Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

Most tourism marketing aims at the largest audience possible. This week, we look at a sub-category aimed at the smallest audience possible: Billionaire Tourism.   The super wealthy get bored easily. That means luxury tour planners dream up extreme vacation ideas.  From outer space, to the bottom of the ocean, to secretly getting the key to the Sistine Chapel, it’s a whole new pricey worl...

There are some time-honored honorifics in the world of marketing. “Honorifics” are titles like Mr., Mrs., Doctor, Captain or Colonel.  Like  Colonel  Sanders,  Dr . Scholl’s,  Mr . Clean and  Mrs . Butterworth’s.   They’re usually leaders in their category. Is it because those products are the best? Or – is it because those brand names give the products a se...

Arkells is a band that likes to have fun. They are also a very smart band that understands the critical mix of artistry and marketing in a competitive industry. Frontman Max Kerman tells Terry the inventive ways they market their music, the creative ideas Arkells use to launch new material, and what marketing from other bands they admire. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On...

As Oscar night approaches, we head to theatres to figure out why movies about brands are so popular. “Barbie” is breaking box office records. “Air” tells the story of Nike signing Michael Jordan. “Blackberry” explains the spectacular rise and fall of the first smartphone – and is getting great reviews.  And a movie about the origins of McDonald’s – starring Michael Keaton - just might surpris...

Last week, we talked about the best historic demonstration commercials of all time. This week, we feature some of the most recent. Like an air freshener commercial that tricked blindfolded people into thinking a filthy toilet smelled like flowers. And a stunt where an ad agency put $3 million dollars between the glass of a bus shelter - unguarded, to demonstrate a point. We know you want to listen...

This week, I ask a dozen of the top creative directors in the advertising business to tell me the best “demonstration commercials” they have ever seen. Because there is nothing more powerful than a dramatic product demonstration. We’ll talk about a famous Krazy Glue commercial. And a Volvo ad where the ad writer risked his life to demonstrate a point. We know you want to listen to all the ads in t...

This week, we look at the most creative audio ideas from around the world.   Including a podcast for runners that only works if you’re actually running, a police recruitment campaign that capitalized on the popularity of True Crime, and a very ambitious alternative audio track created to be played over Disney’s Pocahontas movie – that tells the truth behind the fairy tale. We know you want to...

Recently, we produced an episode on cannabis marketing. With cannabis legalization, it’s a brand-new, challenging marketing category. As a result of that episode, I asked the Ontario Cannabis Store to introduce me to an actual cannabis producer. I wanted to know how a cannabis producer becomes licensed, how a craft cannabis company competes with the big companies, and how a small cannabis company...

This week, we analyze the remarkable marketing skills of one of the top music artists in the world – Taylor Swift. She has challenged the status quo at every turn – she regained ownership of her master recordings. She convinced Apple and Spotify to pay artists in a more equitable way. She defied Hollywood. She markets her music to her fans in very surprising ways. And holds over 70 Guinness World...

This week, we go one toke over the line and look at the emerging world of cannabis marketing. We start with the question - just how does a plant become illegal? We’ll explore the history of cannabis. We’ll talk about which celebrities have their own brands (Hello Willie Nelson!) Which high-end retail stores are now selling expensive cannabis paraphernalia. And which non-cannabis businesses are see...

Recently, we recorded a live show at Reid’s Distillery in Toronto. Reid’s is a great gin joint, and the vibe is a cool lounge with vintage tables and seating. There was no stage, so we recorded the podcast on the floor, with the audience seated all around us. In this episode, we talk about ads that are so bad… they become cult classics. Like the commercial where a woman has fallen and can’t get up...

This week, we look at copycat brands. Even though they walk a razor’s edge legally, copycat brands seem to pop up all over the world. You may like Walmart here, but there’s a Wumart in China. You may like North Face apparel, but did you know there was a South Butt brand? And, we’ll tell the story of a copycat cookie that overtook the original to become the best-selling cookie in the world. We know...

To kick off our 2024 season, we look at a strange phenomenon happening in Canada.   Well-established brands are suddenly leaving the country. Kleenex is leaving after nearly 100 years. Skippy Peanut Butter has skipped the country after nearly 90 years. And KFC actually held a funeral for their terrible-tasting French fries.   What’s happening up here? Find out.   We know you want to...

Happy New Year. We have a fun 2024 season planned for you. Here'a a sneak peek at what's in store... We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. Every once in a while, we drop an interesting show into our feed that we think you’ll like. This week, it’s “Twenty Thousand Hertz” - a show about the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds. The show’s title comes from the highest frequency that can be perceived withi...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. This week, we turn the show over to listeners. It’s our annual “As Terry” show. We asked you to submit any questions you had about the advertising world, and you responded with a record amount of very interesting, very insightful ones that touch on subjects like negative politi...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. This week, we invite you to our Book Club. We'll be telling stories from Terry's favourite advertising books, and will examine the incredible lessons they contain that have served him well for his entire career.  By the way, a few of those books aren’t even about advertisi...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. As you might know by now, the team behind Under The Influence has more podcasts executive produced by Terry. More on the Apostrophe Podcast Network can be f...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. This week we’re going shopping. The topic is “Three Foot Marketing.” Research shows that 75% of shopping decisions are made in the store, and they are all made within the last three feet – meaning that critical distance between your shopping cart and the shelf. We’ll examine ho...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. This week we look at “Dynamic Duos”  - those rare ad agency/client relationships that resulted in some of the most famous advertising of all time. We’ll examine the relationship between Nike founder Phil Knight and his ad agency creative director Dan Wieden, Apple’s S...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. 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...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. 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 L...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. 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 fasci...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. 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 o...

We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. 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&nb...