Under the Influence from CBC Radio

This week it’s our final episode of the 2020 season, where we answer listener questions sent to us through social media. Like - why the most popular …

This week we’re talking about the Mandela Effect. It is defined as “collective false memory.” That means many of us remember things incorrectly and …

This week, we explore the branding of diseases. Over the course of history, diseases have been named after people and countries with devastating effects. Names have stigmatized entire regions, decimated industries and …

This week it’s our annual Bookmarks episode, where we tell fascinating stories from our research that didn't make it into the regular season. We’ll …

Some people call Under The Influence "UTI" for short. It’s not a good nickname. But some brand nicknames are positive and extremely valuable - like …

Every episode of Under The Influence begins with an opening story. And after more than 300 episodes, we’ve told over 300 opening stories. This week, …

80-90% of new product launches fail. So to lower the risk, companies do trial runs. This week, we explore Test Markets - where companies launch new products in small towns to see if shoppers pay attention. We’ll tell …

This week, we explore how business can be won or lost with spontaneous off-hand remarks. Not all advertising business is conducted in a boardroom or in commercials. Sometimes somebody says something in an elevator, or …

This week, it’s our annual Brand Envy episode, where I tell the stories behind some of the brands I admire. We’ll talk about a romance novel company that was started by a fur trader, an empire created by a cartoonist …

This week, we explore the world of Torture Tests. Torture test commercials are one of the advertising industry’s most powerful techniques - because …

This week, we explore the world of Online Reviews. These days you can leave a review for anything - from a cup of coffee to your dentist. 90% of us read online reviews before buying a product - that’s why those reviews …

This week, we explore the quiet world of ASMR marketing. ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It’s a new form of marketing that creates a calming feeling often accompanied by a tingling sensation. …

Dum dum da dum. This week, we explore the lucrative world of Wedding Marketing. Weddings are big, big business. And as a result, the wedding industry …

This week, we explore how airports are now becoming brands. You may not know it, but airports compete against each other for business. That intense rivalry has led to the complete transformation of airports - they now …

This week, we explore the surprising ideas companies use to attract new customers. Like “Finger Lickin’ Good” nail polish from KFC. Or NASCAR’s …

This week, we explore why companies change valuable brand names when expanding to other countries. Sometimes the reason is a language issue. But other times, the reasons are far more interesting. For example, Mr. Clean …

This week, we look at the phenomenon of Set Jetting. That’s when tourists flock to a city to see the sets and locations where their favourite TV shows and movies are filmed. Some towns have embraced set jetting as …

From the Digital Box Set: This week marks the final episode of Season 7. And as we do every year, we're turning this show over to you, our listeners. We'll be answering all the marketing and advertising questions you've …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at how self-driving cars affect the world of marketing. While it may seem like a bit of a novelty these days, the era of the autonomous car is fast approaching. And the …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at how tourism survives a tragedy. When a city experiences a massive crisis, it must find a way to restore its tourism. All cities rely on tourism - it is often one of the …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the ad industry’s place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The aim of all advertising is to create selling ideas that are impossible to ignore. From the world’s …

This week, it’s Part Two of our Album Covers As Marketing episode. In the 1980s, album covers shrunk down for the first time to accommodate CDs. And in the 2000s, the advent of iPods shrunk them again to the size of a …

This week on Under the Influence, we analyze Album Covers As Marketing. We’ll look at a world famous record cover that was almost ruined by a zipper, why flights at Heathrow Airport had to be grounded for one band’s …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at Products Invented by the Military. The military has influenced more technology than any government, …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the art of door-to-door sales. From encyclopedias to makeup to vacuum cleaners, many corporations were built on the shoe leather of direct sales. It was a tough way to …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at brands that aren’t afraid to celebrate their weaknesses. As a rule, no company ever wants to point a …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it's our annual episode dedicated to great stories from our Under the Influence research that didn't make the …

This week, we look at the fascinating ways sports teams market themselves. We’ll unpack why one stadium replaced its ushers with librarians, why …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it’s our annual look at brands I admire. They may not be the hippest, the latest or the coolest, but I envy them …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at commercials that made the unlikely leap to Hollywood. Some became big hit movies, others inspired …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it’s part two of our Jingles episode. Jingles had a great run until the late ‘80s, then songs overtook them. But a few big jingles have beaten the trend in recent years – one in …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the use of jingles in advertising. So many brands were built on the backs of jingles. From the Big …

This week, we analyze how small brands outsmart their giant counterparts. We’ll look at a snack food company with a cult-like following that outsells …

Welcome to the 2020 Under the Influence season. It's good to be back. To kick things off, we step into the highly competitive world of Television Marketing. Between Netflix, Amazon, Crave and more, the marketing of TV …

We’ve got a fun 2020 season planned for you. Here’s a sneak peek at what's in store...

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore famous Products Named After Their Inventors. Some products are so cemented in our minds we forget their names once belonged to people. Shrapnel was invented by Henry …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at products that went from Worthless to Priceless.
Products someone created out of something everyone else ignored. It might be junk on the ground that people stepped over, …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the world of Celebrities in Advertising. I’ll tell you stories from my nearly 30 years directing celebrities in radio and television commercials. From Ellen DeGeneres to …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we debunk urban Brand Myths. Myths that live on as assumed facts in marketing textbooks, MBA courses, endless business seminars and dinner parties. It's easy to accept rumours as …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the fascinating world of Comic Book Advertising. A world where Sea-Monkeys could be trained, X-Ray …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore how marketers solve difficult problems. We’ll look at how Monty Python stopped piracy by giving away …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore how marketers saved certain foods from oblivion by changing…their names. Many foods you enjoy started out life with very unappetizing names. Some so off-putting, I’m …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we delve into the emerging world of subscription marketing. Did you know you could have underwear sent to your …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the advertising campaigns that had everything stacked against them and yet went on to become hugely …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we analyze how old school products survive in the 21st century. Many brands can’t keep up with the digital age, …

From the Digital Box Set: Kicking off season 7, we explore how some of the craziest fads are marketed. We'll look at how one student's school project …

From the Digital Box Set: This week marks the final episode of the 2017 Under The Influence season. And as we do every year, we're turning this show over to you, our listeners. We’ll be answering the marketing and …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it’s our annual Bookmarks episode. The research team at Under the Influence does a lot of reading over the year and finds a lot of great stories - many of which don't fit into our …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we journey to Cannes, France for the Cannes International Advertising Festival. It’s the most revered advertising competition in the world, with 90 countries submitting over 40,000 …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore how some of society's biggest taboos were broken by marketers. We’ll look at why toilet paper was a hush-hush product in the 19th century, which publication was the first …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we analyze how marketing affects the sports world. We’ll look at the massive influence that comes with owning the rights to the Olympic games, how the recent uptick in gambling …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we tell the story of the most interesting adman in the world - Albert Lasker. Lasker had a hand in influencing professional baseball, Planned Parenthood, North American breakfast and …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it’s our annual episode where we explore brands I admire. And in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017, this year’s brands are all Canadian. We’ll look at what may be the …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it’s part two of our Gender Marketing show. In this episode, we’ll look at how companies that have historically marketed to one gender switch gears to target another. We’ll analyze …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we delve into the controversial world of Gender Marketing. How did it all start? Why are aisles and products separated by gender? Why do some companies charge women more than men for …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore how brands are becoming political for the first time in history. We’ll look at what happens when …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the fine art of selling the dream. The world of Real Estate Marketing has its own rules, its own …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we peek into the emerging world of Influencer Marketing. Today, the most popular social media influencers aren't …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we analyze inventors who later came to regret their inventions. Sometimes it's because the product ended up …

From the Digital Box Set: In this episode, we look at what happens when seemingly unrelated companies decide to partner up. By pooling their …

From the Digital Box Set: In this episode, we explore the controversial topic of Humane Marketing. From circuses to SeaWorld to fashion runways to fast food restaurants, each industry is dealing with mounting issues …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we enter the delicate world of Sponsorship Marketing. Close to 20 billion sponsorship dollars are spent each …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we analyze brand names that should never have worked. While most companies strive for positive names, others …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we take a look at the biggest day of the year for the advertising industry: The Super Bowl. The only sporting event where viewers pay as much attention to the commercials as they do …

From the Digital Box Set: This week we look at brands that separate themselves from the herd. In the world of marketing, standing out is the most critical thing a company can do. Having a distinct personality gives …

From the Digital Box Set: In this episode, we explore why some big brands fail when they attempt to expand internationally. It’s always interesting when massive companies with marketing firepower move into a new country …

From the Digital Box Set: This episode was performed live at the Hot Docs Podfest in Toronto in front of 600 podcast lovers. In this show, we explore what happens to brands when a completely unexpected event occurs. …

From the Digital Box Set: On this first episode of the 2017 season, we explore the crazy world of Trademarks. The key to success in marketing is to stand out from the crowd. One of the best ways to do that is with …

From the Digital Box Set: This show marks the final episode of the Under The Influence 2016 season. And as we do every year, we're turning this show over to you, our listeners. We’ll be answering all the marketing and …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the little known and surprising world of Industrial Musicals. In an unexpected collision of Madison …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we take a peek into the risky, yet delicious world of commercial parodies. Some spoof ads are created just for the laughs, while others are sharp critiques of questionable products, …

From the Digital Box Set: The research team at Under The Influence does a lot of reading over the year and finds a lot of great stories - many of …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the world of loyalty programs. In this day and age, marketers do everything possible to encourage loyal customers, and loyalty programs are one of the most effective ways …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it’s part two of our Strange Bedfellows episode. It’s not just smaller brands that are beginning to advertise on …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the increasingly blurred line between advertising and porn. There has always been a line advertisers …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we take a trip to five different countries to listen to some astonishing radio advertising. From a theatre …

From the Digital Box Set: This is our annual episode where Terry tells some interesting stories about the brands he admires. This year, it includes the very first toy ever advertised on television in 1952, a teen …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the world of business-to-business advertising. It used to be the most boring advertising in the world - where green copywriters cut their teeth and washed-up copywriters …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we search for some of the world’s oldest brands. 80% of companies fold after 18 months, the ones that survive …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at how marketing companies bounce back from blunders and epic missteps. Yes, most apologize, but what …

From the Digital Box Set: While there are many strange products in the world, there are even stranger service companies. This week, we talk about a company that rents wedding guests, a company you can hire to actually …

From the Digital Box Set: The most interesting cultural differences aren’t country to country, they're province to province, state to state and even …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore when a smaller advertiser attacks the weak spot in a bigger advertiser’s marketing. It’s a strategy of brinksmanship, because it means a smaller company not only chooses …

From the Digital Box Set: In this episode, we explore the marketing of Movie Merchandise. From the earliest days of merchandising book characters to the true beginning of movie merchandising with the birth of Mickey …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore Words Invented By Marketers. Many of those words found their way into the dictionary and have become part of our daily language, like “Dependability” and “Halitosis.” …

From the Digital Box Set: This episode explores how small moves can result in huge business gains. While much of the business world spends its time …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the consequences when marketing companies lie. From the Volkswagen scandal, to a promotion that …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it’s the final episode of the 2019 season: Ask Terry. And as we do every year, we’re turning this show over to you, our listeners, and answering your questions on the air. From …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at Banned Commercials. The majority of the time, ads are banned for being sexist or too suggestive. But many commercials are banned for other, more fascinating reasons. …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we unpack the nuanced world of Advertising Disclaimers. We'll look at the most absurd product disclaimers of all time, why a shocking disclaimer on a brand of Lays chips sparked a …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it's our annual Bookmarks episode - where we tell fascinating stories from our research that didn't make it into …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it's our annual look at brands I admire. They may not be the coolest or the biggest brands - but they're …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the use of profanity in marketing and the resulting upsurge in Vulgar Trademarks. Four-letter words …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, in an encore broadcast, we look at the fine art of selling the dream. The world of Real Estate Marketing has its …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, I'll be sharing some of the major influences in my life that helped inform my thinking and shape my career. Including a snowplow ad from my childhood, the sound effects from one very …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at how companies sell death. While death is usually a forbidden word in advertising, the subject of death is slowly becoming more mainstream. We'll look at the one industry …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at celebrities with their very own brands. From a small town general store owned by a comedian to a …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore Word-of-Mouth Advertising. Most businesses hope good products and excellent service are enough to encourage positive recommendations. But the smartest companies actually …

From the Digital Box Set: In this episode, we look at the wild and crazy world of Viral Videos. Some brands spend big money on videos and nobody watches, meanwhile a cat video is viewed by millions. It's a world with no …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore roadside attractions as marketing. Interesting and often quirky landmarks that put small towns on the map. We'll look at one town that leveraged its name to bring in …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at Ambush Marketing. It's a form of marketing where a brand tries to connect itself with an event like the FIFA World Cup - but WITHOUT paying sponsorship fees. It merely …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we'll explore how companies profit from personalized products, how they market those products, how consumers are drawn to companies that offer customization and how brands use …

From the Digital Box Set: Do you know which mascot is the most recognized but least liked on TV? This week, we look at disgusting but effective advertising mascots. Fun, cuddly characters that personify our bodily …

From the Digital Box Set: In our first episode of Season 3, we explore #1 Brands. We'll look at popular categories and identify the runaway …

From the Digital Box Set: In this episode, we explore how we're all influenced by pricing. Like how the price of a bottle of wine has an enormous affect on how much you enjoy that wine. We'll analyze how restaurants …

From the Digital Box Set: Unlike public service announcements or corporate philanthropy, Cause Marketing is when a Not-For-Profit organization teams up with a For-Profit company to further a good cause - but the …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the big-money world of Olympic advertising. From the very first Olympic sponsors in 1896, we'll track the ever increasing presence of advertising in the Games - from the …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it's an encore broadcast of Promise Less, Profit More. Most products offer customers as many features and benefits as possible in order to lure shoppers toward a purchase. But then …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the world of law firm advertising. Some of it good, some of it bad, but a handful of it highly …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we listen to the innovative ways marketers are using sound around the world. We'll explore how the words of an …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the world of distress purchases. Distress purchases are things we need in life, but quietly resent having to pay for like insurance, car tires, laundry appliances and …

From the Digital Box Set: This penultimate show of the season features the various lessons I've learned over the course of my 30-year advertising …

From the Digital Box Set: It's our last episode of the season. And every year, we turn our annual season finale over to listeners and answer their questions about advertising. We'll discuss the finer details of fine …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the world of Unwitting Endorsers. Sometimes a celebrity is featured in an advertising campaign …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at how Hollywood has portrayed advertising over the years. Most pilots, lawyers and doctors roll their …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at Real Time Advertising. For over 100 years, most ad campaigns took months to produce. Suddenly, with the emergence of the Internet and social media, advertisers can react …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at Marketing Dead Celebrities. It's become a $2B industry. And the marketing of dead celebrities not only attracts lots of big brands, but a lot of controversy as well. We'll …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at some of the most innovative movie marketing. From advertising an R-rated superhero to marketing a silent horror film with virtually no dialogue, today's movies aren't just …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at Game Shows as Marketing. They've been around for almost 80 years and entertain millions, but game …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore "Loss Leaders - the very interesting selling strategy where one product is given away for free, or at a high discount, in order to attract people to buy another more …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it's my annual look at the brands I envy. They may not be the hippest, or the latest, or even the coolest …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we travel back to Season 6 to tell the story of the most interesting adman in the world - Albert Lasker. Lasker had a hand in influencing professional baseball, Planned Parenthood, …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, it's Tales of Customer Service. We're on the hunt for great companies that went out of their way to treat their customers well. From an amusement park that delivered such superior …

From the Digital Box Set: In the history of the advertising industry, the full force of persuasion has been put behind many products that turned out …

From the Digital Box Set: Along with the most famous marketing blunder of all time - the Edsel - we'll look at what caused Coke to make the mistake …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the use of brand names in songs. Sometimes lyrical mentions lead to major brand success. Other times, to lawsuits and bans. But the stories behind each are fascinating. …

From the Digital Box Set: This week - just in time for the Oscars - we take our annual look at creative movie trailers. We'll see how Walt Disney …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at Marketing Stunts. Many brands try to get into the Guinness Book of World Records as a marketing strategy. With that in mind, we'll talk about how an energy drink staged a …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at Billion Dollar Brands. There are millions of successful brands in the world, but very few of them are …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at products made by monks. Monks create a myriad of merchandise that is sold to the public. Some sing …

From the Digital Box Set: Kicking off Season 2, we explore one of the most effective marketing strategies ever devised: The use of "Shame." First …

From the Digital Box Set: Remember when you were growing up, and you'd find a prize inside your cereal box? Prizes, premiums and box-top offers have been a staple of modern marketing since the 1800s. We'll tell the …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the critical importance of timing in marketing. It's one thing to put the right message in front of the right person, but it's a fine art to put it in front of them at the …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the incredible creativity happening in radio advertising today. Many advertisers think radio is yesterday's medium, but judging by the incredible work being done around …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the companies that actually profit by asking you to BUY LESS. We'll explore a burger company that asks its customers to eat less beef, a printing company helps you print …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the fascinating world of vending machines. Vending machines aren't just soft drink dispensers, they're marketing machines. They're portable, branded on all sides and are …

From the Digital Box Set: Welcome to my annual celebration of the brands I envy. They aren't necessarily the most hip or most current, or even the number one brand in their category. As a matter of fact, a "brand" by my …

From the Digital Box Set: Over the lifetime of a company, mistakes happen. When those mistakes cause damage, it's appropriate for a brand to …

From the Digital Box Set: This is my annual look at some of my favourite books. We'll look at a new book, titled, "Mad Women," written by an original Mad Woman from the 60s era Madison Avenue. Next, we flip through the …

From the Digital Box Set: The gay community will spend over $800B this year. A large percentage are affluent, hip and trendsetting, yet the advertising industry took decades to market to them. This week, we look at …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at companies that go above and beyond the call. Companies that add smart, little touches that make all the difference. Like hotels that help you fall asleep at night with …

From the Digital Box Set: There was a time when the humble matchbook was the top advertising medium in North America. They were handy, colourful, …

From the Digital Box Set: In this final episode of the season, Terry answers listener questions about the advertising industry. Some of the very …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at the history of commercial lengths. From the very first 10-minute radio commercial in 1922, to five-second commercials today, the length of ads has changed dramatically …

From the Digital Box Set: This episode is about how major brands in our lives simply vanish. One of magician Harry Houdini's most famous tricks was to make a 5-ton elephant disappear in front of large audiences. …

From the Digital Box Set: This episode looks at the wacky world of advertising mascots. The ad industry has a long history with mascots, as they are …

From the Digital Box Set: Back in 2007, a cute video of two kids was uploaded by their father. In it, one kid bites the finger of the other. That video, called "Charlie Bit My Finger" went on to attract 420 million …

From the Digital Box Set: The advertising industry has a long history of using sex to sell products. Woodbury's used sex to sell soap as far back the 1920's - and the campaign was written by a woman. But the use of sex …

From the Digital Box Set: "Hypertargeting" is the next frontier in 21st century marketing. Marketers are gleaning and buying more and more personal information about consumers online. People are also being tracked …

From the Digital Box Set: In the world of marketing, the use of colour is a studied science. As a result, colours play a bigger role in your …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we look at unusual and unexpected advertising placements. As the world of marketing gets more and more cluttered every day, it's forcing advertisers to get creative. From urinals and …

From the Digital Box Set: Welcome to Season 8 of Under The Influence. In this first episode, we look at spokesperson disasters. Hiring a celebrity spokesperson is an advertising strategy many brands can only dream of. …

From the Digital Box Set: Welcome to the first episode of Under The Influence. In this show, we focus on the emergence of the BRIC nations as the new marketing force in the world. BRIC is an acronym for: Brazil, Russia, …

From the Digital Box Set: This episode examines the different ways in which men and women shop. Deep in our DNA, our shopping habits have been formed …

From the Digital Box Set: This episode explores how voices influence us in all corners of our lives. From computer voices, to phone operator voices, to the voices we hear at airports. Some expensive celebrity voices in …

From the Digital Box Set: This episode looks at famous brands that built their companies without advertising. It's so rare in this world to build a …

From the Digital Box Set: This episode is about the history of the classified ads. We trace the very first classified ad in North America through to the explosion of classifieds online. At any given time, a glance at …

From the Digital Box Set: This special two-part episode is about the late Steve Jobs. When you look at his vast technical accomplishments, it's easy to forget he was a great marketer. As a matter of fact, Apple …

From the Digital Box Set: This is part two of our look at Steve Jobs the marketer. This episode traces his triumphant return to Apple after being …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore the critical importance of movie trailers to a film's success. Hollywood now spends an average of $32 …

From the Digital Box Set: When companies are hit with a crisis, it can be a defining moment. In the world of marketing, it's an all-hands-on-deck situation - because communication is one of the most important keys to …

From the Digital Box Set: It may surprise you to know that many famous brands were invented completely by accident. They weren't the result of years …

From the Digital Box Set: This week, we explore a very interesting marketing predicament: When brands get trapped by their own image. Every once in a while, expensive brand images circle around to damage the brand. Like …