Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - Nobody's Ugly on Radio: The Superpower of Audio

Episode Date: March 28, 2026

This week, we listen to the most creative use of sound and voice. Like the mattress company that gave people discounts based on how loud they snored. We’ll explore a radio campaign that says ugly is a superpower. And we’ll play a vinyl record that was left out in the sun that warns people about the harmful effects of UV rays. We know you want to listen to all the ads in this show. On the off-chance you don’t, subscribe ad-free here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You don't like ads on this, a podcast about advertising? Listen, ad-free at the link in the description. This is an apostrophe podcast production. We're going to show you our big news to doobaker. That's a spicy meatboard. What love doesn't conquer. Al-Ca-Seltzer will. What a relief.

You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. Back in the late 90s, actor Drew Barrymore purchased the screen rights to the TV show, Charlie's Angels. It was a good decision. As the first Charlie's Angels movie in 2000, starring Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Lou, grossed over $264 million, earning Barrymore a reported $40 million. The first Charlie's Angels sequel grossed over $250 million, reportedly doubling Barrymore's take. As you may remember, Charlie's Angels is about three resourceful women who work for a private detective agency in Los Angeles. The agency is owned by a reclusive millionaire named Charlie Townsend. In the movies, we never see Charlie. We only ever hear his voice on a speaker

phone when he briefs the women on their next task. The role of Charles. Good morning, Charlie. Dylan, Alex, Natalie. I hope you're rested and ready for your next assignment. The role of Charlie was performed by actor John Forsyth. And that role goes all the way back to the Charlie's Angels TV show in the 1970s. The Charlie's Angels TV series aired from 1976 to 1981 and originally starred Farah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jacqueline Smith. Once upon a time, there were three little girls who went to the police academy. Each assigned very hazardous duties.

But I took them away from all that, and now they work for me. My name is Charlie. While the Angels' cast changed occasionally, the John Forsyth Charlie character remained consistent. And he was the only actor from the original Charlie's Angels' TV series to appear in the movie versions. Interestingly, John Forsyth went uncredited in the television series. He thought it would add more mystery if his name wasn't in the credits. But how Forsyth landed that role is a fun story.

On a Friday night back in 1976, Forsyth's phone rang at one in the morning. When Forsyth answered, the voice on the other end said, Hi, John, it's Aaron. Forsyth said, Aaron who? Spelling, it's Aaron Spelling. Now, Aaron Spelling was probably the most successful TV producer in the 1970s, and he and Forsyth had worked together before.

Spelling told Forsyth that he desperately needed his help right away. Considering it was one in the morning, Forsyth asked, Are you in prison? Spelling said no, he wasn't in prison, but he had a big problem. He was working on a new show called Charlie's Angels, and the pilot episode had to be sent to ABC in New York on Monday, and it was 1 a.m. on Friday. Forsyth said, what does this have to do with me?

Spelling replied that the actor they had hired to play the role of Charlie had shown up drunk and couldn't do it. So he asked Forsyth to come over to the studio at 1 a.m. to take over the role. So John Forsyth threw a trench coat on over his pajamas, jumped into his car, and drove down to the 20th Century Fox Studios. He had no idea what the part entailed until he got there. As Forsyth stood there in the studio, in his pajamas, Aaron Spelling told him the role was, in fact, a disembodied voice.

It wasn't what he was expecting to hear, but he thought it was interesting. And that's how John Forsyth came to be the Charlie in Charlie's Angels. In all the Charlie's Angels TV episodes and the Charlie's Angels movies, you never, ever see Charlie. You only hear the sound of his voice. Today, we look at the most creative uses of sound and voice. In each story today, sound and voice were used in unique and unusual ways to solve problems.

From a new twist on an old Christmas carol to MRI sounds to a funny song about the benefits of being ugly, sound can be a powerful selling tool. It just takes imagination and a little snoring. You're under the influence. Over 40% of adults snore. That affects the quality of sleep, and it affects romantic relationships. It has led to a new trend called a sleep divorce. That's where couples sleep in separate rooms just to get a good night's rest.

So, a mattress brand in Argentina called Calm launched a promotion called The Sound of Divorce. In a nutshell, Calm offered snoring discounts on mattresses. Calm, like other mattress companies, faces a difficult marketing challenge. In the mattress category, there is low purchase frequency, the product is expensive, and they last a long time. That means the opportunity to drive the purchase of a second mattress is extremely difficult. But research found that a surprising 50% of Argentinian couples

want to sleep in separate beds because of snoring. That sleep divorce phenomenon presented a marketing opportunity. The idea was to convert snoring into a currency for obtaining a discount on a second mattress. Here's how calm did that. People were invited to send recordings of their partner snores via WhatsApp. Using advanced AI developed by sleep specialists, the app would analyze the intensity and type of snoring to generate a personalized discount in real time. The more intense the snore, the greater the discount.

The discounts went from 10% off all the way up to 35% off if the snore was earthquake level. The goal was to generate a 25% increase in mattress sales. In the first month alone, 4,700 mattresses were sold, a 40% percent. increase. The most mattresses the company had ever sold in one month. The promotion recovered its costs in just two days, eventually generating a 900% return on investment. It also attracted coverage in over 90 press articles and generated 700,000 mentions on social media. As Com said, the sound of divorce not only sold a historic number of mattresses, it probably, save 4,700 couples from divorce.

In Canada, three to four people die of melanoma every day. In the U.S., someone dies of melanoma every 63 minutes. UV radiation fuels melanoma, yet, tanning culture persists, especially among young people. Sunshine is linked with joy, health, and beauty, so warning people about its dangers is a tough cell. A nonprofit dedicated to skin cancer prevention called Molly's Fund wanted to break through the apathy

with a dramatic radio commercial. So they did something unusual. They recorded the song You Are My Sunshine onto a vinyl record and left it out in the sun. The vinyl record was only left out in the sunshine for 10 minutes. In those 10 minutes, the

vinyl record curled, melted, and warped. The result transformed a beloved lullaby into a haunting warning. This song is from a vinyl record that was exposed to the sun's You make me happy when skies are braced. You'll never know dear how much I love you. This song is from a vinyl record that was exposed to the sun. If it can damage this in 10 minutes, imagine what it's doing to your skin. Prevent Melanoma at molly's fun.org.

There was no simulation there. What you just heard was the result of the vinyl being left in the sun. for just 10 minutes. The commercial was aired in the peak summer months on Spotify. It was a compelling idea, because the danger of UV exposure wasn't just explained, it was heard. Almost immediately, Molly's fund saw a 46% spike in visits

to its Sun Safety Landing page, and engagement time on the page doubled as users explored prevention and early days. detection tools. The commercial was also shared by dermatologists and advocacy groups because the commercial didn't just yell information at listeners. It turned sound into something more powerful than information. It became visceral proof of damage. When people lose their hearing, they can also lose connections with their loved ones. Yet, when those suffering from hearing loss get tested, they often are hesitant to purchase hearing aids. They are troubled by the fact they

need hearing aids, or they are embarrassed. Yet their hearing loss was leaving them feeling isolated. Loved ones were having to constantly repeat sentences, and often, hearing loss was leading to arguments in relationships. In Italy, a leading company in hearing health care called Amplafon created an initiative to address the issue. When scheduling a visit to Amplafon for a hearing test, family members could go on to the Amplafon website ahead of the appointment and quietly record a personal message to their loved one.

Those messages were then incorporated into the hearing test, thereby transforming a standard hearing test into an emotional experience. The test began with the usual steps, dawning headphones and raising a hand when they hear a tone in one ear or the other. Next, people were asked to repeat words they heard through their headphones. Disco. Then, people would suddenly hear their loved ones in their ears.

Grandchildren said, Hi, Grandpa, I can't wait for you to hear well again. Daughter said to their mothers, we won't have to turn up the volume on the TV anymore. A wife said to her husband, we'll argue less and listen to each other more. The people were at first shocked to hear the voice of their loved ones in the test, then that shock turned to emotion.

By playing their loved ones' voices at the right time during the test, it became a profound reminder of how important hearing is in maintaining relationships. the patients were visibly moved. By focusing on the emotional benefits of hearing, it created a deeper connection with patients, and it underlined how hearing aids improved lives, not just hearing. Because of the initiative, hearing aid sales increased 36%.

When we come back, a Christmas carol helps the children of Ukraine. If you're enjoying this episode, might also like air quality innovations in radio advertising season eight episode 11 we tell the story of countries where news is censored so journalists turned their articles into songs and put them on spotify because spotify wasn't censored you'll find that episode on your favorite podcast app the war in ukraine has changed everything and it has been incredibly devastating for children Back in 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Olena Zelenska Foundation gave Ukraine's advertising agency a challenge. Could it develop a unique and compelling way to encourage people to give money to help the children of Ukraine at Christmas?

The song Carol of the Bells has been a Christmas standard the world over for 100 years. But what you may not know is that the song was composed. in Ukraine. It is based on a traditional Ukrainian folk song arranged by Ukrainian composer Mikola Liyonovic. The advertising agency wondered if the song could help save Ukrainian children. The Ukrainian advertising agency

recorded a new version of the song and changed the lyrics. Now the lyrics asked listeners to Shazam the song whenever they heard it. If you don't know the Shazam app, It can identify songs in seconds using an audio fingerprint, and it can also send listeners to a website. So, by using the Shazam app on their cell phones

whenever they heard the song, listeners were instantly taken to a website where they could make a donation to help the children. Christmas not home, tied and beyond. This is so wrong, shazzole of the song, see their tears on their eyelids, pain in the fears, don't need for kids, give them an in those who,

The Carol for Charoam and took home, This is a time for all they all have had the song. The Carol for Charity was broadcast in 11 countries on 22 radio stations. The Carol was performed by the Ukrainian National Choir and the Children's Folk Choir, and was actually recorded during a massive missile attack in November of that year. The song was launched on Christmas Eve. Whenever the new Carol of the Bells played,

listeners could instantly shazam the song and make a donation. Plus, whenever the original Carol of the Bell's song was used in Christmas movies, like Home Alone or Elf, a pop-up ad would appear on TV screens with a QR code so people could donate right there in their living rooms. The Carol for Charity generated 110 million media impressions, over 1 million plays, and 4.5 million Ukrainian dollars were raised during the brief Christmas period. The song had given the world a wonderful Christmas sentiment for over 100 years,

and it was time to give back. If you've ever had an MRI done, you know the strange noises the machinemen. makes. It's a cacophony of loud beeps, weird knocking, and jarring buzzes. And those sounds can be terrifying for children. So in Portugal, a healthcare company called Area 23, decided to turn those scary MRI noises into a beautiful children's audiobook. Every type of MRI scan makes a unique sequence of sounds in the same order each time. That allowed Area 23 to create audio stories,

syncing storytelling moments precisely with each sound in the scan. So instead of a cold, scary machine, children having MRI scans could put on headphones and listen to a delightful audio story while the MRI machine did its work. In days of old, a train's tale is told, Its heavy wheels on tracks forever roll, yet in its mind, it flies soul free. Without a clue, no explanation near. A timid limb whispers soft and clear.

Suddenly, a bright light hits our train, right on its front, on its face. It was a massive undertaking, writing storylines that children would enjoy, while incorporating the exact sequence of MRI sounds into that storytelling. And because each different kind of MRI scan made its own sequence of sounds, multiple audio stories were created, helping children smile through what was once an isolating and intimidating procedure. Plans are now underway to create multilingual stories for millions of MRI machines worldwide,

replacing MRI anxiety with magic and wonder. This next radio campaign just made me laugh. In Germany, people need to be home in order to let meter readers in to read their gas meters. So a company called Tesham wanted to let homeowners know they could purchase technology that would allow the gas company to read the gas meter remotely. That would mean no unexpected doorbell radar, occurring at the worst possible moment. Ding dong, ding dong.

6.45 in the morning, I just woke up and started yawning, still wearing my girlfriend's thong, when ding dong, ding dong. I met an old friend from high school, getting high was an old, and I had just lit up the bong, when ding dong. Ding dong Hey here comes Peter He's checking people's meter

And when he comes he lets your doorbell chime Oh dear Peter Reading my guest meter But never really at the right time Ding dong If you don't want Peter Or any other meter reader to ding dong at your house Change now to remotely read heat cost allocators by Tesham

Ding dong ding dong Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong DING-dong. Hilarious. I'm always a sucker for humorous commercials that incorporate music. There were three ads in this campaign, all funny and well done. By using humor, Teschum not only humanized the boring subject of gas meter technology, it also enjoyed a huge surge in sales.

When we come back, a turkey company promotes ugly as a superpower. This next radio campaign also makes me laugh. It was done in Australia for a company called Stegles. It is the country's top seller of turkey products. Stegles calls Turkey the world's ugliest superfood. It's true. Turkeys are not cute and cuddly. There are no turkey plush toys.

Australians love beef, lamb, chicken, and fish in that order. So Turkey wasn't even on their radar. they view Turkey as an ugly, weird novelty bird. But Australians also value health and fitness, and Turkey offers a great source of protein. Aussies just needed to be reminded of that. So Stegle's advertising agency produced a radio campaign to reframe Ugly as a superpower.

I tried to cut my bangs. Oofed. Pass me that Steggles' country music guitar. If you're too handsome growing up, you probably won't amount too much all the heroes in our history books are rarely there for their good looks. A Blinken best there was, he was driven by a big old schnoz. Grace O'Malley, no beauty queen, toughest pirate ever seen. A friend makes you super. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein.

because she wasn't slowed down by Valentine's. If Gandhi had gorgeous features, he'd just posed on tropical beaches. Turkey birds look grotesque, look like they've got melted heads. Turkey gobbled the ugly stick, and now it's the ultimate protein hit. Ugly. Too super. The campaign gave the aesthetically challenged turkey an identity, and used humor to give Australians something to talk about around the dinner table.

As a result, turkey sales jumped up. And hats off to Stagles, who wisely chose the only medium perfect for an ugly bird. Radio. I have always loved radio and the power of audio. While you can't literally see radio, it's not limiting, because the canvas of the imagination is infinite. But audio can help you see issues in a different light. Instead of lecturing people on the dangers of exposure to the sun,

a song on a warped final record demonstrated the point. There is almost nothing more personal or powerful as the human voice, and hearing the voice of a loved one turned a standard hearing test into an emotional experience. I'm always amazed at the creative ways people use all. audio? Who would have thought that snoring could be turned into currency, or that the scary sounds of an MRI machine could be incorporated into a children's audio story? Extraordinary ideas, remarkable creativity, quantifiable solutions. Confucius once said, a picture is worth a thousand words. Dare I say that sometimes a sound is worth a thousand pictures.

when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the Terstream mobile recording studio. Producer Debbie O'Reilly, Chief Sound Engineer Jeff Devine, theme music by Casey Pick, Jeremiah Pick, and James Aiton, tunes provided by APM music. Follow me at Terry O'Influence. This podcast is powered by ACAST.

Terry's top slogan, of all time. Number 12, FedEx, when it absolutely positively has to be there overnight. See you next week.