SIR HEDLEY LE BAS

Horowhenua Chronicle, 17 May 1916, Page 3

SIR HEDLEY LE BAS

OA TilJi RJi&ULTS OF ADV J£KTltiixNG. In tiia course of his speech, responding to the toast ot' his health art. the Juncli«' v n given to liim 111 rw,.ugJ'moii ot lii.i Work as I'ubliO Advertiser to file War Office and Trcaisury, Sir Hedlej Le Has dmjribed how he caimo to bo connected with Army advertising. Two years age he wati speaking to Colonel tJeeiy, who asked him, a* a business man, how he would raise 35,000 men a year. He replied—"You cam get anything you require by advertising ' — not by doing it in the Army's aldwashionod way by placarding the walk of workhousw, police stations, and prisons but by haying whole pages in the popular papers. CcVmel Seely askod (am te submit a scheme, and he met the Artny Council who sanieKioned the scheme, which was ain immediate success. He had seen various eetinm;es of what that advertising campaign bad cost; they ran from £10,000 to £50.000. As a matter of Tact the amount spent on newspaper advertising .ttr £3600. That was an example ot the power of advertising. When var broke out the War Office asked aim, to undertake the advertising for hundreds of thousands of men. In the pre-war times they wanted 95,000 a year. In September, 1914, they enlisted! 85,000 in otae day. (Ohee s). He had heard Lord Kitchener criticised for having allowed the New Ar:ny to bo called "Kitchener's Army." Lord Kitchener could not help himself. The advertisement was headed "Lord Kitchener wants 500,000 men, and so .n. As a result the recruits were called "Kitchener's men," and eventually the Army .was oatfed "Kitchener's Army." Thus advertising not only raised the Army, but named it—another tribute to advertising. Sir Hiedley also referred to tlie success of the advertising campaign for recruiting in Irelamd and for the Treasury. The latter was the biggest fortnight's campaign ever carried out in this or any other country, and Mis success was simply colossal, fie had invited a small committee of £>ix experts, consisting of the 'best known men in the business, to whom he paid a warm tribute, and wrthout wlvmso aid such remarkable result#; would not have beero achieved.