Legion Parades a Youthful Image in New Ads

The American Legion is:

a) A good group to join if you like parades.

b) A service organization whose patriotic fervor is matched only by its continuous community service.

c) A group of conservative warmongers who wear pins on their hats and chips on their shoulders.

d) The cheapest spot in town to rent a hall for a wedding reception.

The answer, of course, depends on who you ask. But the American Legion has suddenly recognized that it has an image problem. So, for the first time, the American Legion is embarking on a full-fledged advertising campaign.

It may be overdue. In one recent public survey, although 99% of those polled recognized the American Legion’s name, a majority of them didn’t know what the 68-year-old outfit does--besides throw dandy parades. “Surveys show that we don’t have a bad image,” said Jim Lindsey, the legion’s marketing director. “The problem is, we don’t have any clear image.”

The American Legion was organized to lend financial assistance to war veterans, their spouses and dependents. But, Lindsey said, most Americans don’t realize that it has become more of a social and fraternal group involved in community activities of all kinds--primarily donating time and money to youth-oriented groups.

As a result, the Indianapolis-based war veteran’s group is not adding enough new members to its current ranks of 2.8 million to replace the nearly 100,000 of its older members who die each year. Meanwhile, it has attracted only about one-tenth of the estimated 8 million Vietnam War veterans as members. So, in a $3-million campaign scheduled to break next month, it will attempt to add nearly 1 million new members to its rolls by establishing an image that speaks to a younger audience.

Don’t look for the Beastie Boys to sing any time soon for the legion. After all, you can be only so hip when the majority of your members are over 60 years old. But, at the same time, don’t expect pictures of octogenarian legionnaires parading down Main Street on the Fourth of July. In one print ad--still being developed--a bearded, high school principal in his 40s is pictured hard at work. A photo of his Army dog tags is inset in the ad. The ad copy reads: Gary Atkins took off his dog tags in 1975, but he’s still serving his country in the American Legion.” His American Legion post raised money for the Special Olympics, for instance.

Also, for the first time, women and blacks will tout the American Legion in advertisements. “It gives the legion a more credible story,” said William Gregory, creative director of the Chicago-based ad firm, Zivi & Kopelman, which is creating a new print campaign for the legion.

So eager is the legion to reach Vietnam veterans that legion executives even considered placing an ad in Penthouse magazine. The ad would have appeared across from a monthly column--the Vietnam Veterans Advisory--written for the legion’s new target audience. But, fearing backlash from some of its members, the legion decided otherwise, and will instead place its initial ads in magazines like Army Times and American Rifleman.

While the places that the Legion puts its ads may be no surprise, the people who are appearing in them have raised some eyebrows. Take Catherine Gilliam, for example, who is featured in membership appeals mailed to millions of veterans.

Gilliam was a Navy electronics specialist during the Vietnam War. That, alone, gave her the right to plop down her $17 dues and join the American Legion. The 30-year-old Gilliam has just been reelected commander of her local legion in tiny Pine City, Minn., for the second consecutive year. “I used to think that the legion was a bunch of old farts sitting around the bar talking about the war,” she said. “But not anymore.”

In an emotional appeal to drum up new members, the Chicago-based ad firm, A. Eicoff & Co., is considering a yet-to-be-filmed television commercial that would feature a father, who is a World War II veteran, and his son, who is a Vietnam veteran, talking about war--and the American Legion. In the meantime, it has also created a two-minute television ad that stresses the estimated $23 million the group raises each year primarily to help disabled veterans and the needy and to promote patriotism.

Can the American Legion mold an image--and attract Vietnam veterans--through advertising?

Marketing experts think it can. But they acknowledge that it won’t be easy. “You can’t really appeal to veterans as a mass market,” said Steven M. Shugan, a professor of marketing at the University of Chicago. “You have to try to look at specific segments.”

Hound Basks in Glory in Hush Puppies Spots

Hush Puppies is teaching its old dog new tricks.

After a three-year absence, the fuzzy-faced basset hound is being brought back by the Rockford, Mich.-based shoemaker as a spokesdog for the company. And the dog--whose real name is Jason--manages to upstage five human celebrities, including former House Speaker Tip O’Neill, boxer Marvelous Marvin Hagler and actresses Emma Samms of “Dynasty” and Lauren Hutton.

The dog isn’t supposed to be the focus of the new ad campaign. The high-ticket celebrities are. In a new ad, the top and bottom halves of the celebrities’ bodies are transposed. Tip O’Neill, for example, has Lauren Hutton’s legs and appears to be wearing a pair of high-heeled pumps, while O’Neill’s legs grace the frame of rock star Deborah Harry in a pair of wing tips. All are wearing Hush Puppies shoes. The headline reads: “Match the Faces to the Hush Puppies.”

But Jeff Lewis, ad manager at Hush Puppies, says that people keep asking about Jason. The dog is actually one of several that the company has contracted to use over the years. The offbeat print ad campaign is scheduled to break Aug. 15 in Life magazine. The company’s ad agency, Fallon McElligott, found the 8-year-old dog at an obedience school in Minneapolis.

With this $4-million campaign, Hush Puppies is attempting to remold itself into a stylish shoemaker by showing that even celebrities wear its gear. “Hush Puppies,” said Steve Sjoblad, president of Fallon McElligott, “are more than the pigskin shoe of 30 years ago.”

A Slice of Congress in Pizza Hut Spots

After weeks of the Iran- contra hearings in the news, prepare for parodies in the ads.

Listen for Pizza Hut radio ads this week that feature the so-called Committee Hearing on the Pizza Cover-Up, and attempt to mimic the tone of the hearings--complete with shuffling papers and belligerent attorneys.

In the ad, created by the Los Angeles firm Chiat/Day, one character insists that he has “no prior, current or future knowledge” of his company’s skimping on ingredients.