The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-07-23

views OF Mr.. Pegler, and often disagree
with them as much as many of his read
ers His articles serve the good purpose
of making people Think
By WEsTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, 1945, by King Features Syndicate)
NEW YORK, July "a ran out of room
the other day before I could get around to
some of the more hilarious phases of the pro-
motion campaign for the Latin-American COT
fee industry that was dreamed up by the
Buchanan Advertising agency in New York
which promised to deliver Mrs. Eleanor
Roosevelt as the spieler, and did.
You recall don't you, that Harry Hop
kins was then playing a long run at the White
House in that great starring vehicle of his,
the man who came to dinner, and that Harry S
kid, David. was working for the Buchanan
outfit which, to some degree, is owned by
John Hertz, Jr, the son OF the horseback
and taxi fellow who came out of Chicago to
60 into banking with Lehman Brothers in
New York and into the executive committee
of Paramount Pictures, which, by one of those
astounding condolences, does its advertising
through juniors firm. Big John is something
important in Consolidated Aircraft, too, and
one of those fellows who just can't help max
ing money and when l was doing sports out
in Chicago a few years ago there were still
some people around the office who recalled
him as a copy-boy on the sports side who
caught him fighter named Benny Yanger
and developed him into a real good light
weight and nice nloney-maker for those days
Well, anyway there you have Hopkins in
the White House and his chip in the agency
that wanted Mrs. R. to enunciate pear-shaped
thoughts with clarity and distinction for 81 900
week and you did have Sumner Welles in
the State Department saying phooey to that
because it wouldn't look 20 good to our good
neighbors to the South. And here in New York
we have an American coffee fellow who was
4al1;x 4la af1n Iaxy tbot "n1ia
said nix about Mrs. R. going on the radio,
Hopkins said yep, SO Buchanan landed Mrs
r. and the coffee account was taken away
from the Kudner Advertising agency which
had increased coffee sales 10 per cent, the
|year before and given to Buchanan And then
a movie trade paper announced that Para
mount was hiring Dave Hopkins little wife
to do make-believe in Hollywood. So here We
60 around and around the mulberry bush and,
for heavens sake, let us never have discrimi-
nation in business or employment because
that would be un-American, as I am sure Mrs.
Roosevelt would agree.
All, right so leave us get to our coffee.
Well, here on page four OF the prospectus 1t
says that coffee is drink of tonic-like quail
ties, that it releases energy, thus making for
personal efficiency and that the proposition
now is to translate the fundamental virtues
of coffee into a single phrase of dramatic
appeal.
This nation has for years been distin-
guished by one unique characteristic of its
people, it says on page S, 1.-The desire to get
ahead in life. In business our people work
hard, drive hard. and it is easy to sell the
masses any product which they believe will
increase their efficiency and their ability to
get more out of their business, professional
or workaday lives"
This was building up to the sock phrase or
slogan which presently leapt out of the page
| foil (pfY IF cnff
the Americas favorite drink and the ideas
then just raced along to the whammy, which
was that Buchanan could offer the Pan-Ameri-
can outfit radio personality who can make
this program, at this particular time in the
history of the Americas, as important as any
program now upon the air.
I'VE recommend to you as that radio per-
sonality,'' and so forth, ''the First Lady of
the United States, Mrs. Franklin D. Roose-
velt'
Three chords, chimes and a series of me-
lodious bloops.
Then they said they had made ''the proper
contacts" which couldn't have included young
Dave Hopkins old gent down there in the
White House, could they, and had "ascertained
that Mrs. Roosevelt is DESTROYS of going on
the air.
'Desirous'' is pretty restrained word
fer it, but sometimes you score by under
statement, too.
I wen, tnen, tney got TO explaining some
more about the sap psychology of the Ameri-
can masses in following leaders, concerning
which they wrote:
In discussing our choice of Mrs. Roose-
welt as the personality who, by her popularity
and prestige can best dramatic and national
ize your sales appeal on the RADIO we have
stressed the psychological soundness of using
an important person to help you sell coffee.
| We now develop this follow the leader prin-
ciple into our actual copy message our actual
| radio commercials themselves.
| 1T is characteristic of the people of the
United States to follow the leader in their
social and business habits. They want to be
sure they get much out of life as the big
pie in public, professional, social and motion
picture life. That's why great advertising cam
paigns for vast variety of mass appeal COM
modities have based their sales appeal di-
rect reference to complimentary opinions by
leaders in the public eye.
But why kid ourselves? Amt it the truth ?
| One more touch of merrlment and then
have just got to smack up the beds and fix
dinner.
ITO associate coffee with endurance in
sports,' the program said, the Pan-American
countries will offer an annual award of a
large silver coffee cup to be given through the
Amateur Athletic Union, to winners of each
years endurance records in running, walk.
ing and swimming"
When read that to Gene Tunney, re-
pository of all the old verbotens against alco-
hol tobacco tea and coffee for athletes he
4 gibbered like an actor at new deal ralIy and