Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S11E02 - Perry Mason Moments: The Most Unexpected Ads of 2021

Episode Date: January 15, 2022

In this episode, we talk about the most unexpected ads of 2021. Quite a few commercials made eyebrows rise last year. From a fast-food restaurant that created outrage on International Women���s Day, to a Christmas ad that generated the most complaints of the year, to a Super Bowl commercial that was nearly derailed by a DUI charge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. You're so king in it. You're so king in it.

You're so king in it. You're so king in it. Your teeth look whiter than noon. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. No, it's not. Your teeth look whiter than no nose. 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. You're Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly.

If you are of a certain age, you will recognize that famous music. It was the opening theme to the Perry Mason television series. Perry Mason was a fictional lawyer who always won his cases in dramatic fashion. He was created by an ex-lawyer named Earl Stanley Gardner. As a young man, Gardner earned money boxing in unlicensed California counties, and his interest in law seemed to grow out of hunting for loopholes in California statutes that made fighting illegal. He eventually studied law and passed the bar. He also discovered that litigation was a form of combat

he was very, very good at. In one case, Gardner defended a man accused of violating state gambling laws. So Gardner sent the man to the next county, swore a citizen's complaint against his own client for breaking a small gambling law, had him plead guilty, and a small fine was paid. When the original gambling case was finally brought to court,

Gardner surprised the judge when he successfully argued that his client could not be tried twice for the same offense. He walked away a free man. Over the course of his lifetime, Gardner used that ingenuity to write 80 Perry Mason novels. By the mid-60s, Gardner's paperback publisher was selling 2,000 Perry Mason books an hour, 8 hours a day, 365 days a year.

It was reported that Albert Einstein was reading a Perry Mason novel on his deathbed. Gardner would sell over 170 million copies in total. Those books became a very popular television show starring actor Raymond Burr, running from 1957 to 1966. Raymond Burr was born in New Westminster, British Columbia. He acted in his first dramatic radio series when he was just 12 years old. After serving in the war, Burr performed on Broadway and made over 50 movies before 1957. In almost all of them, Burr was cast as a villain. He had a deep voice and penetrating eyes. One of his notorious roles was as the murderer in Hitchcock's Rear Window. So it was a surprise when Raymond Burr was cast against type as the crusading master criminal defense attorney, Perry Mason.

In the series, Perry Mason was a lawyer who specialized in winning seemingly unwinnable cases. He was part detective, part attorney. In almost every episode, Mason reveals a completely unexpected piece of evidence to win the case. Using his brilliant courtroom skills, he set traps to

catch people making false accusations or tricked liars into unwittingly admitting their guilt, resulting in a completely unexpected turn of events. Viewers waited for that moment every week. That's why to this day, when dramatic evidence is presented

or a witness's unexpected answer changes the course of the proceedings, it has become known as the Perry Mason moment. The world of marketing also had its share of Perry Mason moments in 2021. In some instances, commercials contained very unexpected content. In others, it was the reaction to the commercials that was completely unexpected. In one ad, a courtroom moment ended up influencing a Super Bowl ad. And in another, Santa revealed something so unexpected, it would have made Perry Mason proud.

You're under the influence. Every Super Bowl event contains interesting commercials. At $5.5 million a pop in 2021, they didn't come cheap. And there was one commercial in particular that surprised many viewers. It was for Jeep, and it starred Bruce Springsteen. The ad was titled The Middle. There's a chapel in Kansas, standing on the exact center of the lower 48. It never closes. All are more than welcome to come meet here in the middle.

It showed the boss driving a Jeep around in this small town in Kansas, stopping to light a candle in that chapel. The message of the commercial was that America was feeling very divided and it desperately needed to meet in the middle. And there's hope on the road up ahead. The last graphic in the commercial said, To the reunited states of America. The road ahead was Jeep's tagline.

The commercial was unexpected for several reasons. First, Springsteen had never agreed to appear in a commercial before. He even allegedly turned down $15 million from Chrysler in the mid-80s to use his song Born in the USA in a car ad. Second, the music in the commercial was composed by Springsteen. Third, it was Springsteen's first ever endorsement. And lastly, Springsteen had a big creative hand in the writing of the commercial. So it was a big surprise to Springsteen fans to see the boss selling cars.

Then something happened three days later. 72 hours after the Super Bowl, news surfaced that Bruce Springsteen had been charged with a DUI and reckless driving. Drinking and driving is a serious matter, and it is kryptonite to a car advertiser. Jeep immediately pulled the video off their YouTube page, saying that while the message of unity was as relevant as ever, so was the message that drinking and driving can never be condoned. Apparently, the boss had been arrested

back on November 14th in a federal park in northern New Jersey. He was on his motorcycle and had apparently consumed one or two shots of tequila that had been offered by fans and was arrested immediately after he drove away. The news surprised fans and put Jeep into a potentially explosive and expensive lockdown. A few weeks later, Springsteen appeared in a New Jersey courtroom via Zoom.

It was reported that his alcohol level was.02, far below the legal limit of.08. He therefore pled guilty to consuming alcohol in a restricted area, but the driving under the influence and reckless driving charges were dropped. He was fined $500 plus fees. With that, Jeep reposted the video. It was not only one of the most unexpected ads of 2021,

but it also had the most unexpected fallout. Burger King UK released an unexpected tweet in March of 2021. It said, Women belong in the kitchen. That churned up a lot of outrage. It also happened to be International Women's Day. Burger King ran that same headline in a full-page ad in the New York Times as well. But in the newspaper, it was apparent there was more to the ad

than just the headline. Burger King was trying to make a point. In the newspaper ad, the copy went on to say that only 24% of chef positions in North America were occupied by women. And if you asked to speak to the head chef, that number dropped to 7%.

And Burger King was offering a culinary sponsorship to help female chefs, giving women who aspire to be chefs the chance to advance. Burger King wanted to change the gender ratio in the restaurant industry by empowering women. But that first tweet sent the initiative right off the rails. That's the problem with tweets. They are standalone pieces of communication. Part twos are detached and can often be lost in the torrent of messages in a Twitter feed. That's why so many people only saw the offending line,

but not the explanation. Clearly, Burger King was trying to get attention by using one of the most toxic tropes in the era of Me Too. But by choosing such a misogynistic line, the immediate backlash overpowered the message. The burger chain was forced to immediately backpedal. In a statement, Burger King said they had made a mistake not to include the full explanation in their initial tweet.

Hours later that same day, the fast food restaurant was still apologizing, saying, We hear you. We will do better next time. Burger King was trying to promote a good cause, but instead, it turned into a whopper of a problem. Just before Christmas 2021, UK supermarket Tesco ran a holiday commercial. The theme of the ad was underscored by the music. Queen's song, Don't Stop Me Now.

Need a little help? Oh, don't you worry, my love. This year, nothing's stopping me. The commercial was really a rallying cry during a very tough year, celebrating the fact that nothing was going to stop British folks from celebrating Christmas this year. The fun commercial showed people celebrating through power blackouts,

celebrating when their car breaks down, and getting creative with snowman noses when there was a produce shortage. But what was unexpected was the fact the commercial ended up getting the most complaints of the year in Britain. And it was all due to a five-second sequence in the middle of the

commercial. It showed Santa standing in front of an airport customs officer. Then Santa flashes his green vaccination passport. That was it. That was the five seconds that created so much controversy. Most commercials that people object to usually attract anywhere from 50 to 200 complaints, and 200 is a big number. The Tesco ad got 5,000. It was the second highest number of ad complaints in UK history. The objections came from anti-vaxxers who cited the scene as being

quote, coercive and encouraging medical discrimination. With that number of complaints, the Advertising Standards Authority had to step in to assess the commercial. After review,

the regulator said the ad doesn't break our rules and there are no grounds for further action. So, the commercial stayed up. Tesco said in a statement that the ad took a light-hearted view on how the nation was feeling and that while the country was in the midst of a pandemic, quote,

the commercial reflects the current rules and regulations regarding international travel. And as we all know, Santa has to do quite a bit of international travel. Hold on to your reins, dear. We'll be right back. New year, new me. Season is here and honestly, we're already over it. Enter Felix, the healthcare company helping Canadians take a different approach to weight loss this year. Weight loss is more than just diet and exercise. It can be about tackling genetics, hormones, metabolism.

Felix gets it. They connect you with licensed healthcare practitioners online who'll create a personalized treatment plan that pairs your healthy lifestyle with a little help and a little extra support. Start your visit today at felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X dot C-A. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals.

No pressure to be who you're not. Just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are. So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca Speaking of Santa, there was a somewhat unexpected commercial released over in Norway last year. The 375-year-old Norwegian Postal Service launched a festive holiday ad in late November. It was titled, When Harry Met Santa. The ad begins with a man named Harry in his home on Christmas Eve. It's a quiet Christmas as he lives alone. In the middle of the night, he comes down to get a glass of water and catches Santa

leaving him gifts. They lock eyes. They have a moment. Then Santa disappears up the chimney. Harry goes through the next year looking lonely.

The following Christmas Eve, Harry peeks around the corner and spots Santa staring at a picture of Harry on the mantelpiece. Then he disappears up the chimney again. The next Christmas, Harry puts on some nice clothes, dabs a bit of cologne, and waits on the couch for Santa.

He falls asleep. And when he wakes up, Santa is sitting across from him and quietly says, You were snoring, and smiles. Santa pushes a small gift across the coffee table to Harry, saying, I'll be back again next year. We see a few more Christmases go by, where Santa and Harry spend a few more minutes together. But Santa always has a busy night ahead of him, so he always has to leave, which makes Harry sad. The next Christmas, Harry writes a letter to Santa,

saying, all I want for Christmas is you, and mails it. On Christmas Eve that year, the doorbell rings. It's the postal service surprising Harry with a big stack of gifts. But when Harry closes the door and walks back into his living room with his presents, Santa is there. He says, I arranged for some help this year so I can be with you. Then, they share a long, tentative kiss. As the camera pulls away, these words appear on the screen. In 2022, Norway marks 50 years of being able to love whoever we want.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us to all of us. A very unexpected moment from a very unexpected source. Remember, this message wasn't from an LGBTQ association or a human rights organization. It was from the Norwegian Post Office. Norway has some of Europe's most progressive LGBTQ legislation and is ranked one of the most gay-friendly places in the world. The Postal Service says the reaction in Norway has been overwhelming. The video was viewed over 600,000 times in its first three days

and has been viewed 1.8 million times since. Viewers saw something unexpected on Australian television in 2021. As the commercial begins, we see a businessman walking out of a club. He is clearly tipsy. Then he weaves down the street, walks up to a storefront, and urinates on the building. Then these words appear on the screen.

The real world sucks for business. Your business is better off online. The message was from a company called crazydomains.com.au. The commercial was the runaway leader in complaints in Australia during the first six months of 2021, generating 283 complaints immediately. The ad was reviewed by the Australian Association of National Advertisers. It was found to breach its code of ethics by depicting, quote, illegal and unhygienic behavior. Crazy domains defended the ad, saying it was only trying to demonstrate that gritty and uncontrollable things make the real world a challenge for businesses,

and that they were safer online. Regulators pushed back saying public urination was an offense in Australia and was contrary to prevailing community standards on health and safety. The ad was pulled from television, but it did stay up on Crazy Domain's YouTube channel. I received an interesting email from a listener recently. She was at a company party and near the end of the night, a colleague named Tom was double-fisting his drinks.

He had a can of beer in one hand and was guzzling a can of something called liquid death in the other. Everybody yelled, whoa, slow down, Tom. Something similar happened at a music festival not long ago. A friend watched in horror as a very pregnant woman chugged a can of Liquid Death as she rocked to the music. Turns out Liquid Death is a very unexpected name for water. Liquid Death was created by an ex-advertising creative director for brands such as Apple, Nestle and Netflix. His name is Mike Cesario. By his own admission, he never quite fit into the corporate world of marketing. He always wanted to do cool, interesting things, but his clients never wanted to do cool,

interesting things. It bothered him that the most unhealthy brands in the world were the ones allowed to do the boldest, most irreverent advertising. So, Cesario thought it would be interesting to take the healthiest thing you could drink, water, and one-up all the unhealthy brands by doing even more cool and outrageous advertising. So, Cesario found a way to produce and manufacture a sustainable canned water product. He called it liquid death for a reason. He's trying to kill plastic bottles. Cesario maintains most plastic isn't recyclable. So liquid death is sold in tall boy aluminum cans. Cesario points out that 70% of an aluminum can is highly recyclable,

whereas only 3% of the average plastic bottle is. Next, he created a Facebook page, spent $3,000 on paid media, and shot this outrageous video for $1,500. Hi. I'm a professional actor and I'm getting paid to tell you about a revolutionary new product.

Liquid Death Mountain Water. For years, a bunch of marketing f***boys have tricked you into thinking that water is just some girly drink for yoga moms just look at all the cute brand names and dainty little bottles well hold on to your hot dogs because i got news water isn't cute water is deadly it kills innocent surfers and snowboarders and kayakers every year water is responsible for thousands and thousands of deaths.

Energy drinks only kill, like, what, one or two kids? So please, don't fall for the marketing bulls**t. Water is not yoga. Water is liquid death. That commercial may not sound outrageous, but when the camera pulls back, we see the actor has actually been waterboarding someone during her entire pitch. Yikes.

Made from the deadliest stuff on Earth. Please, enjoy responsibly. Four months later, the video had three million views. The Facebook page had more followers than billion-dollar water brand Aquafina. Cesario says you either get the humor or you don't, and he's only interested in people who get it. Next, Cesario had to convince retailers to stock liquid death. That was a tough sell. The name and the skull logo scared them. But bars and clubs loved it. Then, Whole Foods agreed to stock it. They liked that the cans were infinitely recyclable

and that liquid death pledged 10% of profits to help clean up plastic in the ocean. Soon, other supermarkets signed up. The marketing is not quite like anything else you've ever seen before. In one YouTube video, Liquid Death encourages people to mail back empty plastic bottles to soft drink companies. Starting this Earth Day, go to liquiddeath.com slash lovinghomes and grab a 10-pack of cool prepaid postage stickers. Just stick one on an empty bottle and toss it in the mailbox.

You can actually mail plastic bottles. Most of the Liquid Death marketing has a heavy metal vibe. Its animated commercials are gory, but in a Beavis and Butthead kind of way. And there's even a liquid death Spotify channel called Greatest Hates, comprised of all the hate lines they've received set to heavy metal music, with titles like

Go Out of Business, This Crap is Pure Evil, and Fire Your Marketing Guy. And fire your marketing guy. And now, there is a volume two. Liquid Death is an unexpected brand name for a healthy product that markets itself in highly unexpected ways. And oh, the slogan? Murder your thirst. The goal of most smart, creative advertising people is to produce

smart, memorable, and unexpected advertising messages. It's hard to do at the best of times. Burger King tried to be bold and was actually trying to promote a good cause, except that Twitter got in the way. Santa had a good workout last year. First, Tesco chose to be bold and showed a vaccinated Saint Nick, resulting in the second most commercial complaints in UK history and extremely high viewership too. Then the Norwegian post office revealed a new side of Santa. And again, it's surprising that message came from the post office.

Being bold and surprising is a delicate line. As Liquid Death founder Mike Cesario says, lean just five degrees one way, and it's lame and not cool. Go 5 degrees the other way and it's too distasteful and people won't laugh at it. Crazy domains went 6 degrees too far in that direction. Then there's the unexpected things that happen outside of a commercial. Like Jeep discovered when the boss got into a bit of trouble three days after the Super Bowl.

But that's what happens when you're almost under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the Terrastream mobile recording studio. Producer Debbie O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the Tearstream Mobile Recording Studio. Producer, Debbie O'Reilly.

Sound Engineer, Jeff Devine. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre. If you're enjoying this episode, you might also like Kentucky Fried Bran Myths, Season 7, Episode 8. You'll find it in our archives wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Terry O Influence. See you next week. Fun fact. At $5.5 million per 30-second commercial in the Super Bowl last year, the two-minute Springsteen ad cost Jeep about $22 million.