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Show The Enterprise Review, July 14, 1976 The Un-Colu- Page 7b mn Advertising, Promotion, and Other Modes of Insomnia. Patent Pending For speed eainidl ireODGnlbDDDfty, on Cassettes Dffft senndl Stfeoairfl By Ryan Poulton Barrymore, Laughton, The true Olivier, Backus. greats of Hollywood; men whose names will rank forever among the most remarkable actors of all time. It was a coup indeed when Salt Lakes own Dees Family Restaurants was able to secure the services of one of the Big Four to help promote their Steak & Swiss sandwich. Yes, James Backus (Jim to'his intimates) is involved up to his Mr. Magoo larynx with Dees. Watching the man perform his thespian magic on these local spots is instantly reminiscent of his incomparable performance as Thurston Howell III on Gilligans Island, or the judgehusband of Joan in Married Joan. Truly, the man is a living legend, and by God, if he recommends a Steak & Swiss at Dees, Ill buy them by the dozen. Sorry, but I just cant accept this. Admittedly, its an attention getter, seeing Jim Backus sitting in a Dees booth with a Salt Lake street scene zooming past in the background. But its a shock with a negative current. Its ludicrous. Viewers are accustomed to the face of Henry Fonda, Joe Namath, Karl Malden, et. al., selling national products. That makes sense. Theyre big names, and big national products. an actor obviously one But the face of a Hollywood step this side of Audey Murphy oblivion, a man whose next acting role could well be the Dees clown, diminishes the product that its supposed to sell. Actually, I dont know that Backus is a and thats part of the point. One will readily assume hes washed up, because hes doing this spot. Dees error is understandable. Celebrity endorsements are both commonplace and effective, thus a national figure sponsoring a local product should have even more impact. A reasonable theory, but in at least this instance, it doesnt work. Each time I see the commercial, Im so absolutely horrified amused at the presence of Backus that I dont listen to the pitch. How did they get him to do this, for a little restaurant chain in Utah? How did he allow himself to get got? The novelty is so unusual that I ignore the product. has-bee- has-bee- Continued from page 5b This reloading feature required a bit of extra work on Gourleys part but he thinks it will be advantageous to the user because of the expense saved by reloading. Title Insurance and Escrows Stewart Title Guaranty Company of Houston, Underwriters Harlan Y. Hammond, President Virginia Godfrey, Closing Officer 330 Broadway Plaza 250 East Third South Salt Lake City, Utah 841 11 Grouley estimates his cassette will have a wholesale price of about $60 to $70 or about twice as much as a normal, one-hotape. The product, he thinks, justifies the increase in price because g of its time, reloading feature and new Telephone 355-478- 3 3 ur long-playin- THE JAMES BOYS HAD CANCER AND I I LIVED. n, n, Ogden, Utah 84402 Phone (801) Salt Lake City. Utah 84147 Phone (801) 532 1300 Further, the spot is unnaturally commercial. Sure, we know that David Janssen is getting paid to promote Excedrin. But its easy to suppress that. In fact, maybe his medicine chest is bottles. We dont know that its not. stuffed with But how can one believe that Jim Backus is a connoisseur of Dees Steak & Swiss? Does he have them flown to Hollywood via Air Force One, ala EiserihowerCoors? Did he happen to eat one while just passing through Utah (with a videotape man coincidentally on hand to record the moment)? Obviously not. The man was bought and paid for to sincerely endorse the sandwich. Dees has missed the boat. The whole setup simple hits a wrong note. 100-cou- nt over-oomph- CHARLES S. EUBANK, C.P.C.U. MarvellaBayh President American Cancer Society., Call us for help. BRING THIS AD IN FORA DURING Whatever vestige of credibility Backus may have is As a result of thoroughly shattered when he opens his mouth. both attrocious directing and stitlted copywriting, his pitch recording of the weather forecast sounds like an from Salt Lake International. Dees may indeed sell a bunch of sandwiches, but it wont be due to the Backus endoresement. They would have been (for less money, as better served to hire a local Will well). At least we could allow ourselves to believe that Lucas really does like the sandwich, and really does eat them. 394-778- THE 10 DISCOUNT ON PRINTING AND PHOTOTYPE SETTING MONTHS OF JULY AND AUGUST. OFFER VOID AFTER SEPTEMBER 1ST. ed mini-celebri- ty Coincidentally, the antithesis of the situation recently occurred when Tracy Collins broke their campaign that expoits the talents of impersonator Frank Gorshin. Its a superb commercial. The one major difference is Gorshins unabashed admission in the script that hes doing a commercial, and to "not forget who hes doing it for. With such comedic candor, the viewer is charmed into thinking all sorts of nice thoughts about the bank. oeKC MAILING PRINTING PHOTOTYPESETTING 255 West 800 SouthSalt Lake City, Utah FREE PICKUP AND DELIVERY |