The Washington times., 1922-11-22
D. {. AD CLUB IS
TOLD STORY
Of WHEAT
History of Marketing Shredded
Product Given by
Manager.

The story OF Shredded Wheat
how Il grew from almost nothing :,
IA SlO.000.000 product year, bein.
sands. INF wyfwy fwyp gkqgkI
distributed by hundreds OF thou
sands Of dealers. was told today 20
members OF the Washington Adver
tising Club by the man who putf
Shredded Wheat into every other
household in the United States ana
who is generally accredited with the
responsibility" Of putting the eat
into Shredded Wheat.
The speaker was Truman a
DE Weese. editor and author, who
for the past seventeen years has
been publicity director OF the
Shredded Wheat Company, and who
has, through an expenditure or
millions OF dollars and the medium
of advertising. made the product
famous.
I'VE have hundreds OF thousa nds
of distributors throughout the coua
try" the speaker said. but every
case Of wheat is sold before II
leaves our factories. I'VE never
ask a dealer to sell Shredded
Wheat. We sell II long before II Is
made or delivered. He distributes II.
|. Most advertising men like to
hear about Shredded Wheat because
Il In a real advertising proposition
Il is not q sales problem. We have
500, ,OO8 distributors Of Shredded
Wheat in the United States.
Shredded Wheat is not a stable
necessity. 1t is classified by the
grocers as q speciality. IL ID not IN
the same class with soap, niatches'
coffee or sugar, All sBecialties nave
oh nd
There is no other way to sell them.
And that leads me to state fact
about nationally advertised products
that may not have occurred to you
before, and that is this: Eighty per
cent of all advertising effort Is ex-
pended in the sale of the things you
don't need. II advertising were con.
fined othe sale OF the so-called
necessities of life it wuold indeed be
"a very drab and uninteresting ar
fair.
"It Ia this function OF advertising
to put across the things you do not
actually need that multiplies indus
try. builds prosperous cities, fur.
nishes employment OF hundreds OF
thousands OF men and women and
adds to the peace, comfort and con.
tentment OF life
Business Sick Now.
Business conditions in the coun.
try. at the present time, are sick,
the speaker declared. "The only
cure is advertising. The prosperity
Of the country can only be restored
through industry, and that means
manufacturing. farming and selling.
No use manufacturing II you can't
sell the product, and that means
advertising. 1t Is not too much to
say that advertising will be the
most vital factor In a revival Of the
industrial activities Of the country.
Advertising must create consumer
demand. Advertising must put the
idle dollars to work." Mr.. DeWeese
said.
As an example Of what advertising
will do. the speaker cited some out
standing examples. When you think
Of dates you think Of 'Dromedary.
or 'Sun.Maid' when you think or
raisins. The business of advertising
Is TO make you think 'Uneeda' or
Sunshine when you think Of crack.
ers. The business of advertising is
to make you think Shredded Wheat
when you think of a breakfast cereal
and 'Jello' when you think OF des-
sert. II a woman goes into store
and asks for O. can of pork and beans
without saying Heinz, then there is
something wrong with the adver.
tiser. Did you ever thing you would
come to canned minced pie?
0 Advertising has relieved the house.
wife Of preparing this mixture, just
as IT has relieved her Of making
mayonnaise for Lettuce or catsup for
corned beef hash. Advertising has
developed the manufacture Of pure
packaged foods to such a point that
IL is no longer necessary for a grocer
to sell any food in bulk. The time
will come when the farmer will put
his peas, beans and onions in dust.
proof. bugless packages before bring.
ing them to market"
Daily Papers Best.
The speaker declared that the
daily press was the best advertising
medium in intensive advertising
campaigns. There is no other way
In which to do intensive advertis.'
ing. Other media may give ma.
tional fame to a trademark, but
you have to use the newspaper to
move the goods off the shelves of
the grocer >or to distribute them.
street car advertising Is good, out
1t doesn't go into the home. When
l go into a street car I notice that
nearly every passenger has his nose
buried In newspaper.
"Billboards are good, but they
don't go into the home. II you
could seat all the people Of Wash
ington in front of billboard out
In big field, and then surround
the billboard with the news of the
day, you might have a medium that
approximated the newspaper In it's
advertising value. The newspaper
has come to be the most important
factor in merchandising, and when
used In a national way secures q
distribution for n food proIuct that
cannot be secured through any
other medium"
Gives Book Souvenirs.
An appeal for cleaner advertising