ADVERTISING OF FRUIT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23598, 7 September 1938, Page 12

ADVERTISING OF FRUIT

QUESTIONS ASKED IN HOUSE USE OF COMMERCIAL RADIO STATIONS (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) ' WELLINGTON, Sept. 6. Curiosity as to the method adopted by the Internal Marketing Division in expending £SOOO on a fruit-advertising campaign was expressed by Mr W. J. Poison (Opposition, Stratford) during consideration of the vote for the Internal Marketing Account in the House of Representatives to-night. Mr Poison said he had heard it stated that the whole of the money had been paid to station 2ZB, and he would like to know from the Minister of Marketing (Mr W. Nash) if that were so. Mr Nash said that one of the most successful fruit-advertising campaigns ever carried out in New Zealand had been conducted by means of the radio. As a result the price of nears had been lifted above the guarantee, and the price of apples had been lifted considerably, though not above the guarantee, because of the overwhelming surplus of that commodity. Of the sum of £SOOO, £3OOO was spent in radio advertising, £877 in railway coster advertising, and about £llOO in various other forms of advertising. He had never known such succesful results from a campaign of advertising apples as those from the advertising over the commercial radio stations.

The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Adam Hamilton) said the Minister had neglected to say what the loss on the marketing of apples would be. The Minister: It is not possible to say until January or February what the realisations will be. “ It appears that the Minister is going to lose nearly £IOO.OOO on the marketing of apples,” Mr Hamilton said, “and yet he spent nearly £SOOO in advertising them over the radio.” The Minister of Education (Mr P. Fraser): We would have lost a lot more had that money not been spent. Mr Poison said that the recognised successful method in America of advertising fruit was by means of posters on hoardings and in shops. It seemed that the Internal Marketing Division was anxious to boost the commercial stations rather than help the fruitgrowers of New Zealand. The vote was passed.