Los Banos Rotary Club History
Business Executive Stresses Need For Truth In Advertising

The first and most important essential in business advertising, says advertising expert Bob Hall of Merced, is that it must be fundamentally honest. And that goes for all advertising—newspaper, radio, direct mall and the dozen and one other media through which business men solicit trade.

Hall, former advertising manager for the Merced Express and now operating his own business as an advertising and sales counselor in Merced, told members of the Los Banos Rotary Club Tuesday that advertising honestly conceived and properly presented, can be a vital stimulas to sales, but warned that the American public today will not be taken in by false claims or false lures. As an example he cited a recent advertising campaign by a retailer in a larger city who proclaimed, in newspaper and radio, of a huge sales event—Prices Slashed! Unheard of Bargains! etc. But the public, after studying the "bargain prices" quickly pegged the sale for what it actually was—all ballyhoo and no bargains. Consequently the sale was a complete "flop."

Speaking of other retail sales problems, Hall particularly emphasized the importance of well trained, friendly, courteous sales people. He told of a recent study made by the Merced Chamber of Commerce to ascertain the thinking and buying habits of the Merced community. A questionnaire distributed among some 5,000 Merced people brought back some answers, some good, some not so good. Most surprising, Hall stated, was that almost 90 per cent of the people expressed their opinion that salespeople in Merced stores were rude, imposing and uncooperative. Merced merchants, he added, were quick to remedy that situation and customer satisfaction has increased many fold.

Hall said that he personally had recently visited a number of Los Banos stores and, with one or two exceptions, had found salespeople were exceptionally friendly and cooperative.

September 28, 1951

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