Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - Brand Envy #Canada

Episode Date: March 22, 2025

This week, we thought it would be timely to retrieve this episode from our archives. A Brand Envy episode in celebration of Canadian brands. We’ll look at what may be the most successful global retailer Canada has ever built, a television pioneer worshipped and revered by generations of Canadians and a world-class brand that operates out of the smallest village in New Brunswick. We’ve certainly bred some amazing brands up here in the Great White North.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi there, Sydney O'Reilly here. We regret to inform you that the Rejection podcast is back for its sixth season, and Terry and I have some fun episodes to share with you this year. We'll be telling the stories of Yellowstone, Josh Allen, Bill Hader, Monty Python, Billie Holliday, and Canada's own Alanis Morissette. It's jagged little rejections this year, and we regret to inform you. Hope you'll join us.

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What a relief! You're under the influence of Terry O'Reilly. Tired of ordinary television? Don't touch that dial. SCTV is now on the air. From the moment Bob and Doug McKenzie first appeared on SCTV, they were a huge hit. Two hilarious hosers from the great white north. But what you may not know is why Bob and Doug

McKenzie were on SCTV. When the show was being aired on CBC, it was also being syndicated to the US at the same time. But the length of the CBC program slot was two minutes longer than the American SCTV version. So SCTV needed two minutes of additional material. The CBC producers asked SCTV to come up with an idea, but with one stipulation. The additional two minutes had to be identifiable Canadian content. This struck Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis as a ridiculous request. The entire show was

filmed in Canada. The performers were Canadian, the writers were Canadian, and the crew was Canadian. How much more Canada could there be? So Thomas and Moranis decided to give them exactly what they asked for. They created a two-minute segment that contained every single Canadian cliche they could think of. Oh, good day. Good day. Good day. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go! Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!

Good day. How's it going? I'm Bob McKenzie. It's my brother Doug. How's it going, eh? We got two topics today, this is my brother Doug. How's it going? Hey! We got two topics today, back bacon and long underwear. You know the drill. They wore toques, earmuffs and plaid shirts. They drank beer, ate back bacon and enjoyed smokes. They sat in front of a giant map of Canada labeled the Great White North.

Each segment had a topic, which was usually beer, backbacon, long underwear, and doughnuts. Every Great White North bit began with this signature sound. Coo-loo-coo-coo-coo-coo-coo-coo! Coo-loo-coo-coo-coo-coo-coo-coo! Which was a parody of the familiar flute in the Hinterland's Who's Who nature vignettes that ran forever on CBC. Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis would ad-lib Canadian cliches until they had enough material to fill two minutes.

Okay, what's the topic? The topic is why our parking lot is so small at donut places, okay? Yeah. Oh, my God. Way to go. You cracked my eye, eh? Anyway, so like the last night we were at Donut World and like it's got like 20 tables, eh?

But it only has like eight spots in front, right? The McKenzie brothers didn't just make Canadians laugh. The Great White North segments were added to the syndicated U.S. shows and Americans loved it. Bob and Doug McKenzie became so popular that they recorded a comedy album called, of course, The Great White North. The record also contained a song called Take Off.

["Take Off"] Rick Moranis had gone to public school with Geddy Lee from Rush, so he invited Geddy to sing on the track. The song was co-written by Cary Crawford, who is one of my partners at Pirate. It climbed to number 16 on the American Billboard charts, charting higher, by the way, than any Rush single ever has. The Great White North album peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

It stayed at number 1 in Canada for six straight weeks. It won the Juno for Comedy Album of the Year and was nominated for a Grammy. One million albums were sold in North America, with 350,000 of those sold in Canada, earning a triple platinum record which still hangs proudly in Pirates Recording Studios. Next would come a major motion picture. It was amazing what a little bit of Canadian content could lead to. ["The Little Mermaid"] It's also interesting what a little bit of Canadian content

can lead to in the world of marketing. Welcome to the annual episode celebrating brands I admire. Today's brands are all Canadian. I admire them because they're unique, because they've endured, and because they've made a lasting impression on Canadians, and in some cases, the world. The brands today have one thing in common. They all took off.

There are many successful Canadian brands. They do incredibly well in Canada. And then there are some that do surprisingly well around the world. Take Aldo. The shoe company just may be the most successful global retailer Canada has ever built. But few people actually know that. Albert Bencedun, also known as Aldo, began the Aldo chain in the early 70s. But Bensedoun never intended to get into the shoe business. With his grandfather working as a cobbler in Algeria and his father a shoe retailer in Morocco, Aldo decided to take a different path. The budding engineer studied in Paris and New York before a chance trip to Montreal left him enamored with the city. He then

transferred to McGill University to study business. It was there that Benzedun took a job at a plastics company that sold a shrink wrap system to a shoe brand. Before he knew it, he was pulled back into the shoe business. From there, he managed a small footwear chain, then mortgaged his house to buy the shoe division of Le Chateau, a Montreal-based fashion and accessories company. In 1972, Aldo, the company, was born. But Benzodun doesn't credit his initial success to genetics. He credits it to clogs.

One day he took a trip to Italy where he noticed all the young people were wearing wooden clogs. The trend gave him an idea. Benzedun would bring the hippie heel back to Montreal. He designed 60 pairs of clogs for the French-Canadian market. They sold out within days. Benzedun would go on to sell 500,000 pairs. That's when it hit him. Fast fashion sells fast. And there it was, the key to the success of Aldo shoes. The retailer brings products to market lightning fast by boasting the quickest turnaround time in the biz. While most companies take around 17 weeks to get a shoe on the shelf, Aldo can do it in under 12. Head office receives hourly sales numbers rather than weekly, enabling them to make faster decisions.

Benzedun is a strong believer that fashion starts on the street and mirrors the political and economic climate. For example, in the early 2000s, his team introduced a combat-style boot using distressed leather in reaction to the war coverage they were seeing on the evening news every night. It was a huge success. Trend-based fashion would become Aldo's differentiator in a trillion-dollar industry. But Aldo also marketed itself in unique ways. When the brand was moving into the States, it made a splash by investing in Killer Billboards, the biggest, most-seen billboard in each major American city. It made Aldo appear bigger than it really was.

The company also promoted itself with strategic product placement in Hollywood. Movie and television credits would say, shoes by Aldo, which prompted people to ask, who is this Aldo? It was smart marketing. By doing that, Aldo expanded the perception of his company long before he expanded the operations of his company. This bold marketing and fast fashion agility is why the shoe retailer has succeeded not only in the US, where many other Canadian retailers have failed, but in Europe, the Middle East and Asia as well. Today, Aldo Group is still family owned, in Umbrella's five very successful divisions,

with 2,000 stores, 20,000 employees, and over 2 million customers visiting each year. Not many Canadian companies can say that. But even a retailer as accomplished as Aldo still has a goal, to become the largest footwear brand in the world. Among the competitors, Adidas and Nike.

They're big shoes to fill, but who knows that territory better than Aldo. Don't go away. We'll be right back. I co-founded a production company in Toronto many years ago. When we needed to find a new person and needed to find that person fast, there was just no way to do it quickly. But you are lucky. You get to use Indeed.

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I take your suggestions as well. And recently, I came across the title Sapiens. 100,000 years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth, yet today there's only one, Homo sapiens. What happened to the others and what could happen to us? From renowned historian Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens is a groundbreaking narrative of humanity's creation and evolution. This meticulously researched book explores the ways biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be human. And now you can listen your way through human history by downloading the audio book on Spotify, where premium users can now enjoy 15 hours of audio book listening time every month.

Sapiens is a number one international bestseller. Barack Obama said Sapiens gives us a sense of perspective on just how briefly we've been on this earth, and Bill Gates said you'll have a hard time putting it down. Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari. Add a Penguin Random House Canada audiobook to your playlist on Spotify. ACAST powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. Hi, I'm Steve Patterson, host of The Debaters, a comedy podcast where Canada's funniest comedians debate the world's silliest topics, like maple syrup versus honey. Your suggestion that syrup is only good on pancakes, that's so untrue. There are a million different things you can use maple syrup on.

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A cast helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com. Another brand I admire was started by someone who also emigrated to Montreal. His name was Carlo Cattelli and he arrived from Lake Como, Italy in 1845. He began a career in Montreal as a sculptor, creating beautiful works of art that can still be found in churches throughout Montreal today. But when Cattelli turned 18, he decided to honor his Italian roots by starting a pasta business. He opened Canada's first pasta plant in a little shop on St. Paul Street in Old Montreal.

Over the years, Carlo Cattelli became a prosperous and well-respected businessman and played a founding role in the development of Montreal's Little Italy. And the rest is noodle history. Today, the company has more than 75 products in its lineup. But there's another reason Cattelli made my list. Even though it is now owned by a Spanish company, Cateli is still a Canadian success story, and it happens to share the same birthday as Canada. Another Canadian brand I admire is in the tool business. Founded in 1978, Lee Valley Tools carved out a unique position for itself in a market filled

with big box stores. It chose to take a wholesome approach to the tool industry. Founder Leonard Lee came from humble beginnings in Wadena, Saskatchewan, where home was a small log cabin without electricity or running water. A home his father had built with his own two hands and a few tools. Many years later, Lee made his way to Ottawa where he worked as a civil servant. In 1976, Lee and his wife Lorraine began a part-time mail order business, selling parts for cast iron barrel stoves. Sales did surprisingly well, giving Lee the confidence to quit his government post and take a crack at the full-time mail order business at age 39.

He named the company Lee Valley Tools. Lee from his last name, Valley from the Ottawa Valley where he lived. He and Lorraine cut and pasted together the first catalog at their dining room table. It featured 950 items. Next, they had to advertise. With little to no budget, Lee placed an ad on the back of Harrow Smith magazine. It said, for our 78 page catalog of fine woodworking tools, send one dollar to this address. To their surprise, they received 2200 one dollar bills in the mail, an unbelievable response that jumpstarted the entire business. When a postal strike in 1981 nearly sank the fledgling company, Lee opened up retail stores that didn't rely on the postal system.

retail stores that didn't rely on the postal system. Initially, the company only sold products manufactured elsewhere. But Lee wanted to make modifications. So eventually, Lee Valley Tools bought a machine shop in Ottawa to manufacture product in-house. Today, the company sells hundreds of woodworking tools, gardening gadgets, kitchen equipment, hardware, and clothing in stores that are uniquely designed. The products, by the way, have brutally honest descriptions

on the Lee Valley website. One says, handle with hardwood scales complete with spots of wood filler. Another says, a tough, ugly tool that is perfect for the person whose usual solution is to use a large hammer. That sounds like you. I know. But what makes Lee Valley Tools so unique isn't their tool selection. It's

their company culture. Part of Leonard Lee's success came from his wholesome philosophy of insisting that no executive in his company would earn more than 10 times the wage of the lowest paid worker, an almost unheard of ratio in the Canadian industry. The company has also never laid off a single staff member, even through recessions and hard times. Employees get 25% of pre-tax profits each year as a bonus. Every staff member, from the top to the bottom,

receives exactly the same amount, which is pretty amazing, considering Lee Valley Tools sells about $150 million of product annually. The staff is given the freedom to make decisions on the spot to solve a customer's needs. No manual, no checking with the boss, no one is on commission. The company wants the staff to feel empowered. A lesson Lee learned in government, where

everyone had enormous responsibility but no authority, which led to ulcers. Any Lee Valley Tools customer can return an item within three months of purchase at zero cost. The company will even refund shipping fees. It's a no risk proposition. Lee Valley Tools is a Canadian success story. Its 19 locations are still family owned and family run today, and it thrives in a tough category with big rivals.

Robin Lee has now taken over as president, maintaining the company's standards, values and transparency. A few tools of the trade he learned from dad. Which is a time-honored tradition a company in New Brunswick could also claim. Don't go away. We'll be right back. Hey, this is Justin Richmond, host of the Broken Record podcast.

Join me along with co-host Leah Rose as we sit down with the artists you love to get unparalleled creative insight. You'll hear revealing interviews with some of the most legendary musicians like Paul Simon, The Strokes, and Usher. And you'll hear from new stars too, like Noah Khan, Ray, and Tina Shay. Listen to Broken Record on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app and search Broken Record and start listening. According to the most recent census, the town of Meduktyk, New Brunswick has a population of 173 people. It is one of the smallest villages in the province.

But it's home to one of the biggest suppliers to the music industry – Sabian Symbols. Founded by Bob Zildjian in 1981, his family has a long history of manufacturing symbols. A long history. His ancestors created symbols for the Ottoman army beginning in 1623. The Sultan was so enamored with the symbols, he bestowed the name Zildjian on the family, which literally meant Symbolsmith From there the Zildjian family began their symbol making foundry Passing the secrets of craftsmanship on from father to son for generations at the turn of the 20th century The Zildjian family took their knowledge across the ocean and became the foremost symbol brand in North America

The company was being run by Avidus Zildjian, with help from his two sons, Armand and Bob. Both boys saw action in World War II. When Bob returned, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. A friend suggested he take some healing time in the quiet beauty of Meduktic, New Brunswick. Bob fell in love with the area.

Meanwhile, the company was flourishing as the Zildjian cymbal brand was being embraced by musicians all over the world. In 1964, a certain band that I'm forgetting the name of played on Ed Sullivan. Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles! Ah! Demand for Zildjian symbols exploded.

The company ended the year with 90,000 symbols on backorder. Times were good. The company had a factory in Massachusetts and Bob would build a second one in his beloved village of Beductek in 1968. Ten years later, Patriarch Avidus Zildjian passed away. A power struggle ensued, and the Zildjian brothers had a falling out. Bob Zildjian split from the company, took over the medactic operation, and started a rival symbol business in 1981.

He was prevented from using the family name, and his lawyers recommended he stay away from using a Z, D or J in his new company name. So he and his wife created an acronym using the first two letters from the first names of their children, Sally, Billy and Andy. Sabian Symbols was born. From that little village along the St. John River in New Brunswick, Sabian has become famous for creating some of the finest symbols in the world. The company manufactures hundreds of symbol variations for every genre of music from classical to jazz to heavy metal. It is an iconic brand known known internationally, loved by musicians everywhere.

Its cymbals have been used by famous drummers from Carmine Apiece to Phil Collins to Ringo Starr. The company now commands 40% of the world's cymbal market, with distribution in 120 countries. It's still a family business run by Bob's son now and it is the biggest employer in the beautiful village of Meduktik, New Brunswick. Sabian has become the symbol of symbols. When I was studying radio and television arts at Ryerson in the late 70s, we had a lecture every Wednesday morning.

In that class, various people from the industry would come in and talk to us about their professions. Documentary filmmakers, TV producers, when the advertising people came in, I saw my future. But one day, our professor said he wasn't going to introduce that morning's guest, which was very unusual. He said he would let us figure out who it was ourselves. Hmm. Then, a middle-aged man in a suit with a briefcase walked into the classroom. He just stood there and looked at us, and we looked at him. Then he put his briefcase

on the desk and opened it. He took off his tie and put it in the briefcase. Then he took out a comb and combed his parted hair straight down. It was the friendly giant. We couldn't believe it. We had all grown up with him. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Bob Hummey then told us the story of how he produced one of the most loved children's shows in Canadian television history. Bob Hummey began his broadcasting career doing a children's show on radio in Madison, Wisconsin in 1953. A few years later, he moved the show to television.

The program was decorated with miniature props. One day, Bob caught a glimpse of his seemingly giant hand rearranging the tiny furniture. In that moment, the idea for the Friendly Giant was born. In 1958, a CBC executive saw the show, loved it, and invited Bob to come up to Canada to do the show nationally. He accepted. The Friendly Giant aired every morning Monday to Friday, and amazingly, the show was only 15 minutes long. Not many people realized that.

To me, when I was 4, it was the best hour on television. Bob chose 15 minutes because he felt it was just the right length for a young child's attention span. When he moved the show to Canada, he needed to find an actor to voice Rusty the Rooster. Hi, friendly. And Jerome the giraffe. Hi there, everybody.

He chose Rod Cunybear. In later years, I did many commercials with Rod because he was a remarkable voiceover artist. And one day he told me the story of how he landed the job. The first actor Bob Homme chose had a great voice but struggled to work both puppets at the same time. His arms couldn't stretch far enough to be a rooster and a giraffe. Rod also had a great voice, but more importantly, he had a long wingspan. He got the job.

Remarkably, Bob and Rod improvised every episode, and original music was written for virtually every show too. Over the years, the friendly giant introduced kids to a wide range of music, from jazz to Cole Porter to Elizabethan madrigals. Rod Coneybear has said that Bob Homme could have become a millionaire with friendly giant toys and merchandise. But Bob refused to commercialize his bond of trust with children and never licensed his image.

At the core of the show was the insight that, to kids, all adults looked like giants. And Bob Homme showed them that adults could be kind and warm and share a sense of wonderment. Over the 3,000 episodes, from 1958 to 1985, that sentiment never changed. Nor did the show's trademark miniature set. Here we are inside. There's one little chair for one of you and a bigger chair for two more to curl up in. For someone who likes to rock,

a rocking chair in the middle. There. To me, the Friendly Giant checks all the boxes when it comes to a famous brand. It was original. It was consistent. It influenced millions of Canadian kids. The mere mention of its name still makes people smile 30 years later, and my heart still throbs every time I hear the theme song to this day.

We certainly did look up to you, Bob. Every year, I do this episode to celebrate unique companies. They've endured the test of time, They've withstood the gale winds of the economy and the brands we've talked about today bloomed out of the permafrost of our great country. I admire Aldo because it is that rare flower, a stunning international success in the fickle business of fashion. I raise my fork to Catelli, a rare brand celebrating its 150th birthday with Canada this year. I applaud Lee Valley Tools, which has survived and thrived even though it is surrounded on all sides by deep-pocketed box stores. I tip my toque to Sabian Symbols, a world-class player creating a world-class product, and

they do it from the smallest village in New Brunswick. Then there's the friendly giant, a television pioneer worshipped and revered by generations of Canadians. A true giant who refused to commercialize his trust with children. It takes pluck and luck to build a good brand. It takes fortitude and vision to build a great one. We certainly have our fair share of them, but what else do you expect from the Great White North when you're Under the Influence? I'm Terry O'Reilly. Under the Influence was recorded at Pirate Toronto. Series producer Debbie O'Reilly.

Sound engineers Keith Olman and Jeff Devine. Themed by Casey Pick, Jeremiah Pick and James Aitin. Research Abby Forsythe. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at TerryO O Influence. See you next week. This episode brought to you by Space, a Final Frontier. My name is William Shatner and I am Canadian. Here's a question. How can you support Canada while you sleep? Well, you can do it by sleeping on a Douglas mattress, the mattress designed and manufactured

right here in Canada. Douglas mattresses start at just $599 and come with a free comfort sleep bundle which includes two memory foam pillows, a waterproof mattress protector and an entire cotton sheet set. And how's this for risk-free Canadian convenience? You can enjoy a Douglas mattress for a 365 night in-home trial. You don't love it. Douglas will pick up the mattress for free, donate it to a local charity and refund you in full. No hassle, no risk. Douglas has been named Canada's best mattress by Canadian Living and is loved by 250,000 sound sleepers like me.

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