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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Another favourite from our archives...

Almost every movie and television show needs cars, and auto companies are happy to supply them – because it helps sell a lot of cars.

We’ll look back at James Bond and Starsky & Hutch, and explore auto partnerships with movie franchises like Transformers and Marvel.

We’ll also tell a crazy story of how the most sought-after car from a Steve McQueen movie was finally found – and the cosmic coincidence that led to its discovery.

Cars are the stars.

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From the Under The Influence Archives, one of our favourites....

Take a walk down any busy main street, and you’ll probably see one of the oldest forms of advertising:

The sandwich board.

They have been around for over 200 years.

Cities try and ban them.

Storekeepers love them.

They can make you smile.

They can make you angry.

They can attract a lot of attention.

They are the pop-up ads of the physical world.

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From The Under The Influence Archives...

Customers often lie to companies in surveys, polls and focus groups.

Yet advertisers rely on that flawed and false feedback to market brands and create advertising campaigns.

So what are advertisers to do?

One solution is Google.

What we type into the Google search window is like a truth serum. We all pour our most intimate, honest questions into that search box.

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A favourite episode from our Archives....

80% of all advertising is ignored.

That’s why some advertisers employ cheeky advertising.

It’s usually bold – outrageous – and sometimes even rude – but always with a playful undertone.

We’ll talk about a fruit company that printed an open letter to the Pope.

An airline campaign that told you to “keep it in your pants.”

And a product that claims your grandparents had more sex than you.

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An encore episode from the Under The Influence Archives. A very interesting favourite.

Most tourism marketing aims at the largest audience possible.

This week, we look at a sub-category aimed at the smallest audience possible:

Billionaire Tourism.

The super wealthy get bored easily.

That means luxury tour planners dream up extreme vacation ideas.

From outer space, to the bottom of the ocean, to secretly getting the key to the Sistine Chapel, it’s a whole new pricey world.

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From the Under The Influence Archives. One of our favourites.

There are some time-honored honorifics in the world of marketing.

“Honorifics” are titles like Mr., Mrs., Doctor, Captain or Colonel. 

Like Colonel Sanders, Dr. Scholl’s, Mr. Clean and Mrs. Butterworth’s.

They’re usually leaders in their category.

Is it because those products are the best?

Or – is it because those brand names give the products a sense of respect and authority.

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An encore episode of Under The Influence.... one of our favourites.

Last week, we talked about the best historic demonstration commercials of all time. This week, we feature some of the most recent.

Like an air freshener commercial that tricked blindfolded people into thinking a filthy toilet smelled like flowers.

And a stunt where an ad agency put $3 million dollars between the glass in a bus shelter, unguarded on the street - to demonstrate a point.

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An encore episode of Under The Influence.... one of our favourites.

This week, I ask a dozen of the top creative directors in the advertising business to tell me the best “demonstration commercials” they have ever seen.

Because there is nothing more powerful than a dramatic product demonstration.

We’ll talk about a famous Krazy Glue commercial.

And a Volvo ad where the ad writer risked his life to demonstrate a point.

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.