Page 215 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

He quickly sold out his stock of stones and had to buy more. And that
happened in 1932 when the banks were closed, and it was more or less
fashionable to be “broke.”

Another sure-fire way to promote either a small or a large business is to hitch
your wagon to a star—some celebrity who is visiting town. Then there is that
old reliable stunt of balloon parades. Recently Shell Petroleum opened a new
filling station in St. Louis. Seldom, if ever, was a Hollywood opening more
colorful than this service station opening. Clowns were on hand to service an
old model T Ford; executives in full-dress clothes serviced other cars and
girls from the local Shell offices, dressed as chorus girls, helped entertain the
crowds. More than two thousand cars were serviced in twenty-four hours.
Giant spotlights lit up the premises, bands played and speeches were made;
St. Louis was fully conscious of the new station’s opening.

One of the cleverest and best planned pieces of showmanship was the stunt
staged in big department stores by Westinghouse to promote refrigerators.
This company arranged with department stores to hold a style show. As the
audience assembled in the auditorium there appeared a row of Westinghouse
refrigerators. Suddenly, from behind the refrigerators appeared a group of
beautiful girls in negligee; the idea was that this scene represented milady’s
busy day. From the refrigerator she took the “makings” of breakfast.
Breakfast over, the girls disappeared behind the refrigerators, and from out of
sight of the audience the filmy, lacy garments they had been wearing were
thrown over the refrigerators; by this time the audience was shivering in
anticipation—perhaps the girls would appear next in attire suitable only for a
nudist party!

But the next appearance showed them attired for a morning activity of one
kind or another—riding, tennis, or other sports. After showing the sports
costumes the girls retired again behind the refrigerators, changed to a
costume suitable for luncheon. Each appearance called for a visit to the
refrigerator. This program was carried out through a typical day of a busy
woman, until supposedly late at night when the wives appeared with their
husbands, ostensibly from a late theater party or a bridge game to raid the
refrigerator for a midnight “snack.”