The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-04-28
Ads Valuable Service
 ToU.S., Says Trust Co.
NY. Bank Publication Sees Promotion Likely to
 Remain Important Aid to Business
From April 18th Issue of Newsdom)

major business activities of our day" the Index continues.
 Because of its youth, and be- cause it cannot essentially be an exact science, the two problems which seem to beset 1t more per- sistently than any others, are: CD those relating to the ethics of advertising, and f2) those re- lating to accuracy in measurement of its usefulness.
 "No human undertaking Is free of abuses or errors of judgment, taste or accuracy, but when they do occur, nowhere are they more easily perceived than in advertis- ing. By and large, those who use advertising, as well as professional practitioners of the art, have been zealous in self-discipline, vigilant' in detecting abuses and weaknesses and aggressive in formulating meas ures for the protection of the pub- lie.
 Dishonest statements in adver- Using are subject to control and penalty by legislation proposed and supported by ethical advertis- ing men, themselves, for their own protection, as well as by the public. The Printers Ink model Statute is an example. This law, which provides penalties for dis honest claims, is now in force in twenty five states, while a number of others have enacted modified ver- sions. The Wheeler-Lea Act, which became effective not quite a year ago, deserves mention here, because 1t enables the Federal Trade Con- mission to pro tect the public against dangerously misleading ad- vertisements.
 TWO factors, however, have tended to benefit public welfare more in this matter than would be possible by means of law. Re- putable publications have found that it pays to foster the confi- dence of readers by policing the advertising appearing in their col umns. Radio broadcasting, be- cause of its more intimate rela- tionship to the home, imposes even stricter self-censorship.
 '"The second factor is the dis covery that simple, sincere, straightforward advertising is most effective and that advertis- ing which is deceptive or in bad taste generally defeats itself in the long run.
 'The enormous amounts of money spent on advertising, prob- ably more than two and a quarter billion dollars in 1929 have caused great many people to wonder if advertising haS true economic jus- tiflcation and is not, in fact, in- cluded in higher prices, thus low ering the standard of living.
 "A number of Investigations have been undertaken to deter mine the facts and all indicate that, in general, the cost of ad- vertising is extremely small per unit of sale. In general, adver- Using should tend to reduce the cost of selling a given product, and, by its contribution to the volume of production, the unit cost of manufacture.
 Lower prices, without impair ment of profits, may be thus achieved. Many examples could be cited, among them the motor car. In like manner, advertising services by evaluating market areas, weather conditions and comparable factors, may become an important element in stabiliz- ing production with resulting econ- omies in manufacturing expense by lessening seasonal fluctuations in the volume of business.
 Advertising not only accounts for thousands of jobs in publish ing plants, but directly affects factory, transportation and .tail employment by promoting the move ment of goods. Competition, too, supported by advertising, has served to standardize quality and in gen. eral to furnish better product at a lower cost to the public.
 Advertising would seem to be performing a valuable service to business and consumer alike by as- sisting in the flow of goods and services upon which the prosperity of the country depends" the Index concludes.