Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

Today, movie theatres have to compete with home theatre systems and streaming services.

A favourite from our archives...

We look at how cinemas are transforming to attract more movie goers.

To survive, theatres now offer restaurant meals and full bar menus.

They offer loyalty programs and special theme nights.

And many cinemas now offer patrons “atmospheric” movie experiences – where wind blows through your hair, rain falls from the ceiling, and seats not only jolt back and forth, they also emit smells that mirror the action on the screen.

It puts the motion in motion picture.

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In this encore episode, we explore a strange aspect of advertising.

Specifically, when tv and movie characters endorse products. Not the actors, themselves - but the characters they portray.

It's a trend that started in the early '60s with the Andy Griffith Show and Bonanza.

Today, it includes characters like Breaking Bad's Walter White and even Phil Dunphy from Modern Family.

Sometimes it's funny - and sometimes it bends the time/space continuum.

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In this episode from our archives, we take a look at one of the tools of political marketing – the campaign song.

Politicians have used songs going all the way back to at least the 1700s.

Sometimes the songs are written expressly for the political party or candidate.

Sometimes, politicians co-opt pop songs.

And sometimes, pop artists have a major problem with that.

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Every company dreams of doubling its profit.

It’s almost impossible to do.

Yet, some companies do it by tweaking one tiny thing.

We’ll talk about an industry that put three words on their packaging that doubled their profit.

A company that created a catchy jingle that doubled their revenue overnight.

And a business that changed one single word in a headline and their profit went up 100%.

A favourite from our archives.

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In this episode, we shoot for the moon.

Now that commercialized space travel has arrived, the world of marketing is setting its sights on the stars.

We’ll talk about ads on rocket ships, ads on spacesuits, and television commercials filmed on the International Space Station.

There are companies who want to employ hundreds of tiny satellites to create logos in the night sky.

Some companies even want to put ads on the moon.

And those ads might even be cheaper than Super Bowl commercials.

From our 2024 Archives.

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From our archives, a favourite...

Occasionally, an old advertising campaign is brought back from the dead.

Even if it has been off the air for decades.

In this episode, we’ll discuss a recurring Coke commercial that has been called the most popular ad of all time.

A much-loved beer campaign that has been revived after 34 years.

And a controversial commercial that was yanked off the air in 1989, but was re-run again recently.

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Because Terry LOVES books, we do an annual Bookmarks episode. This one is from 2024.

There’s never enough room to include all the great stories we find in our research books.

So this episode is dedicated to all those stories that didn’t fit into our regular episodes. 

The theme is “bravery” - and we’ll talk about how a brave goaltender revolutionized hockey, how Larry David routinely ignored studio executives, and we’ll salute the bravery of Lucille Ball.

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In this episode, we go back in advertising history and take a look at the ads and commercials that could never, ever, EVER run today.

They are either so politically incorrect, so sexist, or so inappropriate, you won’t believe your ears.

From doctors recommending cigarettes, to 7-Up advertising to babies, to everyone singing about the joys of DDT, it’s amazing to think they all ran back in the day.

Ads that couldn’t run today.

From our 2024 Archives.

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Jerry Goodis was one of the most colourful characters in the history of Canadian advertising.

He founded a legendary advertising agency and created some of Canada’s longest-running ad campaigns. And while doing that, he attacked the ad industry for producing terrible ads. He was loved and hated but couldn’t be ignored.  

Another favourite from our Archives.

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Taking a look at the most creative audio ideas from around the world.

Including a podcast for runners that only works if you’re actually running, a police recruitment campaign that capitalized on the popularity of True Crime, and a very ambitious alternative audio track created to be played over Disney’s Pocahontas movie – that tells the truth behind the fairy tale.

Another favourite from the Archives.

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