Under The Influence with Terry O'Reilly
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Why plain old vanilla is the world's favourite ice cream flavour
The term “vanilla” is synonymous with boring, dull or bland. Yet a scoop of vanilla is the number one choice across the globe.
Inmates in a Brazil prison shorten their sentences by writing book reviews
Those reviews turned out to be remarkable and insightful. So much so, they were turned into an advertising campaign.
Walt Disney was told Snow White would be a costly mistake
In the 1930s, the Disney studio was the leader in animated short films, but had never attempted a full-length film. So when Disney came up with the 80-minute Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hollywood was skeptical.
How American troops used inflatable tanks to fool the Nazis in WWII
There were 1,100 people in the American army's top secret division, but they weren’t soldiers. They were artists, sound engineers and set designers, and their mission was deception.
How the Lamborghini supercar began with a tractor and an insult
The Lamborghini is one of the world’s most famous supercars, born of Italian craftsmanship and a love of speed. But the true origin of the supercar may surprise you.
Times Square used to go by a very different name
What's in a name? Like Hershey, Pennsylvania or Port Sunlight in England, Times Square is named after a company. But it had a long history beforehand.
One New York hotel manager discovered a 450-pound lion roaming a suite
Lions and waiters and police officers - oh my! The Hollywood PR stunt that pioneered the motion picture publicity spectacle.
How Stephen King dealt with the horror of not being recognized
An American Express advertising campaign featured celebrities whose names were well-known, but their faces weren't. Its slogan would be considered among the best of the 20th century.
How "loose lips sink ships" was updated for modern war times
The World War II-born phrase was modernized in 2018 to reflect advances in technology and social media.
Why a tornado prompted Best Buy to change its original name
There are many different reasons successful companies change their names. Sometimes it’s because the old name has too much negative baggage, sometimes it’s to boost a stock price, sometimes it's for legal reasons and sometimes a name changes because of a tornado.
John F. Kennedy was given last rites 5 different times
Only one of those times followed the 35th U.S. president's 1963 assassination.
Painting, music and sculpture used to be Olympic competitions
There was once a time when art was a category at the Olympic Games, but in 1949, the category was removed.
An unexpected brand makes the Super Bowl trophy every year
The Vince Lombardi Trophy weighs seven pounds and costs about $50,000. The coveted prize is made entirely of sterling silver by a famed jewellery company.
These famous Canadian ad slogans all came from one Canadian ad agency
If you've ever thought Swiss Chalet was always so good for so little, you may recognize these other long-running Canadian ad slogans by agency Goodis, Goldberg, Soren.
This dating app aims to be deleted
Find love and dump the app. One popular dating service boasts an unusual marketing angle.
The earliest-known Elvis signature was found in this unexpected place
Only as recently as 2012 was the first-known autograph of The King discovered, and it was long overdue.
This 2021 holiday ad received thousands of complaints
UK supermarket Tesco ran a Christmas commercial. It brought in the second-highest number of advertising complaints in UK history. The reason may surprise you.
The bottle cap snafu that nearly cost Pepsi $32 billion
What started as a fun way to increase the soft drink company's revenues ended in lawsuits, riots and national outrage.
The most-visited cemetery in the world
Cemetery tourism is becoming a fast-growing segment of the tourist industry. People plan their travel and vacations around the location of certain cemeteries. But one in particular draws the most visitors each year.
The percentage of Broadway shows that break even may surprise you
Every Broadway show is mounted with incredible risk and a staggering number of productions never earn back their initial investments.
This rookie card recently sold for $3.25 million
Baseball is a sport with legendary players and die-hard fans. It’s also a very collectible sport. Baseball trading cards are some of the most valuable in the world, and some cards sell for millions.
The unexpected reason Ringo Starr sang one song on each Beatles album
It wasn't because of Ringo's unique voice. It wasn't just to be fair. It was actually a marketing decision.
Before Queen, this was Freddie Mercury's day job
To pay tribute to the late, great Freddie Mercury on his birthday, British Airways staged a full-fledged airport performance to surprise travellers.
A hot air balloon towing a car went missing over Uxbridge
A 1980's shoot for a Chevrolet Cavalier TV ad involving a brand new car and a hot air balloon went terribly awry.
These celebrities make their phone numbers public
Meet the app that allows fans to text their favourite celebrities directly.
