The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-03-23

NtW &ork, Ns xl MhkcAA e fAf 1 write this article most established publications of the nation have in one form or another paid their res spects to Frank N. Flnney, presi- dent and treasurer of the Street &' Finney Advertising Agency, who if celebrating his fortieth business ans nlversary this week.
 Mir. Finney had been working with the old New York Daily Nal Express in 1902. AS the story goes he arranged his affiliations with Julian Street in the old Hahn res- taurant on Park Row, an ultra de- luxe place of that era, where rews- paper men gathered.
 A happy lot of newspaper report CTS and advertising men made is almost q daily practice to stop in for coffee at c rendezvous known as Potter's restaurant or Pop No- ian's in The Potter Building where they would compare notes, mako deals and plan campaigns o1 the backs of envelopes, napkins, table- cloths or whatever happened to Do nearest at hand when the right thought occurred. Mr. Finney recol- lests that no advertising contract was { genuine unless signed III Churchlll's saloon.
 During Mir. Finney's first years most advertising agents were In reality newspaper or magazine rep- resentatives. The general "advers Using" business was in the process of splitting It's ranks with two dis- tinct phaaes or services. MT. Fins ney started az on advertising agent of the present school and has con. tInued ever since, doing business continuously with tho publishers representatlves In the accepted senGe of the trade today.
 MT. Finney has been notably Sile- cessiul lil making brands of mers chandise nationally famous. He has consistently advocated that adver- tislng appear preponderantly irl newspapers. That policy has been maintained through continuous studieg Of markets and merchandise methods. One might think that MT. Ftnney adopted c sales letter from c publisherB representative of 1902 as the basis for his operating prin- ciples. That antique correspondence might De Of interest to merchants. IL also contained prophecy for 1860. An excerpt reads: T wag just going to say that few realize the growth, rapid and substantial which means the progress of the world. The American boy now with IS will live to sec Berlin, Paris and London left far behind, for with 2bO million in the Republic, twenty million B ' conservative figure based on past growth, for the ag- gregate population in 1880 of thoSe three grand American cities. (Noto: Berlin. Paris and London at the haif-way mark in 1880 totalled ap- proximately 22OO, 900 moro than Los Angeles, New York and Chi- cago. The United States l22,eoS,- l00l.
 Truly advertklng is in It's inc fancy; for to sell one's product is the hill Of dlfiiculty which cor'r fronts every man. It is easy enough 10 make, but to sell what you have, whether it be trains, or bric.a-brac, medicines or merchandise, soap or service; to convert into Solid cash --.there ig the rubi
 One thing ig certain - goods uil. sold brlng no profit: and uTSung, ungoid is the rule.
 Large advertising will start the sale of aimogt anything because the public cannot tell whether it iS good or bad until they give t trial. They will 0Bo make allowances for m advertisers exaggeratlng the merits of his article and not expect to And 1t quite ail he claims t to be, but unless it has positive merit, will stop buying and nothing can make 1t continue to sell. This ex. plains why 90 many 1ind newspaper advertising improbable, no matter how well or how largely 1t is done. One should De sure he has c good thing before expendIng money on 1t 1n the newspapers.
 Then te can 60 on with c0nhs dence and assurance Of c Batisfacs tory return for his labor and ex- penge."
 MT. Finney was pioneer in the bueihess of eliminating the exag- geration of merits Of any article belng promoted through advertising Every angle Of consumer acceptance is given careful consideration be- fore an advertiser is urged to eTm- bark on Q general selling campaign. The product itself, itg performance expected and unexpected, as re- vealed by iflvegtigative work under the direction of the advertising agency stan, the package, It's label and how the public interpret t and dealer opinions are all part Of ex- haustive study on a plan built Up during the forty years experience. once the right for1iuIa is devised, advertising iS then put to work ge1- erally through newspapers. RegvItg are comparable in every city where copy appears.
 MT. Finney'g adylce to all adver- liserg whether on his list or not ie not to condemn newspaper a6yer- tising on ai1y one individual experl- ence. The admonition to re-ex- anime copy and to be sure the product ig acceptable ig ag ftiida- mental today 60 t waS four decades ago.
 Ancther salIacy that ha0 besn ex-