Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

This week, we explore how dating agencies Sell Love. We’ll talk about the very first dating service in history, we’ll explore one app that is more about lust than love and we’ll talk about how heartthrob Reynolds created one of the best dating commercials of the last 10 years. 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 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. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free...

In this episode, we talk about the most  unexpected  ads of 2021. Quite a few commercials made eyebrows rise last year. From a fast-food restaurant that created outrage on International Women’s Day, to a Christmas ad that generated the most complaints of the year, to a Super Bowl commercial that was nearly derailed by a DUI charge. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show....

We’re back with our new season and the first episode is all about Bottle Cap Marketing. A bottle cap is a tiny thing but offers big opportunities. We’ll talk about how Coke figured out a way to help sophomores make friends, why a beer let other brands advertise on its bottle tops and how Pepsi staged a bottle cap promotion and almost made a $32 billion snafu. We know you want to listen to all the...

We’ve got a fun 2022 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.

It's our annual Ask Terry episode where we answer listener questions. We’ll delve into why creative advertising agencies have such boring names, to what has changed most - and least - since the Mad Men Era to why the wrong people are put into marketing departments so often. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. Hos...

This week, we talk about fake Hollywood brands. Whenever directors need a prop and there is no paid product placement, they have to use fake products. From Morley Cigarettes to Heisler beer to that wily ACME Corporation, these pretend brands have been around for decades. 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...

This week, we explore cemetery tourism. Before the pandemic stopped travel in its tracks, graveyards were becoming tourist hotspots. Millions of people are choosing vacation spots based on the final resting places of famous people. And cemeteries are using marketing to attract those tourists. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscrib...

This week, we head to Broadway. Every Broadway show is mounted with incredible risk and very few shows earn back their investments. But there are huge hits and the marketing behind these shows is often bold and outrageous. And sometimes, the marketing is just plain fun. 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...

This week, we trace the history of trading cards. For over 150 years, companies have used trading cards to entice customers to buy their products. From cigarette cards to bubble gum cards for Batman, sports teams and even the Gulf War, trading cards are big business. 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...

This week, it’s our annual Bookmarks episode - where we tell you the fascinating stories that didn’t fit into our regular episodes. Including a little-known backstory on the 1972 Canada/Russia hockey series and a moving story about a hockey game that was cut short by tragedy. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you  don’t ,  subscribe ad-free here. H...

This week, we profile the remarkable career of, arguably, the most successful women in advertising - Mary Wells. She was a woman of firsts - the first woman to found and run a major advertising agency, the first female CEO to take a company public and the first women to intimidate the boys club of Madison Avenue.  We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you&n...

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...