Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

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This week we look at how smart marketers use Speed Bumps to generate greater sales. While modern marketing loves a friction-free fast transaction, smart marketers know that a perfectly-placed speed bump can slow the selling process down Plus, we reveal why Van Halen wanted all those brown M&Ms taken out of the bowls. You may be surprised. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In case you missed it, the team behind Under the Influence has more podcasts. Five, to be exact. Executive produced by Terry O', meet the Apostrophe Podcast Company. Apostrophe brings you Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe, Surviving Life with Survivorman Les Stroud and We Regret To Inform You: The Rejection Podcast – where we tell stories of how the world’s most celebrated people overcame debilitating career rejection to achieve mammoth success. We Regret To Inform You has 2 million downloads across 70 episodes – and there's one in particular we think you might enjoy. Brylcreem those strands, suit up and take a stroll down Madison Avenue. This week, we tell the rejection story of AMC's Mad Men: According to Rolling Stone, Mad Men is the fourth-greatest television show of all time – bested only by Breaking Bad, The Wire and The Sopranos. But before Sterling Cooper ever opened its doors, Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner was rejected by every major network – including HBO, FX and Showtime. Weiner was told no one would watch a series about advertising, that his main character was an unlikable smoker slash philanderer and that viewers hated period pieces. Mad Men gathered rejections, then dust. Until Weiner got a phone call from a basic cable movie channel. Listen to Part 2 here. Follow Apostrophe: Instagram Twitter YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Under The Influence listens to the sounds of persuasion. Advertising has used sound to sell for decades. But sound can be used for more than painting pictures on radio – sound can be carefully created to persuade. The stories behind those sounds are fascinating - from the earliest recorded sound, to the first use of sound in radio commercials, to signature sounds on famous ad campaigns, to the startup sound we hear on our computers every day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at the concept of “Genericide” – when brand names become generic. Many of the pioneering brands in our world risked losing their trademarks – as courts would rule that their names had become generic. Zipper, escalator and refrigerator were all trademarks at one time. The board game Monopoly just lost its trademark recently. Now brands like Kleenex and Band-Aid are fighting to save their valuable names. And their stories are fascinating. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Part 2 of how Madison Avenue invented… the housewife. Over 100 years ago, the advertising industry realized they had thousands of household products to sell. All they needed was a customer. So they invented the Happy Homemaker, and for the next 25 years, encouraged women to be stay-at-home moms. That strategy created the biggest business in the world: Housekeeping. The rest is advertising history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at how Madison Avenue invented… the housewife. Over 100 years ago, the advertising industry realized they had thousands of household products to sell. All they needed was a customer. So they invented the Happy Homemaker, and for the next 25 years, encouraged women to be stay-at-home moms. That strategy created the biggest business in the world: Housekeeping. The rest is advertising history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s our final episode of the season already. And as always, we throw the show open to our listeners. And answer your questions. We’ll explore why jingles have disappeared, how old jingles are being used to help Alzheimer’s patients, we’ll talk about Eddie Shack and his Pop Shoppe commercials, why the biggest companies have the dullest ads and we’ll answer that burning question: What ever happened to the “follow the bouncing ball” sing-along commercials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So many things in our world are influenced by marketing. This week, we look at various aspects of our lives influenced by marketing. – but you wouldn’t know it. It’s marketing hiding in plain sight. Like the concept of jaywalking – born of marketing. How marketing created the 10,000-steps-a-day health goal. And how marketing was the inspiration for one of the most popular TV series that everyone is talking about right now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week it’s our annual Bookmarks episode. I read a lot of books to research Under The Influence. But every season, there isn’t enough room to include all the great stories I find. So this episode is dedicated to those stories that didn’t fit into our regular episodes. But are so good, they are worth telling. We’ll tell an amazing story about the book Goodnight Moon. We’ll tell you why David Bowie seemed to have two different-coloured eyes. We’ll talk about why inspiration is 90% perspiration and the inside story of the historic music score from the movie Jaws. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20th century movies and TV shows were dominated by the traditional “hero.” With high morals and an ethical code of honour. The 21st century has a different take. Today, we cheer the antihero. Like the Sopranos, Dexter and Breaking Bad. Antiheroes are liberated from that line in the sand that holds the rest of us back. They do things we are afraid to do. And do it unapologetically. And if advertising is the great mirror to pop culture, it just may explain the emergence of antihero brands – who dare you to like them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For over 100 years, “free” has been one of the most powerful words in the marketing world. And believe it or not, companies love freebies as much as their customers do. Because giving away free products generates a lot of goodwill. And goodwill generates free press. We’ll talk about a ketchup company who gave a man a free boat. A hotel who gave a couple 18 years of free stays because they had nookie in one of their rooms. And we’ll tell the story of how one company helped a teenager with huge feet – by giving him a pair of size 23 shoes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marketing contests can be tricky business. On one hand, contests can be designed to help companies achieve certain business goals. On the other hand, companies can lose control over them pretty quickly. This week, we look at some of the most interesting – and hilarious – marketing contests. Including one about a city that held a contest to name a new building – and the public voted overwhelmingly to name it after a past mayor named Harry Baals. True story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jesse Brown, founder of Canadaland Podcast Network, and Terry O'Reilly have a fun conversation about the business of podcasting, the line between journalism and advertising and how Terry had to get used to being touched by strangers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Billboards are one of the biggest creative challenges in the marketing world. They need to be seven words or less. They need to contain an idea. And they need to communicate quickly as people speed by. This week on Under The Influence, we look at the most creative billboards from around the world. We’ll talk about a car maker that used tiny billboards to get inside their competitor’s vehicles. How one airline used a billboard that could detect planes passing overhead. And we’ll tell you the hilarious story of a billboard stunt gone wrong that involves a giant… muffin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take a look at four brands that have found a way to survive for decades. One company has been entertaining crowds with wax for 200 years. One restaurant has been topping their ice cream cones with a unique swirl for over 80 years. Another company teamed up with a certain debonaire spy 60 years ago. And a fourth brand has made a fortune blowing bubbles for over 75 years. Their stories are fascinating. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You’ve probably seen those Red Bull Mini Coopers driving around town with the giant Red Bull can on their roofs. This week on Under The Influence, we look at the wild and wacky world of marketing mobiles. They’ve actually been around for over 100 years. We’ll crack open the story behind the Planters Peanut Nutmobiles. We’ll take to the skies to tell you an amazing story behind the famous Goodyear blimps. And we’ll tell the story of the famous Oscar Meyer Wienermobiles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are some very interesting loopholes in the world of marketing. Because businesses are always looking for an upper hand in a competitive category, loopholes can offer legal advantages. A loophole can help a company overcome barriers in the marketplace. Sometimes, the way a product is marketed can give customers a loophole they can take advantage of. And sometimes a 20-year-old kid can spot a loophole that panics a giant corporation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even though brand names are often protected by trademarks and copyrights, it’s remarkable how many times companies end up with the same names. And they either get along – or they sue each other into oblivion. This week, we look at “Brand Twins.” We’ll talk about when Guns N’ Roses sued Guns and Rosé. We’ll explain why there used to be the Saskatchewan Roughriders AND the Ottawa Rough Riders in the CFL. And that time Ringo sued the Ring O sex toy company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at the ways libraries market themselves. If you think libraries are quiet, you’ve got another thing coming. We’ll talk about a library video series that played like a TV cop show - and - we’ll look at library wars - when libraries battle each other on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.