertising and we intend to use it for a long time to come. People are sick and
tired of look-ing at photographs of radios because they are the same old things,
but everyone enjoys reading a new comic strip of some kind.
"Then, too, there are so many radio stores in this city that it is difficult
to offer anything unusual or interesting - besides price - through advertising.
We all handle the same radios, the same accessories, so unless you can offer the
public something different and clever enough to make them remember you, you are
lost, for people will not come to you. We have solved this problem in cartoon advertising
which is constructive and always provokes a laugh. It has succeeded in putting our
name on the lips of more people who will be interested in radios - eventually, if
not now."
Editor's Note
How many of you dealers or Service Men have experimented with advertising? If
you have a "go-getter," let us know. Space rates paid.
Do you know where to advertise for best results? Do you know what to expect from
good advertising? Do you know the best form of radio advertising? Can you make good
advertising pay for itself? These and other vital questions are answered in full
by the author of this much-needed article. What do you say?
Posted December 27, 2023
(updated from original
post on 3/20/2015)
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