Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - Die Another Day: Reviving Old Commercials
Episode Date: May 25, 2024Occasionally, an old advertising campaign is brought back from the dead. Even if it has been off the air for decades. This week, we’ll discuss a recurring Coke commercial that has been cal...led 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, but was re-run again recently. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly.
As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus.
They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them.
Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already
heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant
Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s.
I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh.
I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,
who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion,
who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those
people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such
a success. And please, do me a favor,
follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan,
you just have to love storytelling. Subscribe now and don't miss a single beat.
This is an apostrophe podcast production.
You're so king in it.
You're so king in it.
You're so king in it.
Your teeth look whiter than no nose. No teeth.
You're not you when you're hungry.
You're a good hand with all teeth.
You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly.
Back in 1996, a man named Benjamin Schreiber was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a murder he committed.
He was being held at the Iowa State Penitentiary.
In March of 2015, he was rushed to hospital after suffering seizures and a high fever.
He was experiencing septic poisoning. When he lost consciousness, a staff member called Schreiber's brother and alerted him to the situation.
The brother said to try and ease Schreiber's pain, otherwise you are to let him pass,
as Schreiber had a do not resuscitate order on file.
Schreiber's heart then stopped beating.
At that moment, the hospital resuscitated him
against Schreiber's stated wishes.
When Schreiber eventually recovered and was sent back to prison,
he filed a motion to be set free.
He made an argument to the appeals court in Iowa
saying that when he briefly died at the hospital that night,
he had served out his life sentence,
that before he was revived against his will,
he had completed his obligation to the state.
His life sentence had expired.
It was a fascinating conundrum. If you were sentenced to
life in prison, and you spent a good chunk of your life behind bars, then you briefly died,
has the life sentence been completed? And if you were somehow brought back from the dead,
should that be considered a second life, separate from the first?
That was the question put before the three-judge panel.
Ultimately, the appeals court said it did not find Schreiber's argument persuasive.
The ruling went on to say that Schreiber is either still alive, in which case he must remain in prison,
or he is actually dead,
in which case
this appeal is moot.
A professor of law added that
if people were considered
legally dead
before being resuscitated,
it would create
a web of problems,
not just in criminal cases,
but also for insurance
and inheritance claims.
He also added that Mr. Schreiber would still be considered alive,
eliminating the possibility of organ donation,
making it hard to consider him dead for the purpose of serving a life sentence.
According to the New York Times, Schreiber's case was not without precedent.
Another man was convicted of killing two New York police detectives in 1962
and was sentenced to life in prison.
In 1988, he petitioned a court in upstate New York to release him,
arguing that he had died when his heart stopped during emergency
surgery.
Therefore, he had completed his life sentence.
The judge in that case ruled against the inmate too, writing that he did not legally die,
as his presence in this courtroom indicates. There have been many famous advertising campaigns that were laid to rest over the years.
Then suddenly, they were brought back to life.
Sometimes it was because the commercial idea was too good to bury.
Sometimes it was because something big triggered an opportunity
in the marketplace. And other times, old campaigns get a second life because the general public
simply won't let it die.
You're under the influence. When it comes to revived commercials, there is one ad that tops them all.
It first aired way back in 1971. Actually, it first aired as a radio
commercial, but it didn't really take off. So it was reimagined as a television commercial.
It featured people of all different colors and races standing together on a hilltop.
I'd like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love.
Grow apple trees and honeybees and snow white turtledoves.
I'd like to teach the world to sing with me.
Perfect harmony.
Perfect harmony.
I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.
That's the real thing.
The idea for the commercial came from Bill Backer,
who was the creative director at an advertising agency called McCann Erickson.
As we've mentioned before, Backer had been on a flight to England,
but the plane was forced to land in Ireland due to fog.
Passengers were unhappy and grumpy.
But when the airline served everyone Coca-Colas,
Backer watched as people began to relax
and start chatting with their fellow passengers.
That grumpiness changed to goodwill when people connected over a Coke.
Backer jotted down a few words on a napkin that said,
I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.
That experience inspired the commercial.
The song was co-written by Backer,
along with Roger Greenaway, Billy Davis, and Roger Cook,
who had separately written a string of top ten hits, including Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress and Lonely Teardrops.
The Coke Hilltop commercial has been cited as possibly the most famous commercial of all time.
It ran right around the world, and Coke received over 100,000 letters
from people who loved it.
And it has been resuscitated
more than once.
In 1977,
the commercial was reworked
for the holidays.
I'd like to buy
the world a home
Furnish it with love,
grow apple trees, honey bees,
and snow white turtledoves.
It showed people standing on a hilltop at night holding candles.
And when the camera pulls back,
all those candles are in the shape of a Christmas tree.
Three years later, Koch shot another Christmas version,
only this time it featured singers and Disney characters.
I'd like to buy the world a Coke.
That's the song I sing.
Then, 19 years after the original commercial had aired,
Coke created a hilltop reunion commercial, inviting all the original commercial had aired, Coke created a Hilltop Reunion commercial,
inviting all the original singers to come back. Except, the crowd on that hilltop was
much bigger this time, because Coke invited the singers to bring their children along
with them. In 2005, Coke resuscitated the commercial yet again in order to launch Coke Zero.
And instead of teaching the world to sing, it wanted to teach the world to chill. In 2011, for Coke's 125th anniversary, Coke created a commercial using the original song,
but peppered the ad with images from over the last century.
Then, in 2012, Google partnered with Coke to revive the Hilltop commercial in a brand new way.
First, they recruited Harvey Gabor,
the original art director who worked with Backer on the 1971 commercial.
Then, using digital technology and specially designed vending machines,
they figured out a way for people to pick any country around the world
and send a free Coke to a stranger they've never met.
The app let users see the Coke digitally,
winging its way across the world to a specific Coke machine in a foreign country.
Those special Coke vending machines contained a screen
where senders could write a personalized message with their Coke delivery.
And Google Translate converted the messages on the fly to that country's language.
Recipients can write a thank you message back and send a video of them getting their surprise free Coke.
Thank you. Thank you. That's the best Coke I've ever had.
It was a remarkable feat of technology.
And finally, you really were able to buy the world a Coke.
Then, in 2015, Coke's Hilltop commercial re-entered the zeitgeist once again.
In the widely viewed final episode of Mad Men,
a very troubled Don Draper goes to a retreat to meditate
to try and find some inner peace.
While sitting cross-legged and meditating on a hilltop
in the final scene of the final episode,
a smile slowly unfolds across his face.
The next thing we see is the famous Coke hilltop commercial.
I'd like to buy the world a home.
In the fictional world of Mad Men,
it wasn't Mad Man Bill Backer who came up with the idea.
It was Don Draper.
And now everybody was talking about Coke's Hilltop commercial again, 44 years after it first hit the air. A very popular beer campaign ran back in the 70s and 80s.
Advertising Age magazine rates it one of the top 10 advertising campaigns of the 20th century.
It was a series of commercials for Miller Lite.
And it was also done by Bill Backer's ad agency.
We've mentioned this story before, but allow us to refresh your drink.
As mentioned earlier, Bill Backer was the creative director at the McCann Erickson
Advertising Agency, and along with Coke, it also had the Miller Beer account.
Miller had just purchased a small Chicago brewery called Meisterbrau.
Meisterbrau brewed several regular beers and one low-calorie beer.
That low-cal beer was a dud.
It just wasn't selling.
And another low-calorie beer from a different brewery had tanked not long before.
The problem was the advertising had been aimed at dieters.
But the target market, which Miller called two-fisted drinkers, simply had no interest in dieting.
But even though Miller's new low-calorie beer wasn't doing well, research revealed
that 90% of Miller drinkers had tried the low-calorie beer wasn't doing well, research revealed that 90% of Miller drinkers
had tried the low-cal beer once.
Just once.
But they had tried it.
That was interesting.
The president of Miller had a gut feeling
that light beer could be sold to Miller drinkers
if it was positioned differently in the advertising.
So he told Backers ad agency to find a way to tell beer drinkers
that Miller Lite tasted good and wasn't watery.
The ad agency tried, with five different ideas.
Miller didn't like any of them.
So the ad agency regrouped one last time and looked into the sales of Miller's newly purchased light beer.
They were dismal everywhere, except for one place, a small steel town named Anderson, Indiana.
The ad agency dispatched its researchers to visit Anderson to figure out why the light beer was doing well there. They discovered something very interesting. The steel workers liked the light
beer because it left them less bloated. And less bloated meant they could enjoy more beers. They
had no interest in low calories, dieting, or watching their waistline. They just like to feel less filled up when enjoying a few brewskis after work.
That was the key insight.
Bury the low-calorie story inside a less-filling premise.
From that was born the famous tagline,
Miller Lite, everything you always wanted in a beer, and less.
But Backer's creative department couldn't figure out an amusing way to tell that story in an advertising campaign.
The Miller folks suggested a jingle.
But singing about one-third less calories and no carbohydrates makes for a pretty lame song.
Then, one of the ad writers had an idea.
What if every commercial had people arguing back and forth?
One side would say tastes great,
and the other would counter with less filling.
Then they had another idea.
What if the people arguing were retired sports celebrities?
They were all tough guys, so the low-calorie beer proposition wouldn't seem feminine.
And everybody loved Hall of Famers.
From that insight, one of the top ten advertising campaigns of all time was launched.
The commercials featured the greatest names in sports like Bob Euchre, John Madden, Mickey Mantle, and Boom Boom Jeffrey on.
In this one, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner argues with Yankees manager Billy Martin.
You know, a lot of people think Billy and I argue all the time.
Actually, we agree on just about everything. Right, Bill?
You betcha, George.
We even drink the same beer.
Light beer from Miller.
Light's got a third less calories than their regular beer, and it's less filling. And the best thing is it tastes so great.
No, George, the best thing is less filling. No, Bill, it tastes great. Less filling, George. Billy, it tastes great. Less filling, George. Billy? Yeah, George. You're fired. Not again. Light beer
from Miller. Everything you always wanted in a beer, and less. That campaign ran for 15 years,
from 1975 until 1990. Then it was retired. But this year, it rose from the dead.
There are two reasons it came back. First and foremost, Bud Light, the nation's leading light beer,
suddenly lost 25% of its market share in April of 2023 when it collaborated with a transgender social media influencer.
The brand faced an immediate backlash from conservatives
and a boycott from diehard Bud Light drinkers.
Sales plummeted.
That opened the door for other light beers, like Miller,
to grab that market share.
Secondly, for more than 30 years,
beer drinkers still referenced the
taste-great-less-filling commercials in focus groups and research.
They still loved it.
So Miller decided it was the perfect time to revisit the campaign
and update it with recently retired athletes,
appealing to both boomers and a younger audience.
In this commercial, retired NBA star Reggie Miller
argues with retired NFL star J.J. Watt
with a little refereeing from actor Luke Wilson.
There's nothing better than a game and great tasting Miller Lite. J. Watt, with a little refereeing from actor Luke Wilson.
There's nothing better than a game.
And great tasting Miller Lite.
It's less filling, Miller Lite.
Tastes great.
And how'd you get up here?
It's less filling.
And I use my arms.
Never understood this argument.
Miller Lite is both, right?
Isn't that kind of its thing?
There's a door? I've given this a lot of thought, guys, so just bear with me. Let it be both, all right? Isn't that kind of its thing? There's a door? I'm giving this a lot of thought, guys, so just bear with me.
Let it be both, alright?
Miller Lite sales shot up
11% immediately.
And the campaign promises
to utilize a whole new
world of Miller Lite
all-stars.
Before Bud Lite had its problems, main brand Budweiser wanted to know what's up.
Before Budweiser had its Bud Light controversy,
the beer brand brought back one of its most popular advertising campaigns.
Back in 1999,
a young film director named Charles Stone
made a short film
so he could use it to shop around to Hollywood studios.
The film was titled True,
but it was famous for introducing the world
to a different word.
Hello?
What's up? What's Hello? What's up?
What's up?
Yeah.
The film was based around the word, what's up?
Which Stone and his buddies used to say all the time.
When the folks at Budweiser's advertising agency saw the film,
they approached Stone about modifying it to become a Budweiser commercial.
Charles Stone himself is the first person you see
in that classic commercial.
Hello?
Hey, who?
What's up?
Nothing, V.
Just watching the game, having a bud.
What's up with you?
Nothing.
Watching the game, having a bud.
True. True. What's up with you? Nothing. Watching the game, having a butt. True.
True.
What's up?
What's up?
Yo, who's that?
Yo, pick up the phone.
Hello?
What's up?
What's up?
Yeah.
What's up became an advertising phenomenon.
To mark the commercial's 20th anniversary,
a Toronto advertising agency called Mosaic created a What's Up ad, only this time it was in an empty room filled with Amazon Alexas,
tablets, Roombas, and other smart home devices.
What's up?
What's up? What's up? What's up?
What's up?
What's up?
Yo, where's D-Unit?
What's up?
During the pandemic, Budweiser again revisited the commercial,
only this time it was a message about staying in touch
while everyone was in quarantine.
Hello?
Hey, who? What's up? Nothing, B. In quarantine, having a bud. So, but you?
Nothing. Quarantine and having a bud. True. True. And this version had a new ending. So,
you okay, B? I'm good, B. Just quarantining, having a bud. Thanks for checking in.
Words on the screen said,
Buds support buds. Check on yours.
Hashtag, together at a distance. 14 years ago, Old Spice aired a commercial that would completely reinvigorate the Dusty brand.
You may remember it.
Hello, ladies. Look at your man. Now back to me. Now back at your man. Now back to me.
Sadly, he isn't me. But if he stopped using ladies' scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he's me.
Look down. Back up. Where are you?
You're on a boat with the man your man
could smell like.
The man your man
could smell like
was an out-of-the-park
home run.
The commercial
even won an Emmy.
Old Spice sales,
which had declined
drastically over the years,
suddenly doubled,
and it became
the number one
body wash brand
in the country.
Actor and football player Isaiah Mostafa became a sex symbol. Remember, these ads were aimed at women, even though they
were selling a male body wash. The reason? Women buy 70% of all male toiletry products.
That's why every commercial began with these words.
Hello, ladies.
Then in 2020, Old Spice wanted to celebrate
the 10th anniversary of that commercial
and wanted to launch a spin-off variety called Ultra Smooth,
aimed at Gen Z,
because Old Spice was losing market share in that age group
to deodorant brand Axe.
Only in this commercial, Isaiah Mostafa was an uncool boomer dad embarrassing his son.
In the ad, dad shows up uninvited into a business meeting his son is holding.
Thank you guys for your hard work and dedication.
Hello, son. I think it's time you joined the family business.
Dad, come on, I'm...
Going to Old Spice, Fiji, where the cracking of coconuts releases pheromones of masculinity
and mojitos.
Dad, I use Old Spice body and face wash.
It's ultra smooth.
I'm not like you, Dad.
All right, son.
I'll let you get back to your pants meeting.
Interesting that these ads weren't aimed at women,
but directly at Gen Z.
The tagline?
Smell like your own man, man. When it came time for Pepsi's 125th anniversary last year,
the soft drink company decided to revisit some old ads.
Pepsi has a long history of using great music in its commercials.
So when MTV held its annual Video Music Awards,
Pepsi decided to dust off some of its iconic music ads
including Tina Turner's Taste for Pepsi commercial from 1986
and Ray Charles' The Right One Baby Pepsi ad from 1991
Pepsi dug up the classic 1989 Robert Palmer
Simply Irresistible ad from its archives.
And while Michael Jackson was noticeably missing,
Pepsi did revive a controversial commercial.
Back in 1989, Pepsi paid Madonna $5 million to endorse Pepsi
and debut her new song, Like a Prayer, in a commercial.
That commercial aired during the 1989 Grammy Awards.
The day after the Pepsi commercial aired, Madonna released her own music video for Like
a Prayer.
It contained certain scenes that provoked major pushback from Christian groups, and
even the Vatican condemned it.
That uproar caused Pepsi to yank the commercial after only two airings,
and Madonna still got to keep the five mil.
But 34 years later, Pepsi aired the commercial again during the MTV Awards.
This time, it didn't stir any controversy.
And this time,
at the end of the commercial,
words on the screen from Pepsi said,
Cheers to disrupting the status quo.
Madonna posted a message
on social media saying she was glad
Pepsi finally realized
the genius of our collaboration.
But then, she
disrupted the status quo again.
She also posted a photo of herself
sipping a can of Coca-Cola
with the message,
Also Good.
I'd like to build the world a home And furnish it with love
Grow apple trees and honey bees
And snow white turtle doves
That is the late, great Bill Backer
singing the song he co-wrote
for the world's most famous Coke commercial.
It may just be
the most revived,
most resuscitated
commercial of all time.
It was also
a daring commercial
for 1971,
showing a Swedish person
standing next to a Nigerian
standing next to
a Chinese person.
And that may be
one of the main reasons
it keeps getting remade and reimagined.
That message of unity gets more urgent
with every passing year.
Backer's other campaign for Miller Lite
was also a landmark
because Tastes Great Less Filling
literally invented the light beer category.
These campaigns and the others we've talked about today
have one thing in common.
They haven't worn out their welcome.
Recent research has proven that many good ads don't suffer much wear-out
and are pulled off the air while they were still performing exceptionally well.
In the advertising business,
a rule of thumb is that a certain amount of repetition is required for wear in,
and too much repetition creates wear out.
But that new research proves that good advertising has a lifespan that greatly outlives bad advertising.
Of course, the court of public opinion may want to appeal that ruling when you're under the influence.
I'm Terry O'Reilly.
This episode was recorded in the Terrastream Airstream mobile recording studio.
Producer, Debbie O'Reilly.
Sound engineer, Jeff Devine.
Research, Allison Pinches. Thank you. By the way, you can now listen to our podcasts on our Apostrophe Podcasts YouTube page.
And if you'd like to read next week's fun fact, just go to apostrophepodcasts.ca and follow the prompts.
See you next week.
Hey, this is Elizabeth from Seattle, Washington.
Fun fact! The Coke Hilltop jingle became a top ten song on the Billboard charts and sold 12 million copies.