ADVERTISING IN NEWSPAPERS

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27425, 11 August 1954, Page 3

ADVERTISING IN NEWSPAPERS

PLACE IN DOMINION’S ECONOMY

EVER-INCREASING ROLE SEEN

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, August 10. Advertising was playing an everincreasing role in New Zealand’s economy, said the president of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association (Mr S. D. Smith, of Dunedin), to delegates to the newspaper advertising managers’ conference today. Had it not been for the extensive advertising campaign associated with the Government’s recent £30,000,000 loan drive, it was doubtful whether the loan would have been fully subscribed, he said. If the attempt to raise the loan had failed it would have meant that progress on vital public works would have been slowed down at a time when New Zealand’s population was increasing rapidly. By helping largely to ensure the success of the loan, advertising had filled an important role in further increasing the general prosperity of the country. To criticism that advertising increased the cost of products advertised, Mr Smith said the truth was that advertising helped to decrease costs by increasing the volume of sales. Overhead charges were the same in producing 500 articles as they were for 1000 articles, and if, by advertising, production could be increased, then the public would benefit from the resultant lower costs.

New products had to be advertised, said Mr Smith, because “people do not buy things they have not heard of.” The demand for a certain class of goods came after they had been advertised, and it could be said that advertising popularised them. Advertising methods had occasionally been such as to mislead the public, Mr Smith continued, but he could say that this happened in isolated cases only. “No reputable newspaper would allow this to happen,” he said. The consumer had a right to rely on advertising copy, and close supervision was maintained to the extent that he could say the great bulk of advertising was honest, and could be relied on. Commenting on advertising that was designed to knock out the opposition, Mr Smith said that advertising managers and agencies had a great responsibility to ensure that this did not occur. “The Newspaper Proprietors’ Association’s attitude is that every advertiser should get full value for the space he pays for,” he said. During the last year, New Zealanc newspapers had expanded, said M 1 Smith, and arrangements for the sup ply of newsprint in 1955 were sucl that newspapers would be able tc maintain their present size. The Tasman paper project at Kawerau would come into production next year, and the New Zealand newspaper industry had agreed to buy 7000 tons of the output. Newsprint would also be bought from Canada.