Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

This week, we explore the use of nostalgia in advertising. For decades, advertisers have tapped collective memories in commercials, hoping those warm feelings wash over their products. From resurrecting Wayne’s World for Uber Eats commercials to Macaulay Culkin revisiting Home Alone for Google, nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the o...

This week, we tell crazy stories from the world of advertising. High pressure, big money and impossible deadlines makes for some hilarious situations. Including a TV shoot where a hot air balloon towing a new car goes missing in the wind and a cat food company who insists the ad agency eat the cat food before they create the ads.  We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the...

This week, we dive into the world of Fan Clubs. They are huge marketing tools for celebrities. We’ll track some of the earliest fan clubs, then compare them to the fan clubs in the digital era. We’ll also explore the big shift in power that swung from celebrities over to their fans. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free...

This week, we talk about companies and products that turn 50 years old this year. Back in 1971, some of the best-selling products were created that are still best-sellers today. There were also a number of famous advertising campaigns launched that year. 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 ac...

This week, we look at televised award shows and how they are very effective marketing for movies, Broadway plays and recording artists. We’ll explore whether Oscar nominations sell more tickets than Oscar wins, how Grammys can make a career and how the Tony awards can rescue a play overnight. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscrib...

This week, we listen to the most creative radio advertising from around the world. It’s the toughest medium to write for - but it’s also the most creatively freeing. We’ll hear commercials for a hair removal product, a fast-food series created for these confusing times and a student audio idea that attracted Taylor Swift. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance yo...

This week, we explore famous products named after their inventors. Some products are so cemented in our minds we forget those names once belonged to people. Shrapnel was invented by Henry Shrapnel, nachos were invented by Nachos Anaya and the leotard was invented by a Jules Leotard. We’ll even look at some inventors who wish their names had been forgotten… We know you...

This week, it’s our annual Brand Envy episode. This season, we look at four unique companies. One completely changed a sport forever. One became the best-selling toy of all time. Another has influenced the music business since 1894. And one had a heavenly idea.  All achieved something that had never been done before. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chan...

This week, we look at famous animals in advertising. The ad industry has a long history of using animals in commercials. From Spuds MacKenzie the original party animal to the majestic Budweiser Clydesdales to Morris the finicky cat, they all have fascinating stories to tell. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. Ho...

This week, we look at one of the oldest advertising mediums - skywriting. From its beginning back in the early 1920s, skywriting was once the most sensational advertising medium in the country. We’ll look at the most famous skywriting campaigns, the most recent billboards in the sky and some of the most amusing spelling errors. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-cha...

This week, we explore how the pandemic is affecting the world of marketing. Some products are tanking while others are setting sales records. We’ll tell the story of how one airline has started selling airplane food in grocery stores. And why lipstick sales have tanked but plastic surgery is booming. Who wins and who loses is very surprising. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show....

This week, we explore superheroes in advertising. Superman was the archetype of the modern superhero and he was the archetype for how superheroes were used in ads. From Supe promoting Kellogg’s commercials in the 1950s to Batman hawking savings bonds to Batgirl advocating equal pay for equal work, stoic superheroes became the ultimate spokes-characters. We know you want to listen to all the ads in...

This week, we look at the most famous movie posters of all time. The movie poster is the beginning of the story - often the first piece of marketing created for a new film. We’ll look at how posters are designed and we’ll analyze how the best posters of all time influenced ticket buyers. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  sub...

This week, we learn about famous  female  brand icons. In a marketing world full of Mr. Cleans, Ronald McDonalds and Mr. Whipples, there are female brand characters that were just as successful - and some even lasted longer. Join us as we draw a direct line from Josephine the Plumber and Madge the Manicurist to Flo from Progressive. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show....

This week, we explore what happens when an established spokesperson switches brands. We’ll tell the story of how the Verizon “Can you hear me now?” guy ended up pitching Sprint, how “The Most Interesting Man in the World” went from Dos Equis to tequila and how a spokesperson for a hamburger chain got fired when she pitched spaghetti sauce. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On...

This week, we explore how this new era of racial reckoning is affecting the world of marketing. Several of the leading brands have their roots in racial stereotypes, like Aunt Jemima - which took its imagery from the slave era. Some brands, like Eskimo Pies, have announced they are now re-naming their products and acknowledging their old names were offensive to indigenous people. We...

We’ve got a fun 2021 season planned for you. Here’s 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.

Well, this week it’s our annual show where we answer listener questions. Like - why the most popular Super Bowl commercial chose to replace their lead actor, why Gatorade’s famous  Be Like Mike  campaign called Michael Jordan “Mike” when no one ever called him that before and we’ll answer the age-old question - why are there so many bad ads?  We know you want to listen to all the ad...

This week we’re talking about the Mandela Effect. It is defined as “collective false memory.” That means many of us remember things incorrectly and we all remember them incorrectly the same way. From famous movie lines to song lyrics to details of traumatic events and even to famous commercials, we all think our memories are time-stamped videos of our lives. But they are not. We know you...

This week, we explore the branding of diseases. Over the course of history, diseases have been named after people and countries with devastating effects. Names have stigmatized entire regions, decimated industries and have even caused diplomatic crises. And countries have weaponized diseases for political purposes. As with all branding, words matter. We know you want to listen to all the ads in th...

This week, it’s our annual Bookmarks episode - where we tell fascinating stories from our research that didn't make it into the regular season. We’ll talk about a book that maintains if you build a better mousetrap, the world will NOT beat a path to your door. And we’ll tell a story from a biography of Bruce Lee that proves sometimes the only way to sell a product is to&nb...

Some people call Under The Influence UTI for short. It’s not a good nickname. But some brand nicknames are positive and extremely valuable - like Coke and Chevy - and some nicknames like “Whole Paycheck” don’t make Whole Foods happy. Join us this week as we explore the implications of brand nicknames. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t , ...

Every episode of Under The Influence begins with an opening story. And after more than 300 episodes, we’ve told over 300 opening stories. This week, we look back at the ones that generated the most listener feedback - from a story about a one-armed martial artist to the unorthodox ways lovers communicated in the Victorian era to the story of the greatest racehorse of all time.  We know you wa...

80 to 90% of new product launches fail. So to lower the risk, companies do trial runs. This week, we explore Test Markets - where companies launch new products in small towns to see if shoppers pay attention. We’ll tell the stories of successful product launches as well as a few notable product disasters.  We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the...

This week, we explore how business can be won or lost with spontaneous off-hand remarks. Not all advertising business is conducted in a boardroom or in commercials. Sometimes somebody says something in an elevator, or in a speech or in a doorway that leads to winning an account - or losing it. Talk ain’t cheap.  We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance yo...