Publicity and Promotion

CONSOLIDATING THE SYSTEM: THE ADVERTISING CODE

By the late teens, advertising was largely studio-controlled, setting the pace for the classical era. Although exhibitors could still design their own publicity if they wished, the elaborate campaigns studios set out in their pressbooks, trailers, posters, and other forms of print advertising were hard to decline. By the mid-1930s, after the film industry consolidated its control over publicity with its Advertising Code, exhibitors had to use the studios' advertising. Like film censorship, this code arose out of the problems the industry faced during the Depression. As audiences declined and most of the studios faced financial trouble, moralists from groups like the Legion of Decency charged the industry with offering salacious and violent films, accompanied by posters of scantily clad starlets and sometimes racy copy. Theaters—especially the smaller, independent houses not owned by major studios—posed another problem for the industry as they desperately tried to retain Depression-strapped audiences. Exhibitors offered cash games (Bank Night, Lotto), distributed free groceries and other gifts, and offered two—or three—movies for the price of one. These stunts angered both moralists and studio executives, who were particularly upset by the cash games, which violated banking and gaming statutes. Although studios no longer trusted independent exhibitors to devise their own advertising, one of their innovations—the double bill—survived, becoming a classical institution.

Groups like the Legion of Decency attacked movies and their advertising, organizing protests outside theaters to scare away audiences. The industry could not afford these losses in a time of severe fiscal crisis and set up a large-scale public relations effort to improve their image and offset the threat of federal censorship and regulation. The instigation of film censorship through the Production Code Administration (PCA) in the early 1930s was part of this effort. Another facet of this self-imposed moral crackdown applied strictly to publicity. The Advertising Code of 1930 was operated under the auspices of the PCA and had offices in New York and Hollywood, the industry's business and creative centers. It asserted the film industry's belief in "truth in advertising" and the maintenance of good taste. The Advertising Code Administration (ACA) was first headed by John J. McCarthy, a film publicity man, until his death in1937, and then by Gordon White, another experienced motion picture advertising man. As with the censorship of the Hays Office, the Advertising Code extended the industry's control over its business operations, requiring independent exhibitors to use the industry's own approved advertising materials.

The Code testified to the importance of film advertising as a social and cultural force—both for Hollywood and the general public. All advertising had to be submitted to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), whose president had the final say. Under the Code, advertisements could not be misleading, false, or quote dialogue out of context. They had to conform to the broader tenets of the Production Code—thus nudity, salacious poses, violence, and profanity were banned, and publicity could not capitalize upon text referring to any censorship or litigation a film might have experienced. Posters had to respect religion, patriotism, other nations, the law, and the police. In March 1935, the MPPDA established a fine of $1,000–$5,000 for violations, but complaints were few and revisions rare. The most notable exception came late in the ACA's history. In 1946, The Outlaw (1943) lost its Production Code Seal (required for public exhibition) because its notorious images of Jane Russell's breasts violated the Advertising Code. Significantly, this was not a studio production, but the picture was still shown, indicating the majors' waning power. Today, there is no Advertising Code, but trailers are industry-regulated. Ratings depend on the film's rating and that of the movie it precedes, with the MPAA recommending all trailers avoid excessive sex, violence, and drug use.