This week, we look at the reasons why successful companies suddenly change their names. Sometimes those name changes are for legal reasons, sometimes it’s because the old name has too much negative baggage, sometimes it’s to boost a stock price and sometimes a name changes because of a tornado. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 05, 2022•28 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we look at powerful hospital marketing. Hospitals need marketing to generate much-needed donations. We’ll look at how one hospital uses celebrities, how another uses riveting patient stories and how one hospital threw away the rulebook and created advertising that looks like Nike commercials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 26, 2022•28 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, we dive into the Super Bowl. The broadcast not only attracts the biggest viewing audience of the year, it is one of the biggest marketing machines. It affects beer companies and supermarkets and even record sales of the halftime performers. And we’ll also revisit some of the most outrageous Super Bowl moments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 12, 2022•27 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we tell the story of one of the most colourful characters in the history of Canadian advertising - Jerry Goodis. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 05, 2022•28 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we explore how dating agencies Sell Love. We’ll talk about the very first dating service in history, we’ll explore one app that is more about lust than love and we’ll talk about how heartthrob Reynolds created one of the best dating commercials of the last 10 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 29, 2022•29 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 22, 2022•27 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, we talk about the most unexpected ads of 2021. Quite a few commercials made eyebrows rise last year. From a fast-food restaurant that created outrage on International Women’s Day, to a Christmas ad that generated the most complaints of the year, to a Super Bowl commercial that was nearly derailed by a DUI charge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 15, 2022•27 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast We’re back with our new season and the first episode is all about Bottle Cap Marketing. A bottle cap is a tiny thing but offers big opportunities. We’ll talk about how Coke figured out a way to help sophomores make friends, why a beer let other brands advertise on its bottle tops and how Pepsi staged a bottle cap promotion and almost made a $32 billion snafu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 08, 2022•27 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast We’ve got a fun 2022 season planned for you. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s in store… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 29, 2021•58 sec•Transcript available on Metacast It's our annual Ask Terry episode where we answer listener questions. We’ll delve into why creative advertising agencies have such boring names, to what has changed most - and least - since the Mad Men Era to why the wrong people are put into marketing departments so often. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 24, 2021•28 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we talk about fake Hollywood brands. Whenever directors need a prop and there is no paid product placement, they have to use fake products. From Morley Cigarettes to Heisler beer to that wily ACME Corporation, these pretend brands have been around for decades. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 17, 2021•28 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we explore cemetery tourism. Before the pandemic stopped travel in its tracks, graveyards were becoming tourist hotspots. Millions of people are choosing vacation spots based on the final resting places of famous people. And cemeteries are using marketing to attract those tourists. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 10, 2021•27 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we head to Broadway. Every Broadway show is mounted with incredible risk and very few shows earn back their investments. But there are huge hits and the marketing behind these shows is often bold and outrageous. And sometimes, the marketing is just plain fun. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 03, 2021•27 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we trace the history of trading cards. For over 150 years, companies have used trading cards to entice customers to buy their products. From cigarette cards to bubble gum cards for Batman, sports teams and even the Gulf War, trading cards are big business. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 27, 2021•28 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast This week, it’s our annual Bookmarks episode - where we tell you the fascinating stories that didn’t fit into our regular episodes. Including a little-known backstory on the 1972 Canada/Russia hockey series and a moving story about a hockey game that was cut short by tragedy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 20, 2021•28 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we profile the remarkable career of, arguably, the most successful women in advertising - Mary Wells. She was a woman of firsts - the first woman to found and run a major advertising agency, the first female CEO to take a company public and the first women to intimidate the boys club of Madison Avenue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 06, 2021•27 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we explore the use of nostalgia in advertising. For decades, advertisers have tapped collective memories in commercials, hoping those warm feelings wash over their products. From resurrecting Wayne’s World for Uber Eats commercials to Macaulay Culkin revisiting Home Alone for Google, nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 29, 2021•28 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we tell crazy stories from the world of advertising. High pressure, big money and impossible deadlines makes for some hilarious situations. Including a TV shoot where a hot air balloon towing a new car goes missing in the wind and a cat food company who insists the ad agency eat the cat food before they create the ads. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 22, 2021•27 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we dive into the world of Fan Clubs. They are huge marketing tools for celebrities. We’ll track some of the earliest fan clubs, then compare them to the fan clubs in the digital era. We’ll also explore the big shift in power that swung from celebrities over to their fans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 15, 2021•27 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we talk about companies and products that turn 50 years old this year. Back in 1971, some of the best-selling products were created that are still best-sellers today. There were also a number of famous advertising campaigns launched that year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 08, 2021•27 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we look at televised award shows and how they are very effective marketing for movies, Broadway plays and recording artists. We’ll explore whether Oscar nominations sell more tickets than Oscar wins, how Grammys can make a career and how the Tony awards can rescue a play overnight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 01, 2021•27 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we listen to the most creative radio advertising from around the world. It’s the toughest medium to write for - but it’s also the most creatively freeing. We’ll hear commercials for a hair removal product, a fast-food series created for these confusing times and a student audio idea that attracted Taylor Swift. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 25, 2021•27 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we explore famous products named after their inventors. Some products are so cemented in our minds we forget those names once belonged to people. Shrapnel was invented by Henry Shrapnel, nachos were invented by Nachos Anaya and the leotard was invented by a Jules Leotard. We’ll even look at some inventors who wish their names had been forgotten… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 18, 2021•26 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast This week, it’s our annual Brand Envy episode. This season, we look at four unique companies. One completely changed a sport forever. One became the best-selling toy of all time. Another has influenced the music business since 1894. And one had a heavenly idea. All achieved something that had never been done before. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 11, 2021•27 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we look at famous animals in advertising. The ad industry has a long history of using animals in commercials. From Spuds MacKenzie the original party animal to the majestic Budweiser Clydesdales to Morris the finicky cat, they all have fascinating stories to tell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 04, 2021•27 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we look at one of the oldest advertising mediums - skywriting. From its beginning back in the early 1920s, skywriting was once the most sensational advertising medium in the country. We’ll look at the most famous skywriting campaigns, the most recent billboards in the sky and some of the most amusing spelling errors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 25, 2021•28 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we explore how the pandemic is affecting the world of marketing. Some products are tanking while others are setting sales records. We’ll tell the story of how one airline has started selling airplane food in grocery stores. And why lipstick sales have tanked but plastic surgery is booming. Who wins and who loses is very surprising. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 18, 2021•28 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we explore superheroes in advertising. Superman was the archetype of the modern superhero and he was the archetype for how superheroes were used in ads. From Supe promoting Kellogg’s commercials in the 1950s to Batman hawking savings bonds to Batgirl advocating equal pay for equal work, stoic superheroes became the ultimate spokes-characters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 04, 2021•28 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we look at the most famous movie posters of all time. The movie poster is the beginning of the story - often the first piece of marketing created for a new film. We’ll look at how posters are designed and we’ll analyze how the best posters of all time influenced ticket buyers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 28, 2021•27 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we learn about famous female brand icons. In a marketing world full of Mr. Cleans, Ronald McDonalds and Mr. Whipples, there are female brand characters that were just as successful - and some even lasted longer. Join us as we draw a direct line from Josephine the Plumber and Madge the Manicurist to Flo from Progressive. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 21, 2021•28 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast