The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1940-10-18
7heCherry
" Where with our
roo Little Hatchet we
tell the truth
about many things, sometimes pro-
foundly. Sometimes fippantly,
sometimes recklessly. :.

Never before has advertising cut
quite such leading figure in presi-
Dental campaign.
If you read list of the great adj
vertising firms, like Batten. Barton,
Durstine and Osborne, using their
talents in the Willkie campaign, you
get an idea that whole lot of the
best promotion brains in the nation
are seeking to sell the candidate to
the electorate, just as they try to sell
automobiles and soap.
The great agencies united in this
campaign feed on clients that consti-
tute something like a blue book list
of the great corporations.
Maybe it is tribute to the adver-
tising business. Maybe it is just an
other way of saying that skilled pro-
motion can put a candidate across.
And that is said without any refec-
tion upon the sincerity of Mr.. Willkie.
1t is probably somewhere near the
truth to say that the advertising and
promotion firms backing the Willkie
campaign with their professional serv-
ices represent something like half of
the total volume of advertising placed
in the United States-and that runs
into astronomical figures in terms of
money.
1t is probably true that these agen-
cies are not offending their great and
powerful clients.
This is one of the elements that
make this campaign such a one as
mankind never beheld at any time.
Mr.. Wilkes journalistic discover
ers seem to have succeeded in making
this campaign campaign of profes-
sional talent on more pretentious
basis than we have ever observed.
No new model auto has ever been
launched with so much costly talent
writing the copy and planning its
placing. 1t is something to behold!
All of this disconcerts the old line
politicians and many of them think
the trained promoter idea is all wet.
They like their own ways best. AS
for the ethics, if any, one way doesn't
have anything on the other.
But professionally promoted cam
paign is bound to be sloganeering
campaign, dolled up with cheesecake
art and other pretty pictures.
Bruce Barton himself was launched
before his party convention in New
York to the tune of pretty girl pa
rade which made almost all of the
picture pages.
Sloganeering is the art of making
people believe something by forceful
and eternal repetition of short phrases,
such as "best bet yet" or "Eat Honey
Bunnies for Health-they're kind to
your gizzard."
These be amazing days we're living
through, what with the war and all.
And the great advertising moguls
are pretty much staying away from
the war as an issue Maybe it's just
too heavily loaded with dynamite.
1t is clear that only those closest to
the sources of best information have
anything like an idea about what's
going to happen-and the fellow who
isn't right on the inside is at dan
gerous disadvantage.
The general staff doesn't maintain
an information office for political slo-
gan writer's.
Maybe that's unfortunate, but any,
way, that's how it is.
Of course one maybe ought not over
look the fact that these great agencies
are high-priced gents and somebody
somewhere is somehow going to be
expected to pay the bill.
You can look the thing over and
figure it out in your own way. 1t will