In this episode, we shoot for the moon. Now that commercialized space travel has arrived, the world of marketing is setting its sights on the stars. We’ll talk about ads on rocket ships, ads on spacesuits, and television commercials filmed on the International Space Station. There are companies who want to employ hundreds of tiny satellites to create logos in the night sky. Some companies even wan

From our archives, a favourite... Occasionally, an old advertising campaign is brought back from the dead. Even if it has been off the air for decades. In this episode, we’ll discuss a recurring Coke commercial that has been called the most popular ad of all time. A much-loved beer campaign that has been revived after 34 years. And a controversial commercial that was yanked off the air in 1989, bu

Because Terry LOVES books, we do an annual Bookmarks episode. This one is from 2024. There’s never enough room to include all the great stories we find in our research books. So this episode is dedicated to all those stories that didn’t fit into our regular episodes. The theme is “bravery” - and we’ll talk about how a brave goaltender revolutionized hockey, how Larry David routinely ignored studio

In this episode, we go back in advertising history and take a look at the ads and commercials that could never, ever, EVER run today. They are either so politically incorrect, so sexist, or so inappropriate, you won’t believe your ears. From doctors recommending cigarettes, to 7-Up advertising to babies, to everyone singing about the joys of DDT, it’s amazing to think they all ran back in the day.

Jerry Goodis was one of the most colourful characters in the history of Canadian advertising. 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. Another favourite from our Archives. We know you want to listen to all the ads

Taking a look at the most creative audio ideas from around the world. Including a podcast for runners that only works if you’re actually running, a police recruitment campaign that capitalized on the popularity of True Crime, and a very ambitious alternative audio track created to be played over Disney’s Pocahontas movie – that tells the truth behind the fairy tale. Another favourite from the Arch

Another favourite from our archives... Almost every movie and television show needs cars, and auto companies are happy to supply them – because it helps sell a lot of cars. We’ll look back at James Bond and Starsky & Hutch , and explore auto partnerships with movie franchises like Transformers and Marvel . We’ll also tell a crazy story of how the most sought-after car from a Steve McQueen movie wa

From the Under The Influence Archives, one of our favourites.... Take a walk down any busy main street, and you’ll probably see one of the oldest forms of advertising: The sandwich board. They have been around for over 200 years. Cities try and ban them. Storekeepers love them. They can make you smile. They can make you angry. They can attract a lot of attention. They are the pop-up ads of the phy

From The Under The Influence Archives... Customers often lie to companies in surveys, polls and focus groups. Yet advertisers rely on that flawed and false feedback to market brands and create advertising campaigns. So what are advertisers to do? One solution is Google. What we type into the Google search window is like a truth serum. We all pour our most intimate, honest questions into that searc

A favourite episode from our Archives.... 80% of all advertising is ignored. That’s why some advertisers employ cheeky advertising. It’s usually bold – outrageous – and sometimes even rude – but always with a playful undertone. We’ll talk about a fruit company that printed an open letter to the Pope. An airline campaign that told you to “keep it in your pants.” And a product that claims your grand

An encore episode from the Under The Influence Archives. A very interesting favourite. Most tourism marketing aims at the largest audience possible. This week, we look at a sub-category aimed at the smallest audience possible: Billionaire Tourism. The super wealthy get bored easily. That means luxury tour planners dream up extreme vacation ideas. From outer space, to the bottom of the ocean, to se

From the Under The Influence Archives. One of our favourites. There are some time-honored honorifics in the world of marketing. “Honorifics” are titles like Mr., Mrs., Doctor, Captain or Colonel. Like Colonel Sanders, Dr . Scholl’s, Mr . Clean and Mrs . Butterworth’s. They’re usually leaders in their category. Is it because those products are the best? Or – is it because those brand names give the

An encore episode of Under The Influence.... one of our favourites. Last week, we talked about the best historic demonstration commercials of all time. This week, we feature some of the most recent. Like an air freshener commercial that tricked blindfolded people into thinking a filthy toilet smelled like flowers. And a stunt where an ad agency put $3 million dollars between the glass in a bus she

An encore episode of Under The Influence.... one of our favourites. This week, I ask a dozen of the top creative directors in the advertising business to tell me the best “demonstration commercials” they have ever seen. Because there is nothing more powerful than a dramatic product demonstration. We’ll talk about a famous Krazy Glue commercial. And a Volvo ad where the ad writer risked his life to

This week, we open the show up to our listeners, and answer your very interesting questions. Ever wonder why gas station prices always include decimal points? Well, we’ll tell you why. We’ll listen to some memorable commercials starring kids, and play “Where are they now.” And we’ll talk about a famous luxury brand that is owned by a charity. And it will surprise you. We know you want to listen to

This week, we look at the level of advertising creativity north of the border. We’ll talk about a campaign that used real “sleep talking” to sell mattresses. We’ll explore a remarkable idea that transformed the annual migration of penguins into a protest march. And we’ll look at a campaign that convinced people to donate to a cause that started 45 years ago, but had faded from memory. We know you

This week, we look at a humble marketing tool. The Flexi Disc. These razor-thin, flexible vinyl records had poor sound quality, but they helped sell cars, hit songs, chewing gum, soap operas and even Beatle records. And in one case, a family won a million dollars with a flexi, and it nearly destroyed them. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you don’t , subscr

This week, we pay tribute to one of the greatest commercial directors in the ad business. You may not know the late Joe Sedelmaier by name, but you certainly know his work. He directed the famous “Fast Talking Man” ad for FedEx and a landmark commercial for Wendy’s that contained the line “Where’s the beef?” I did several commercials with Sedelmaier, and he kicked me off the set of my own commerci

This encore episode of Under The Influence is one of our favourites of 2026. Lately, companies have been hijacking breaking news stories to create ads. When thieves broke into the Louvre with a ladder, the ladder company quickly produced a tongue-in-cheek ad. When the Oscars read the wrong Best Picture winner, an optometry chain made fun of the mix-up. It’s called Newsjacking – and it’s becoming a

This week, it’s our annual Bookmarks episode. We read a lot of books to research this show. And this episode is dedicated to the great stories that didn’t fit into our regular season. We’ll talk about the importance of numbers in marketing, and a hilarious tale about expense reports. And we’ll tell a story about a doctor who was drummed out of the medical establishment all because he insisted doct