Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

This week, we look at banned commercials. The majority of the time, ads are banned for being sexist or too suggestive. But many commercials are banned for other, more fascinating reasons. Sometimes bans cripple a campaign, other times they’re puzzling, but more often than not, they’re rocket fuel. Hope you’ll join us.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we unpack the nuanced world of Advertising Disclaimers. We’ll look at the most absurd product disclaimers of all time, why a shocking disclaimer on a brand of Lays chips sparked a 50% drop in sales and the Presidential attack ads that changed political disclaimers forever. It really puts the “risk” in asterisk. Hope you’ll join us.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Like - the shocking reason Beatles producer George Martin first met the Fab Four. Why an episode of Mary Tyler Moore was considered to be so morbid that a brand new director had to be brought in to handle it tastefully. And why there were blank spaces in Bill Murray’s original Caddyshack script. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, it’s our annual look at brands I admire. They may not be the coolest or the biggest brands – but they’re fascinating studies in marketing. From a record store with a sense of humour to a cartoon with virtually no dialogue, this year’s list gives me a mean case of Brand Envy.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at the use of profanity in marketing and the resulting upsurge in Vulgar Trademarks. Four-letter words aren’t just sought out by small, feisty companies looking for attention anymore, but by some of the largest advertisers in the world. Is it obscene, or is it free speech? These days, I swear it’s hard to tell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explore the world of real estate marketing and its unique tactics, including using photos of agents as a marketing tactic, the correlation between physical attractiveness and agent success, and the branding stories of real estate companies like Remax. Discover how humor is used to entice buyers and the impact of women in the industry. Uncover the peculiar practice of putting faces on marketing materials and the importance of branding for brokers and agents.

This week, I’ll be sharing some of the major influences in my life that helped inform my thinking and shape my career. Including a snowplow ad from my childhood, the sound effects from one very specific cartoon, hilarious actors I worked with and seeing the corner of a billboard flapping in the wind. It’s a little lesson in who’s had me under the influence...  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at celebrities with their own brands. From a small town general store owned by a comedian to a cosmetics empire started by an 18-year-old to a winery that was funded by the Godfather movies - a few of them are even billion-dollar enterprises. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we explore Word of Mouth Advertising. Most businesses hope good products and excellent service are enough to encourage positive recommendations. But the smartest companies actually have strategies to ignite word-of-mouth chatter. It’s the oldest form of advertising, but it’s the most effective by far. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we explore roadside attractions as marketing. Interesting and often quirky landmarks that put small towns on the map. We’ll look at one town that leveraged its name to bring in thousands of TV fans, one that built a giant animal statue to get highway drivers to take a detour and another that built a monument to attract both human and non-human visitors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.