In spite of the versatility of the intrepid motion picture as an advertising medium, it has its limitations. This, after all, is but natural, for all forms of publicity are supposed to be links in the chain, and not one is strong enough to take the place of the whole.

It is clearly obvious, of course, that when adopting motion-picture advertising, everything has to be visualized by means of animated photographs, so, therefore, the appeal is presented through the eye. As for the printed work, this takes a back seat.

Since everything is intended to be absorbed by the eye, a whole mass of explanatory matter tagged on to the film would rather hinder the ad. instead of adding further enlightenment as intended. And the short time a sentence remains on the screen does not allow lengthy statements to sink in. Subtitles are weak devices to help a photoplay story over stumbling-blocks, and the less and shorter they are, the better the picture will be. There are plenty of other mediums in which to display how well you can weave words, so why drag them into a place where they do not fit?

Besides, it is what the spectator sees, not reads, that leaves the lasting impression, which is the paramount point to be reached in advertising by motion pictures.

And there is another important matter to be weighed and considered. If you overload your film with titles, you will befog a good number of foreigners who have not been long enough in our country to master the English language, so that their probable patronage is lost just because the international language of the film has been abused.

There has already arisen a select few writers who have made a specialty of combining advertising with motion pictures and laying out campaigns for their clients to the best possible advantage.

Motion-picture advertising, as a direct-appeal proposition, is ineffective. You may, for instance, have to get out a catalogue in order to list the goods you make, and you may also plan to get this over on the screen by filming each article as you would if you had a still photograph taken and precede each with an insert, giving prices and other particulars of same. Apart from the fact that the film would be voted deadly dull by audiences, it would also fall flat as a business bringer. You simply can’t do without advertising literature, for the motion picture ends at getting interested, and the old stand-bys must clinch the deal at the right time.

Where the film excels is that your ad. comes on the screen without competing with any others for attention, and although the spectator may not respond easily to press advertising, he feels he has to view the picture because he can not “turn over a page,” or, in other words, there is nothing else interesting for him to turn his attention to. He will, if approached, admit that the motion picture is the most entertaining publicity channel yet. You also reach him at his leisure, and, therefore, approach him in the right mood.

Get it out of your head right now that anything in the nature of an ad. film will produce the results you strive for; believe me, the movie fan (there are twenty million of them in this country) is a most fastidious individual, for which the improvements reached in photoplays may be held responsible. You would not expect a formal business notice to do any good nowadays, would you? Then, the same holds good of film advertising.

You can’t merely state on a film that Bondin, the famous actor, derives great enjoyment out of your preparation—it’s too crude. But you can film an interview with your worthy customer and introduce some home-life scenes, not to forget his testimonial of your goods visualized. This would produce an exquisite blend of entertainment and advertising.

All in all, it is action by which you have to tell your story. You have, as a matter of fact, to regard your proposition from the angle of the man from Missouri. You can take the public behind the scenes of your works and convince them that the goods are produced under the best of conditions. The picture is likewise given an educational touch because an industry is being unfolded at the same time. Then, if you want to bring out the important selling points, you engage a writer to incorporate them into a comedy or dramatic photoplay. And so I could go on giving examples of introducing life into the ad. story. Action is the life and soul of the film industry.

Bear in mind, too, that it is the quality that tells, not quantity. I have seen efforts along these lines that contained material for a half-reel subject, yet they were unduly extended to two reels, boring an audience for forty minutes instead of entertaining them for ten minutes. Picture-goers are quick to resent padding, and your film may defeat its purpose. A good way to detect this beforehand is to arrange for its projection and try to place yourself in the position of the average movie fan.

This padding is often done by the smaller fry so as to make as much as possible over the deal. But if the advertiser places himself in the hands of a reliable industrial film concern, he may rest assured of them not taking undue advantage by charging for a lot of superfluous footage.