Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

This week it’s our annual Bookmarks episode – where we tell the great stories that didn’t fit into our regular episodes. Including a story about Frankenstein, one about the waffle iron that inspired Nike and a very funny story about a presidential campaign billboard that mistakenly featured the wrong candidate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I tell the stories of four of my favourite brands. One holds the record for the most Oscar wins, one was a kid’s animated show produced by a church, another became one of the best-selling toys of all time and one found a way to cut through late-night TV. And all lasted for decades. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the topic is rule breakers. It takes a courageous advertiser to flout the rules. The results can either be a goldmine or a landmine. We’ll talk about a burger chain that dared show moldy food in its advertising and a rule-breaking stunt involving the NRA that you won’t soon forget. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at boring products. There is a truism in the marketing world - boring sells. And in some of the biggest categories, boring products are the runaway best-sellers. Why do we overwhelmingly choose white cars, gray wall paint and beige carpets? And what does that say about us? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In case you missed it, the team behind Under The Influence started a podcast network. We wanted to bring you a bonus episode this week from one of our other podcasts titled, "We Regret To Inform You: The Rejection Podcast." This episode is about how the Rubik's Cube faced endless rejection as a toy - before finally finding success. Now over 450 million Rubik's Cubes have been sold. It's a story full of twists and turns. If you like what you hear, there are over 40 episodes to dive into. Enjoy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at how books are advertised and marketed. Over 2.2 million new books are published every year - so how do books get noticed? One bookstore uses movies to sell books, another gets prison inmates to write book reviews and one grocery store breaks all the rules by putting books in the vegetable section. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at the history of animated commercials. One of the very first hit the air in 1941 - for “crinkle-proof ties.” Next came Reddy Kilowatt, to quell the public’s fear of electricity in the home. Then Esso’s Put a Tiger in Your Tank tangled with Kellogg’s Tony the Tiger - and that’s when the fur started to fly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, I ask my advertising colleagues for their most outrageous ad stories. The advertising business is a big money, high stress industry. And so much can go sideways. Sometimes film shoots go horribly wrong, sometimes clients make the most ridiculous demands, sometimes celebrities refuse to say their lines and sometimes even a James Bond campaign can go up in flames. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Under The Influence, we tell the surprising origin stories of some famous products and brands. Because sometimes, backstories have backstories.We’ll tell a surprising tale about Coca Cola and the Civil War. We’ll delve into the bootlegger background of NASCAR.And we’ll tell the story of how the Lamborghini supercar began with a tractor… and an insult. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at cities and towns that are actually named after companies. We’ll talk about one town named after a shoe company, one named for a chocolate bar and another town that’s even named after a dish soap.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.