Billboards are one of the biggest creative challenges in the marketing world.

They need to be seven words or less.

They need to contain an idea.

And they need to communicate quickly as people speed by.

This week on Under The Influence, we look at the most creative billboards from around the world.

We’ll talk about a car maker that used tiny billboards to get inside their competitor’s vehicles.

How one airline used a billboard that could detect planes passing overhead.

And we’ll tell you the hilarious story of a billboard stunt gone wrong that involves a giant… muffin.

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This week, we take a look at four brands that have found a way to survive for decades.

One company has been entertaining crowds with wax for 200 years.

One restaurant has been topping their ice cream cones with a unique swirl for over 80 years.

Another company teamed up with a certain debonaire spy 60 years ago.

And a fourth brand has made a fortune blowing bubbles for over 75 years.

Their stories are fascinating.

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You’ve probably seen those Red Bull Mini Coopers driving around town with the giant Red Bull can on their roofs.

This week on Under The Influence, we look at the wild and wacky world of marketing mobiles.

They’ve actually been around for over 100 years.

We’ll crack open the story behind the Planters Peanut Nutmobiles.

We’ll take to the skies to tell you an amazing story behind the famous Goodyear blimps.

And we’ll tell the story of the famous Oscar Meyer Wienermobiles.

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There are some very interesting loopholes in the world of marketing.

Because businesses are always looking for an upper hand in a competitive category, loopholes can offer legal advantages.

A loophole can help a company overcome barriers in the marketplace. 

Sometimes, the way a product is marketed can give customers a loophole they can take advantage of.

And sometimes a 20-year-old kid can spot a loophole that panics a giant corporation.

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Even though brand names are often protected by trademarks and copyrights, it’s remarkable how many times companies end up with the same names.

And they either get along – or they sue each other into oblivion.

This week, we look at “Brand Twins.”

We’ll talk about when Guns N’ Roses sued Guns and Rosé.

We’ll explain why there used to be the Saskatchewan Roughriders AND the Ottawa Rough Riders in the CFL.

And that time Ringo sued the Ring O sex toy company.

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This week, we look at the ways libraries market themselves. If you think libraries are quiet, you’ve got another thing coming. We’ll talk about a library video series that played like a TV cop show - and - we’ll look at library wars - when libraries battle each other on social media.

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“What player has won the most Wimbledon singles titles,” Google will tell you it’s Roger Federer with 8 wins.

 But that’s incorrect. Martina Navratilova has 9.

 This week, we look at remarkable ideas that promote gender equality.

 Including an idea called Correct the Internet.com.

And one that challenged menstruation taboos with a program called “Touch the pickle.”

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This week, we talk about hotel marketing. 

Specifically, how some hotels attract guests by advertising specific rooms.

Some of those rooms are decorated like TV shows, some are inspired by movies, and some hotels advertise the fact something famous – or infamous – happened in their rooms.

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This week, we’re talking about the creative ways Hollywood markets films.

We’ll talk about how a low-budget horror movie got a ton of press just by asking people to smile.

And we’ll examine the marketing of Top Gun: Maverick – the Tom Cruise sequel that Steven Spielberg says single-handedly saved the theatrical industry.

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This week we look at horror in advertising.

We’ll talk about why the Red Cross produced a horror commercial for blood donations. How Nike had a horror commercial yanked off the air. And a water company that actually cast its product as the villain in a 45-minute horror film.

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