Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

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 one time. The board game Monopoly just lost its trademark recently. Now brands like Kleenex and Band-Aid are fighting to save their valuable names. And their stories are fascinating. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 next 25 years, encouraged women to be stay-at-home moms. That strategy created the biggest business in the world: Housekeeping.The rest is advertising history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at 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 next 25 years, encouraged women to be stay-at-home moms. That strategy created the biggest business in the world: Housekeeping.The rest is advertising history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s our final episode of the season already.And as always, we throw the show open to our listeners.And answer your questions.We’ll explore why jingles have disappeared, how old jingles are being used to help Alzheimer’s patients, we’ll talk about Eddie Shack and his Pop Shoppe commercials, why the biggest companies have the dullest ads and we’ll answer that burning question: What ever happened to the “follow the bouncing ball” sing-along commercials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 So many things in our world are influenced by marketing. This week, we look at various aspects of our lives influenced by marketing. – but you wouldn’t know it. It’s marketing hiding in plain sight. Like the concept of jaywalking – born of marketing. How marketing created the 10,000-steps-a-day health goal. And how marketing was the inspiration for one of the most popular TV series that everyone is talking about right now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week it’s our annual Bookmarks episode.I read a lot of books to research Under The Influence. But every season, there isn’t enough room to include all the great stories I find.So this episode is dedicated to those stories that didn’t fit into our regular episodes. But are so good, they are worth telling.We’ll tell an amazing story about the book Goodnight Moon.We’ll tell you why David Bowie seemed to have two different-coloured eyes.We’ll talk about why inspiration is 90% perspiration and the inside story of the historic music score from the movie Jaws. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 20th century movies and TV shows were dominated by the traditional “hero.” With high morals and an ethical code of honour. The 21st century has a different take. Today, we cheer the antihero. Like the Sopranos, Dexter and Breaking Bad. Antiheroes are liberated from that line in the sand that holds the rest of us back. They do things we are afraid to do. And do it unapologetically. And if advertising is the great mirror to pop culture, it just may explain the emergence of antihero brands – who dare you to like them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For over 100 years, “free” has been one of the most powerful words in the marketing world.And believe it or not, companies love freebies as much as their customers do.Because giving away free products generates a lot of goodwill. And goodwill generates free press.We’ll talk about a ketchup company who gave a man a free boat.A hotel who gave a couple 18 years of free stays because they had nookie in one of their rooms.And we’ll tell the story of how one company helped a teenager with huge feet – by giving him a pair of size 23 shoes.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marketing contests can be tricky business.On one hand, contests can be designed to help companies achieve certain business goals.On the other hand, companies can lose control over them pretty quickly.This week, we look at some of the most interesting – and hilarious – marketing contests.Including one about a city that held a contest to name a new building – and the public voted overwhelmingly to name it after a past mayor named Harry Baals.True story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jesse Brown, founder of Canadaland Podcast Network, and Terry O'Reilly have a fun conversation about the business of podcasting, the line between journalism and advertising and how Terry had to get used to being touched by strangers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.