Under the Influence gives listeners a rare backstage pass into the hallways, boardrooms and recording studios of the ad industry.Join host and adman Terry O’Rei...
Strange Smells: The Marketing of Unusual Fragrances
This week, we take a whiff of some of the strangest fragrances being marketed today. Choosing a perfume or cologne is a form of personal expression. What you smell like says something about you. But does that include bacon perfume? Or mayonnaise cologne? There’s a fragrance that makes you smell like a bakery, and a soap for men that smells like gasoline. Uncommon Scents. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Purple Comb-Overs: The Power of Personal Style
This week, we talk about some of the most interesting people throughout history – and the fact they all had a consistent personal style. Consistency is the key to branding, and these famous people all understood that. We’ll take a look at Julius Caesar, who shocked fellow Romans with the way he dressed and acted. We’ll examine the incredible popularity of Charlie Chaplin’s “Little Tramp” character that never changed throughout 25 films. And we’ll talk about celebrities who adopted a singular colour as their personal branding – like Prince and Johnny Cash. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Iceman Cometh: How Ice Transformed Our Lives
This week, we look at the marketing of ICE.It may sound like a strange topic, but our obsession with ice - as a product - is only 200 years old.The history of ice marketing starts with an amazing story about a bold entrepreneur with a vision, the cutthroat clash between competing ice companies, and the long list of ice brands and products that has transformed our lives.It's a remarkable story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Last Chance Tourism
This week, we take a look at Last Chance Tourism.Tourism companies around the world have started to advertise specific destinations to travelers, because those locations have a very unique offering.Namely, they are vanishing.From glaciers, to polar bears, to the Amazon Rainforest. Marketers are using a strategy called “Loss Aversion” – where the emotional impact of a loss is felt more intensely than a gain.So people are rushing to these locations, afraid they might miss their last chance to see them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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From Bonanza to Batman: When Fictional Characters Endorse Real Products
In our first episode of 2025, 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Under the Influence gives listeners a rare backstage pass into the hallways, boardrooms and recording studios of the ad industry.Join host and adman Terry O’Reilly for fascinating (and humorous) stories that connect the dots between pop culture, marketing and human nature. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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