Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - Commercial Outtakes

Episode Date: April 12, 2025

This week, we have some fun and listen to commercial outtakes. Just like the movies, there are multiple takes, lots of pressure, and mistakes happen. Sometimes actors get the words all mixed up to hilarious results. Sometimes celebrities have melt-downs. And sometimes professional actors just break down in a fit of the giggles. 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. Here's a question.

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sound sleepers like me. Don't wait. Visit Douglas.ca slash under the influence to claim this exclusive offer for Canadian listeners with free shipping. Sleep better knowing your mattress is made in Canada. Douglas mattress, Canada's best mattress. This is an Apostrophe Podcast Production. What a relief! You're under the influence of Terry O'Reilly. ["The Little Mermaid"] One evening, I was on a plane flying to Los Angeles.

It was a very late flight, and there weren't many people on the plane. But I recognized one person sitting across from me. It was actress Cloris Leachman. When I spotted her, I didn't think of the Mary Tyler Moore show and I didn't think of her Oscar-winning role in The Last Picture Show. I thought of this. Young Frankenstein!

Young Frankenstein is one of my favorite movies of all time. Gene Wilder came up with the idea and co-wrote it with director Mel Brooks. But Young Frankenstein had to overcome many obstacles to get made. The first studio they approached was only mildly interested and offered a tiny budget, so they had to find another studio to finance the film. Mel Brooks wanted to film the movie in black and white, but the new studio fought him on that, saying black and white films don't do well at the box office.

But Brooks and Wilder insisted that it look like the original 1930s Frankenstein films. Eventually, the studio reluctantly acquiesced. But maybe the biggest obstacle to making the film come in on time and on budget was due to the cast and crew. They all kept laughing and ruining the takes. Sometimes it would require up to 15 takes just to get a short scene filmed because they would keep breaking into hysterics.

["The Little Mermaid"] When Gene Wilder's character leans in to kiss his fiance goodnight, played by Madeline Kahn, she says, no tongues. That was an ad lib that broke up the cast. When the blind man, played by Gene Hackman, yells to the Frankenstein monster as he's leaving, Hackman ad-libbed, I was gonna make espresso. The scene immediately fades to black because the crew erupted into laughter. Brooks kept the line.

Cloris Leachman improvised the dialogue in which her character, Frau Blücher, offers Dr. Frankenstein warm milk and Ovaltine, which made the cast laugh hysterically. And when Marty Feldman's Igor characters hump kept shifting sides left to right, that too was improvised by Feldman's Igor character's hump kept shifting sides, left to right. That too was improvised by Feldman. It became one of the funniest ongoing gigs in the movie. Gene Wilder wrote the script so he knew the lines,

but he kept laughing at how the amazing cast delivered those lines, like this moment with Cloris Leachman. Follow me, please. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Even director Mel Brooks broke into laughter there, ruining the scene. The outtakes are hilarious and you can find them all on YouTube. The world of advertising also has its hilarious outtakes. Just like the movies, there are multiple takes, lots of pressure, and lots of mistakes. Sometimes actors get the words all mixed up to hilarious results. Sometimes celebrities have meltdowns.

And sometimes professional actors just break down in a fit of the giggles. And none of it is Abbey normal. I've directed over 14,000 commercials in my career, and I've witnessed some very amusing bloopers. Celebrities are the wild cards because a lot of money has been spent hiring them, everyone wants to keep them happy, and they know it. Celebrities often arrive with an entourage, their agents make outrageous demands, and

during the recording sessions, many celebs try and add a heaping teaspoon of intimidation to the process. Arguably, the most famous outtakes within the advertising industry came courtesy of Orson Welles. He of thundering voice took on many advertising jobs later in his career, but never seemed to enjoy it. Here's Orson recording the voiceover for a frozen peas television commercial.

Orson Welles and frozen peas. Already you know it won't go well. We know a remote farm in Lincolnshire where Mrs. Buckley lives. Every July, peas grow there. Do you really mean that? Yeah, so in other words, I'd start half a second late. Don't you think you really want to say July over the snow?

Isn't that the fun of it? It's if you're going to make it almost when that shot disappears, it'll make much more fun. I think it's so nice that you see a snow-covered field and say every July, peas grow there. As you can tell, Orson is losing patience almost immediately. The classically trained Wells

is also a stickler for grammar. Can you emphasize a bit in, in July? Why? That doesn't make any sense. Sorry. There's no known way of saying an English sentence in which you begin a sentence with in and emphasize it. That's just idiotic if you'll forgive me by saying so. That's just stupid.

In July, I'd love to know how you emphasize in and in July. Impossible. Meaningless. Orson makes a good point coming up. Writing something that is meant to be heard is much different than writing something that is meant to be read. You don't know what I'm up against because it's full of things that are only correct because they're grammatical but they're tough on the ear. You see this is a very wearying one. It's unpleasant to read. Unrewarding. Ouch. But I'm with Orson there. Good advertising writers know

how to write for the ear. So, was Orson having a peachy time in that recording session? I spent 20 times more for you people than any other commercial I've ever made. You are such pests. Now, what is it you want in your depths of your ignorance? What is it you want? I'd say no. In the world of commercial directors, note I started that sentence with the word in, sorry Orson, you are in charge of the entire recording session. That means you're telling the sound engineer what you want, you're listening to client

feedback and you're giving the actors direction. One of my absolute rules when directing commercials was to never ever give the actors line readings. In other words, never read the script to them. Only bad directors give line readings. A good director, on the other hand, gives the actor some background on the commercial, explains the goals for the campaign, who the intended audience is, if it's a dialogue commercial explains the characters and the relationship between those characters, and a good director communicates the

kind of read they are looking for, explaining tone, pace, and which sections of the script to emphasize. But again, there is nothing more insulting to an actor than a line reading. Here is William Shatner recording a voiceover for an upcoming attraction. This is William Shatner, and I would like to invite you to take a journey with me into the 21st century. So take the next few minutes and listen very closely You'll be amazed at what you hear. Okay I love it. Okay.

All right. It sounded like really laid, you know, really super laid back. Well, I'm saying, okay, I'll try and do that. Let's do take two. This is William Shatner, and I would like to invite you to take a journey with me into the 21st century. So take the next few minutes and listen very closely. The director still isn't happy, so he gives Shatner a line reading. This is William Shatner, and I would like to invite you to take a journey with me into

the 21st century. So take the next few minutes and listen very closely. You'll be amazed at what you hear. Time to fasten your seatbelts. I know you're here to see that I do it the way the company wants it, so I'm going to do it the way you read it. You know, I don't want you to do it. But you're telling me how you want me to do it.

Well, I'm sorry. No, no, no. I am going to do it your way. No, there's no apology necessary. You know what you want. You know what you want. No, I don't. I mean, I'm here to do it.

I mean, you come in here and you don't know what you want? Now, Shatner was being tough on that director. But if you give line readings to professional actors, you're an amateur. And let the chips fall where they may. Here's the funny addendum to that story. Right after that outtake first came out many years ago, I was scheduled to direct Shatner in a commercial. I remember our sound engineer saying to me, and good luck with that. But you know what? William Shatner was pleasant, fun,

and great to work with. When you work in the advertising business, you deal with a wide range of products. Some are fun, like soft drink and beer campaigns. Some are very serious, like public service announcements for charities. Then sometimes you have to do your best for those rather delicate products. Some of you may remember a performer named Gary Owens. He was the stentorian announcer on the Laugh-In comedy show, with his hand always cupped around his ear when reading a script. And now, from somewhere in beautiful downtown Burbank,

NBC once more tries to prevent Rowan and Martin's laugh-in with special guest star, the lovely and talented Peter Sellers, appearing tonight as Ringo Starr. I worked with the late Gary Owen several times. He had that rare ability to make something really funny by reading it perfectly straight. Except for this one time. He was hired to read a heartfelt Christmas message from the makers of Preparation H. Christmas means many things to many people. To some, Christmas means glittering lights, gaily wrapped gifts.

That's right, sounds of laughter and good cheer. To the folks at Preparation H, It means the time to pause for a few moments to give thanks to their friends who have been so generous. So from Preparation H to you From Preparation H to you and yours, Merry, Merry Christmas! Love that. When we come back, the trouble with spoonerisms. New Brunswick would like to borrow your five senses for a moment. Did you know that the Bay of Fundy has the world's highest tides?

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Experience it all this summer in New Brunswick. Visit censusnb.ca to learn more or to start planning your trip. Looking for the ultimate online casino experience? Step into the BedMGM Casino app, where every deal, spin and goal brings Las Vegas excitement into the palm of your hand. Take your seat at Premium Blackjack Pro, where strategy meets top-tier gameplay. Drop in on the exciting Sugar Rush and Crazy Time slot games, or play the dazzling MGM Grand Emerald Nights, a slot experience that captures the magic of MGM.

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It is defined as a verbal error in which the speaker accidentally transposes the initial letters of two or more words. Reading a commercial script is not easy. An actor has to hit all the beats, it has to sound natural, and they have to read it inside a very compressed amount of time. Here's a Spoonerism and a Half. So, ladies, when you are thinking of an all-season thirst quencher, treat your family to a drink that's a delight winter or summer.

Instant white rose, hot or cold, orange teak o' pea. And when the two words rhyme, it's even worse. Here's an old-time announcer who wants to say, stay tuned for the news, but instead says, and I'll stay stewed for the news. That just makes me laugh. I think he said, stay nude for the news. Back in the 1940s, radio was mostly live. So if you suffered a spoonerism, there was no going back. And for you farmers now remember, the name is TRAP.

T-R-A-P. TRAP insecticide will trap and kill all bugs and fungus and will make your crop grow the way nature intended it. So don't forget, it's trapped for a healthier crop. Ooh, tripped on the last crop. Too funny. Here's another commercial where the voiceover actress is doing well until she serves sex easily. Why not keep a couple of economical large-sized bottles in your refrigerator?

It's delicious. A full 32-ounce size that will serve sex easily. Here's a tricky one. This voice-over actor is reading a script about disk space. Outlook disk space. Outlook disk space and retention policy. Suffered a little slip disc there. Spoonerisms happen on infomercials too. Bedskirt, comforter, two decorative pillows, two pillow shams, complete sheet set, and windows treatments.

While spoonerisms are every actor's nightmare, there are other words that look like one thing, but are actually another. Take the word brazier. It's another word for barbecue, spelled B-R-A-Z-I-E-R. Tricky. And the last memo, lady, from your radio shopping servant, is a Father's Day reminder. It's barbecue time and Schmidt's Hardware at 234 Main Street at the corner of Maple

is featuring an ideal gift for Dad on his special day, an all-purpose brazier for delicious outdoor meal. Real people testimonials have long been used by advertisers. Here's an older couple doing a TV testimonial for their favorite restaurant. The husband's line is, baked in a buttery flaky crust. Baked in a buttery flaky crust. What's yours? Your favorite buttery flaky crust. Bake in a buttery flaky crust. What? Your favorite buttery crust?

Bake in a buttery flaky crust. Bake in a buttery flaky crust. Bake in a buttery flaky crust. Bake in a buttery flaky crust. Bake in a buttery flaky crust. Here we go. Here we go.

Bake in a buttery, crispy crust. His wife starts to lose patience waiting for her line. Baked on a buttery, crispy crust. Dack! Flaky! I thought I said flaky. Okay. Then his wife gets fed up and suggests that she should read the line. Baked in a b... Oh!

You're a boy! gets fed up and suggests that she should read the line. Baked in a baked... Oh! You're a boy! I'm not gonna... Exactly! Baked in a buttery crispy fight. Too funny. Even when someone really knows the product well, a recording session can still go sideways. Here's Colonel Sanders recording a KFC commercial. It's entirely different, and yet it's just as tender and tasty. No, it's just as finger-lickin' good.

You see, I found a way to cook chicken deep down and get that real crispy crust that some folks like. And it's just as tender and juicy, and I'll get it now. That real crusty, and real what? What kind of damn? Crispy crust. Crispy crust.

It's really different. Now you can have two kinds of Kentucky Fried Chicken to choose from. My regular recipe and my new extra crisp. Crispy. New extra crispy, I thought I said that. I love the optimism of the director. We're rolling. This is the good one.

Take five. Most folks, most folks, most folks... most folks... Alright, once again. That's why folks call it thing. That's why folks call it thing are looking good. Nailed it! When we return, actors get the giggles. When you get the giggles in a recording session, it is contagious. Here's Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal trying to record a promo for an upcoming charity

tennis match, but they're having a little trouble keeping it together. Three, two, one, go. So Rafa, do you know what you're gonna give me for Christmas yet? You know what? I'm gonna come to Switzerland and play in the Division of National Football. So Rafa, do you...

He looks at me, he looks at me. Okay, here we go. So Rafa... You know what you're gonna give me for Christmas yet? You know what? I'm gonna play an HDB... No, I won't don't worry It was bad, it was bad, ok? Nice, thank you. And what present are you gonna give me? All the presents for you. I'll give you the first set, how's that? That's nice.

That's nice. So, see you in Tudik. That's it? Sweet, that's it for today. Yeah, more tomorrow. Not even the great Johnny Carson was immune to a fit of the giggles. Carson used to do live commercials

during his show for many years. Here he is doing a live commercial for a product called Mrs. Paul's Frozen Seafood. Okay. Hard as a carpet. Is this really frozen? No, it's a piece of wood. What? A piece of wood in there. Well, that's not a good buy, is it?

People want food. It's a piece of wood. What? A piece of wood in there. Well, that's not a good husband mr. Paul's mrs. Paul's lights light seafood no I gotta get this right cuz this is there a new first appearance we'd like to welcome a new sponsor to the tonight show mrs. Paul's light soup... See... Oh, my God. Mrs. Paul's light... Light seafood entrees. Look. Look, who people for people who like everything about seafood.

Except cooking it. Mrs. Paula's done that for you. The sweet old lady. Pitches on shopping networks are often live, so mistakes happen, and there's no way to fix them. Here's a pitch for a digital camera and photo printer. Remember the picture of the horse I showed you earlier? Well, here it is, blown up.

This is a big horse. Order now. You get the camera, you get the printer. 4X optical zoom. Schneider lens, photo printer, SD card, look at that horse, the bushy tail, the big teeth, the hooves. Okay, my producer Tarik Cage just told me this isn't a horse it's a butterfly. Actually, it may in fact be a moth. But look at what the zoom did.

I mean, you can see details in the antenna. When you mistake a moth for a horse in a photo, that can't be good. Here's a pitch for an ornamental sword. Not sure who would be in the market for a sword, but the presenter starts his pitch, then bangs the sword down onto the tabletop, and the tip of the sword goes flying.

1101-1816 is the item number on this one. And the nice thing about these practice katanas... Oh! Oh, that hurt. Oh, that hurt big time. A piece of that just... The tip just got me, Odell. Oh, that got me good. You all right? A piece of that tip just got me. Oh right now we may need emergency surgery in the studio. I hate when that happens. We began the show today with the great Orson Welles, so let's end with him. Of

the many commercials he made, he was most associated with Paul Masson wines. Orson was the longtime spokesperson for the vino with the classic slogan, we will sell no wine before it's time. Took Beethoven four years to write that symphony. Some things can't be rushed. Good music and good wine. Paul Masson's emerald dry. A delicious white wine. Paul Masson wines taste so good because they're made with such care. What Paul Masson himself said nearly a century ago is still true today.

We will sell no wine before it's time. Here's an outtake from one of those commercials. It has always been celebrated for its excellence. There is a California champagne by Paul Masson inspired by that same French excellence. It's fermented in the bottle and like the best French champagne. It's vintage dated.

So Paul Masson. 102 take three. Action please. Ah, the French champagne has always been celebrated for its excellence. Remember when I said Orson didn't really enjoy doing commercials? Well, I think he was enjoying this wine commercial a little too much. Years ago, outtakes of commercials would be snuck out of recording studios. But these days, advertisers are releasing outtakes, hoping the public will enjoy them, share them, and spend more time with the brand.

A lot of funny moments happen in recording studios. In nearly 25 years of directing commercials, I only ruined one take. An actor ad libbed a line one day that was so funny, I burst out laughing. The two actors just looked at me, wondering why I was being so unprofessional. But I couldn't help it. It was just too funny. Back in the days of live radio, mistakes floated out across the airwaves for all to hear. Shopping channels still go live, movies release outtakes, sitcoms release bloopers. And all around the world, every day, hundreds of commercials are being recorded and the high jinks ensue.

When you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the TearStream mobile recording studio, completely outtake free. Producer, Debbie O'Reilly. Chief sound engineer, Jeff Devine. Under the influence theme by Casey Pick, Jeremiah Pick, and James Aitin. Tunes provided by APM Music. Let's be social. Follow me at TerryOinfluence. This podcast is powered by Acast. Hey, did you know you can now listen to our podcasts on YouTube?

Just search Apostrophe Podcast Network. See you next week. Fun fact! Hi, this is Sarah from Kitchener, Ontario. Young Frankenstein was made for $2.7 million and made $86 million at the box office. Can Indigenous ways of knowing help kids cope with online bullying? At the University of British Columbia, we believe that they can. Dr. Johanna Sam and her team are researching how both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth cope with cyberaggression, working to bridge the diversity gap in child psychology research.

At UBC, our researchers are answering today's most pressing questions. To learn how we're moving the world forward, visit ubc.ca slash forward happens here. I'm standing here with my head held high for Canada. Hi, Brian Williams here. You know, over the years, I have been fortunate to work so many big international sporting events in so many different countries. And regardless of the country, the reaction was the same. Respect and admiration for Canadians and Canada. Shop as if your country depends on it.

Keep your money in Canada for Canada.