STORY OF ‘THE SCOTTIES’

Wairarapa Daily Times, 19 January 1932, Page 2

STORY OF ‘THE SCOTTIES’

FAITH IN PUBLICITY. “If anyone tells me advertising is going to the dogs I agree with him,” says Mr. E. L. Kaula, managing director in New Zealand for the Texas Company (Australasia Limited. “Nearly every motorist in the Dominion must know by hoav ‘the Scotties’ used in our campaign launched last month for Texaco crack-proof oil. These Scotties certainly have drawn the business, and your readers may be interested to knOAV how they came to be employed. When the Texas Company ivas ready to market its new crack-proof motor oil it lcneAV that it had discovered a wonderfully efficient lubricant. It could safely promise motorists quieter and more contented motors, and a longer lasting oil, if they used ‘crack-proof.’ This led, logically, to the siogan, ‘Drain, Fill, then Listen.’ Hoav to illustrate this was the next question. In a survey to symbolise the listening attitude various devices were tried and various animals. We all know that dogs of the terrier type are bright, smart, and, by the very shape of their heads, symbolise attention. The Scottie seemed to be pre-eminently the one to select, ill - . Morgan Dennis, considered to be one of the- best delineators of dogs and dog types, Ava* approached, and graciously consented to the use of his famous etching of the Scotties. “Besides forcibly bringing out the idea of the quieter motor, which is the natural result of draining and filling with the right grade of Texaco, these dogs have added a definite charm to the advertising. Nothing has been done in recent years which has recei\ T ed such spontaneous tribute and has become so widely popular. From all quarters of Ncav Zealand people are writing in and commenting happily upon ‘Those Texaco Listen Dogs.’ “Most advertising men will tell you that it takes more than a year for ail idea to become firmly established with the New Zealand public. Not so with the ‘Listen Dogs.’ The immediate result has been a widespread and everincreasing demand for the new Texaco crack-proof oil. The Texas Company’s experience all goes to prove that given the right product and the right ideas in conveying the right impression to the public, advertising can be made to pay just as surely to-day as ever iin the past. Every step should be planned carefully, every contingency covered and all tendencies to rush into print with a ‘halfbaked’ campaign should be ruthlessly dealt with. Success in advertising is no different from success in any other line of endeavour. Advertising cannot create advantages or qualities, which are not inherent in a product, and at best advertising for an inferior product merely serves to discover its shortcomings moro quickly to the public. The success in the case of the Texas Company is, I think, one of the cohesion of product, with marketing and advertising activities. Naturally, avc take a great deal of pride in the ready response and interest of the public in the ease of our crack-proof campaign. ”