Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S11E11 - Don't Do It Advertising - Part Two

Episode Date: March 19, 2022

This week, it’s Part Two of our “Don’t Do It Advertising” episode. Last week we looked at ads that asked you NOT to do something. This week, it’s ads that ask you NOT to do something, but really want you to DO something. It’s reverse-psychology at work. 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. 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. The night before the Golden Globe Awards in 1975, actor Richard Harris was having drinks with actor John Cassavetes,

and they were both a little tipsy. Harris mentioned that he was presenting the Best Actress Award the following evening. Cassavetes said, Really? My wife Gina Rowlands is up for the award. I really hope she wins it. Richard Harris said, Do you want her to win it? Cass hope she wins it. Richard Harris said, do you want her to win it? Cassavetes said, yes. Harris said, well, she's won it. Cassavetes said, well, what do you mean? Harris said, well, I'm giving out the award. When I get up on stage, I'll open the envelope and I'll just say, and the winner is Gina Rowlands. Cassavetes was mortified. You can't do that, he said.

Harris just shrugged. Of course I can't. Once I say it, then she's won. I'll just put the envelope back in my pocket and walk off the stage. Cassavetes said, please don't do that. Please, I beg you, don't do that. Harris said, ah, it'll be easy, no problem.

Cassavetes looked at him wide-eyed. The morning of the Golden Globes, John Cassavetes ran into Richard Harris in the lobby of the hotel. He begged Harris not to announce his wife as the Golden Globe winner. He said, please

don't do that. Please do not do that. Harris do not do that. Harris said, no worries. She's going to win the award. Cassavetes was beside himself. Later that night at the Golden Globes ceremony, Cassavetes and his wife Gina Rollins were sitting at the very front table. When it came time for the Best Actress Award, Richard Harris walked out onto the stage to announce the winner.

As he was opening the envelope, he looked down at Cassavetes and winked. Cassavetes was panicking, shaking his head side to side, mouthing to Harris over and over again, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it. Harris ripped the envelope open and said, the Golden Globe goes to Gina Rowlands. After the ceremony, Cassavetes cornered Richard Harris at the bar and said, who really won it? Harris said,

Faye Dunaway won it for Chinatown. Cassavetes said, Oh my God, I begged you. I said, Don't do it. Don't do it. Harris said, No problem. Congrats to Gina. Later that night, Richard Harris sent a huge bouquet up to the

Cassavetes hotel room and tucked the Golden Globe Best Actress envelope into the middle of the flowers. The card in that envelope said, Winner, Best Actress, Gina Rowlands. Don't do it is a powerful phrase. On one hand, it can stop you in your tracks.

On the other, it can be a bewitching case of reverse psychology tempting you to do it. In part one of this episode, we talked about how rarely the advertising industry builds campaigns around don't do it. It's usually left to the realm of public service announcements that are more comfortable embracing negativity, like don't smoke, don't drink and drive, don't start forest fires, etc. But there is a small segment of the commercial world that does dare to plunk its flag firmly in the world of don't do it. Some of those brave campaigns are very funny,

and some are even award-winning. You're under the influence. One of the most famous Don't Do It campaigns began back in 1964. As we mentioned briefly in a past episode, advertising agency Benton & Bowles had the Procter & Gamble account, and one of the products they advertised was Charmin bathroom tissue. P&G had just come up with a new process for making the tissue super soft, and needed a big idea to launch the improved product. Coming up with a big idea for toilet paper ain't easy, let me assure you.

By the way, you couldn't even call it toilet paper in 1964. It had to be referred to as bathroom tissue until 1975. And that's just one of the obstacles. The ad agency faced a big conundrum. How do you demonstrate softness and not just talk about it? They knew that if they could get shoppers to actually squeeze the newly soft tissue, they would switch brands and buy it. Then they had an insight.

Why not tap into the habit women had in supermarkets of squeezing a tomato or a loaf of bread to determine whether it was fresh or not? But how do you convince women to squeeze toilet paper? If the commercials could convince shoppers to squeeze the tissue, then it would lead to another problem. Supermarket managers wouldn't want shoppers all standing around squeezing toilet paper. And you never wanted to make supermarket managers angry because they control your placement on their shelves.

So there it was. How do you convince women to squeeze the bathroom tissue and not anger the supermarkets? Enter Mr. Whipple. The solution was to create a character, a pretend supermarket manager. They named him George Whipple. They got that name from the head of the ad agency's public relations department.

His name was George Whipple. They chose it for two reasons. First, it was just a funny name. Second, if any other George Whipple tried to sue, they could prove their own George Whipple had granted them the right to use his name. The actor they chose to play Whipple was Dick Wilson. Wilson was born in England but raised in Hamilton, Ontario. He made his way to Hollywood in the mid-1950s

and landed roles on TV shows like Bewitched, Hogan's Heroes, and The Bob Newhart Show. The Charmin campaign idea was simple. Whipple ran a supermarket and put up a sign asking shoppers not to squeeze the Charmin. Of course, shoppers couldn't resist, and Mr. Whipple has to constantly remind them to read the sign. Big and fluffy. Charmin's so squeezably soft, it's irres that Mr. Whipple himself couldn't resist squeezing the

Charmin. The Please Don't Squeeze the Charmin slogan was a kind of reverse psychology. By saying don't, it made people do. And real supermarket owners couldn't complain because the campaign theme was Don't Squeeze the Charmin. By 1969, Charmin was the number one bathroom tissue on the market.

A survey in the mid-70s revealed that more people could recognize Mr. Whipple than they could then-president Jimmy Carter. It even inspired a hit country song. Advertising Age magazine considers it one of the best slogans of the 20th century. Dick Wilson would go on to make 504 Charmin commercials over 20 years. He only worked 16 days a year and made an annual salary of $300,000.

Not a bad gig. When ad man David Ogilvie was offered the American Express account back in 1962, he wasn't sure he wanted it. He thought Amex was too small. But the CEO of American Express invited him over to his home to at least discuss it. Ogilvy agreed. When he got there, the Amex CEO and his wife showed him into their library for a talk. Ogilvy walked in, took a bunch of pillows off the couch,

put them on the floor, laid down on them, and started describing all the things he could do for American Express. The CEO and his wife stared at Ogilvy in mild shock. But as they listened to him, they couldn't help but be intrigued. And the next thing you know, Amex had hired the man lying on their floor. Lucky for Ogilvy, he accepted the small account, because by the 1980s, American Express had grown bigger than General Foods, Ogilvy's largest account. American Express was founded in 1850 and began as a stagecoach delivery service.

In the 1890s, the president of American Express, J.C. Fargo, went on a grand tour of Europe. To refresh his personal funds with local currency, he made visits to European banks where he presented letters of credit. It took forever to receive his cash. He was enraged at the bureaucratic delays and paper shuffling in the banks. And if the president of American Express was kept waiting,

imagine the delays suffered by an ordinary traveler. Returning home, he directed his staff to create a payment product that could be exchanged easily,

on the spot, in countries around the world. The solution was the traveler's check. It was a powerful idea. Jump to the mid-70s. With air travel increasing, American Express wanted to campaign to promote its traveler's checks.

The marketing strategy was to remind travelers that even if to promote its traveler's checks. The marketing strategy was to remind travelers that even if they had their traveler's checks stolen, American Express would replace them the same day. Ogilvy and Mather came up with a great slogan, Don't leave home without them. The ad agency wanted a spokesperson with some credibility and authority. At that time, one of the top TV shows was The Streets of San Francisco. It was a weekly crime drama starring a wise, experienced detective played by Carl Malden

and his young sidekick, Michael Douglas. Ogilvie hired the fedora-wearing Malden to warn viewers about the perils of traveling. This man has worked a long, hard day and he's got a lot of money to show for it. Other people's money. He's a pickpocket. His take, $700. It's dangerous to carry cash. Carry American Express traveler's checks.

If they're lost or stolen, you can get them back. Your vacation is protected. American Express traveler's checks. Don't leave home without them. American Express embraced the word don't because it played into the negative fear of losing one's cash while in a foreign country. And of course, don't really meant do take them with you. Don't leave home without them became a monster success for American Express. The CEO attributed the massive sales of traveler's

checks almost wholly to the advertising. Carl Malden was the spokesman for American Express for 20 years. When he finally retired, Ogilvy made a smart modification to the campaign. It shifted from traveler's checks to the American Express card itself and featured celebrities whose names were well-known, but their faces weren't. People like author Stephen King, football coach Mike Ditka, and Jim Davis, creator of Garfield the Cat. Do you know me? Who cares?

That, of course, is Garfield. He's fat, full-figured, ill-mannered, and to think I created him. But sometimes when I travel without the tubby tabby, people don't know my name, so I carry the American Express card, and wherever I go, folks treat me like a fat cat. Fat chance. The American Express Every commercial began with the line,

Do you know me? Then their name was revealed on their Amex card. The commercials ended with an updated, Don't leave home without it. My favorite ad in the campaign featured Looney Tunes voice actor extraordinaire, Mel Blanc. Do you know me? I gave Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck their voices, but no one knows me.

It's despicable! So now I travel with the American Express card. Then if I'm stranded without enough money and need accommodation, the card can always rescue me. With this, my name won't always draw a blank. The American Express card. Don't leave home without it. That's all, folks. The Don't Leave Home Without It campaign ran until the 1990s.

The phrase was used in movies, in television shows, and by presidents in White House speeches. It's been used so often over the last 50 years that many people probably have no idea it originated in an advertising campaign. Don't leave home without it is considered one of the best slogans of the 20th century. There is a funny campaign running right now for progressive insurance. While it doesn't use the word don't in its tagline, the premise is don't turn into your parents. In every commercial, a parenta life coach named Dr. Rick helps people overcome traits they've picked up from their parents. In every commercial, a parent-to-life coach named Dr. Rick

helps people overcome traits they've picked up from their parents. The goal of the campaign was to convince new homeowners to buy progressive home insurance. The company hit on an insight. The day you truly feel like an adult is the day you buy your first home.

And when that grown-up switch is thrown on, it's also the day you start to act like your parents. Progressive calls the condition parentamorphosis. You become everything that irritated you about your parents. But the campaign does it in a very funny, humorous way. In one commercial, Dr. Rick gently reminds new homeowners that they don't always have to use their speaker phones while making calls in public places.

He lets them know it's okay to use their thumbs while emailing on their phones instead of their index fingers. He tells them that they don't have to tell restaurant waiters their name. He helps people who say they have no room to sit in their own living rooms. General rule of thumb, we throw pillows. If there's nowhere to sit, you have too many. The commercials are performed by a cast of veteran improv actors, including actor Bill Glass, who plays Dr. Rick.

One more time, we are not our parents. We are not our parents. This is my life's work. No need to read every billboard out loud. If you can read it, they can read it. Don't say howdy. You're not a cowboy. We're going to apply medical ointments and creams at home, not in public. So funny. The Don't Turn Into Your Parents campaign has an interesting effect on both young homeowners and their parents. They both laugh at it. But it's not just funny. The campaign recently won an Effie Award, which is given to effective ad campaigns that yielded the biggest results of the year. The Dr. Rick Don't Turn Into Your Parents campaign not only became Progressive's

most-watched content of all time, home insurance policy sales grew by double digits. The campaign also has fans, rare for an advertising campaign. And those fans tweet at Progressive almost daily.

The dozens of Dr. Rick videos have millions of views on YouTube. The campaign has now entered pop culture. And the phrase, you need Dr. Rick, means you're acting like your dad. If that sounds like you, put up your right hand. life goes. New father, new routines, new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. According to Advertising Age magazine, the number one slogan of the 20th century was, a diamond is forever.

De Beers has been using that tagline since 1948. As we've mentioned before it was a marketing strategy to link diamond rings to engagements which were not linked back then Prior to 1948 symbols of engagements were things like rubies, fur coats and even automobiles So De Beers hired an advertising agency to polish the allure of diamonds. The ad agency came back with, a diamond is forever. The slogan didn't sell a brand name, it sold an idea. The idea that the symbol of eternal love was a diamond. And it positioned diamond rings as a tradition,

like dropping to one knee to propose. By 1951, eight out of ten brides got a diamond. The children, the laughter, the times we've had, the life we share. It all began when I gave you a diamond. This anniversary, I'll give you another. A solitaire as bright as our dreams. For all that's been and all that's to come. For your anniversary, the diamond solitaire.

A diamond is forever. De Beers. But times change. When De Beers Diamonds looked at marriage statistics in 2003, the news wasn't good. 53% of Canadians said that marriage is either not that important or not important at all. And 38% of Americans were not only unmarried,

they had no partner. That didn't bode well for diamond engagement rings. So De Beers came up with a marketing solution. In 2003, De Beers rolled out an advertising campaign that essentially told women you don't need a man or a partner. And they unveiled the right-hand ring. All engagement rings and wedding rings are traditionally worn on the ring finger of the left hand. The right-hand ring was meant to be worn on the ring finger of the opposite hand.

It was positioned in the marketplace as a symbol of independence. It was a diamond ring women could buy for themselves without having to wait for the big day. De Beers ran print ads in top magazines like Vogue that said, your left hand is your heart, your right hand is your voice. The phenomenon of women age 35 plus buying their own diamond rings tapped into the sex and the city demographic, successful professional women with disposable income. The ads proclaimed, your left hand says we, your right hand says me. The right hand ring became known as the power ring. Within six months, diamond retailers saw sales climb 50%.

Within three years, the purchase of diamonds by women became the fastest-growing segment in the diamond market. The marketing campaign not only increased sales of right-hand rings worth $5,000 to $50,000, it also ignited sales at discount retailers like Walmart and Costco, where a right-hand diamond ring could be had for as little as $389. De Beers didn't care which retailers were profiting from right-hand rings, as De Beers controls most of the world's supply of diamonds. Right-hand rings was a profitable marketing solution to a marketing problem. All it took was a shift to the right. In case nobody's told you, weight loss goes beyond

the old just eat less and move more narrative. And that's where Felix comes in. Felix is redefining weight loss for Canadians with a smarter, more personalized approach to help you crush your health goals this year. Losing weight is about more than diet and exercise. It can also be about our genetics, hormones, metabolism. Felix connects you with online licensed health care practitioners who understand that everybody is different and can pair your healthy lifestyle with the right support to reach your goals. 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. There was a very amusing commercial for Uber Eats in the Super Bowl this year. Uber Eats is a food delivery service, but now you can get anything delivered with Uber Eats. That means you can get all your grocery items, not just food items. That led to a commercial that led with the question, Wait, if it was delivered with Uber Eats, does that mean I can eats it? Then comedic actor Jennifer Coolidge eyes a roll of aluminum foil.

We see Nicholas Braun, who plays cousin Greg on Succession, chug-a-lug some dish soap. This tastes bad. We watch Gwyneth Paltrow take one of her infamous vajayjay scented candles out of an Uber Eats bag. She takes a nibble, then says it tastes funny. Not bad, but funny. And thanks to Uber Eats, we don't even know what food is anymore.

Finally, after people have tried eating paper towels, sunscreen, and underarm deodorant, Braun says... We can't eat most of this. Yeah, we can't eat any of this. As the commercial ends, he points to the Uber Eats bag, saying... That bag's a liar! Words on the screen say, Uber now delivering eats and don't eats. The casting was offbeat. Even the small disclaimers on the screen were funny, like, do not eat anatomy candles.

Of course, not everybody liked the commercial. Some found it disgusting to watch people try to eat pencils. Some found it gross to see someone eating kitty litter. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission was compelled to tweet

Don't Eat Soap after the commercial aired. I thought it was silly funny. It made quite a few of the top ten lists of the best Super Bowl commercials. Above all, it made the point that Uber Eats has expanded its delivery offering by saying don't eats everything Uber Eats now delivers. We might be hardwired to react to the word don't. Maybe it's because we heard that word so often when we were kids.

Don't touch that. Don't talk back. Don't wear your boots in the house. Don't talk in class. Don't forget to do your homework. It's a hot-button word, but that jolt gives it power. The American Express slogan could have easily said, always travel with traveler's checks, but I wouldn't be talking about that campaign 50 years later. Charmin could have said, feel free to squeeze our bathroom tissue, but it would have never inspired 504

commercials. And De Beers could have stuck to the left and missed out on the revenue opportunity slightly to the right. Don't do it not only has great power, it also ignites great humor. When progressive insurance says, don't turn into your parents, it's a funny premise everyone can relate to. And when Uber Eats tells you they also deliver don't eats, the laugh cuts through the huddle of Super Bowl commercials. That's the thing with don't do it commercials. They do work. When you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly.

This episode was recorded in the Terrastream Mobile Recording Studio. Producer, Debbie O'Reilly. Sound Engineer, Jeff Devine. Research, Patrick James Aslan. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like If you'd like to be the first to know the latest under the influence news, get insider peeks at upcoming episodes and events, subscribe to our newsletter at apostrophepodcasts.ca.

See you next week. Fun fact. The very first Don't Squeeze the Charmin commercial was filmed in Flushing, New York. True story.