Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S1E11 - Accidental Brands

Episode Date: March 17, 2012

It may surprise you to know that many famous brands were invented completely by accident. They weren't the result of years of research, or painstaking experiments, or scientific brilliance - they were simply stumbled upon by mistake. 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. From the Under the Influence digital box set, this episode is from Season 1, 2012. You're soaking in it. You're loving it in its... Your teeth look whiter than no, no, no. You're not you when you're hungry.

You're in good hands with us. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. When I was a kid in the 60s, I loved comic books. And along with Batman and Superman, I worshipped another superhero. His name was The Flash. A scarlet costume ejects from his ring, and in a blur of motion, police scientist Barry Allen becomes

The Flash, world's fastest human. The Flash, whose speed enables him to vibrate through solid walls and conquer the barriers of time and space in the pursuit of evildoers. The Flash, Scarlet Speech,

therefore, justice. The Flash first appeared back in January of 1940, which is considered the golden age of comics, from the 1930s to the early 50s. The Flash was published by All American Publications, one of three companies that would merge to form DC Comics. I grew up during the Silver Age of Comics, defined as the mid-50s to 1970.

It was an era where DC Comics reimagined their superheroes. My Flash was created in 1956. In that storyline, a police chemist named Barry Allen was known around the precinct as Plotting, the slowest person at the station. But one night, during a storm at the laboratory,

a bolt of lightning crashed through the window and shattered a vial of chemicals that surrounded Alan. Accidentally inhaling the chemicals, he suddenly discovers he has the power to move faster than the speed of light. He adopts the name of The Flash and vows to fight crime. In 1985, he finally dies a heroic death by traveling to the future to save the Earth from an evil villain.

The villain has an anti-matter cannon aimed at the Earth, and by running faster than he has ever done before, the Flash destroys the cannon and tragically, by doing so, his body disintegrates. But in a nice piece of writing, his energies rocket back through time

and become the lightning bolt that shattered the chemicals that gave Alan his superhero powers in the first place. The Flash of the 50s is seen by many to be the first superhero of the Silver Age of comic books. But he holds another distinction. The Flash was the first superhero to get his superpowers by accident. He didn't come from another planet, he wasn't born with superhuman skills,

he simply inhaled chemicals by mistake one night and that accident granted him the ability to run faster than the speed of light. That storyline has a cousin in the world of marketing. Many of the super brands we've come to know were discovered completely by accident. They weren't created to solve a problem. They weren't pursued by inventors trying to perfect a new product.

They weren't even the result of years of research. They gained their powers by complete and utter fluke and happened to become major multi-million dollar products in the process. They were accidental brands. Carl Needham was a movie nut. One day in 1989, the 22-year-old Brit posted a simple text file titled Those Eyes,

listing beautiful actresses. He was also a big fan of this actor. Well, I thought everything was fine until I saw you last night. Then I knew there must be something between us. So he started another text file that collected Cary Grant movies. Soon, he expanded it to include other actors and their films. Another friend began managing a list of actresses.

As the list expanded, Needham created software that allowed users to search the database. In 1993, he decided to start IMDB, or the Internet Movie Database website, and soon found his traffic doubling every two weeks. One day, when he got home from work, his wife told him the New York Times had called. It was then that Needham realized that he just might have stumbled upon an actual business idea. So, in 1996, he incorporated IMDb. Today, it boasts 57 million unique visitors every month, and when people call someone

important in Hollywood looking for an appointment, the secretary now checks where they rank on IMDB before the call is put through. And it all started from a simple list of beautiful actresses that accidentally became one of the most successful websites in the world. Back in the 1920s, a man named Cleo McVicar worked for the Cutall Products Company. Cutall was a family-owned business based in Cincinnati, Ohio,

that specialized in soaps and cleansing products. At that time, houses were heated with coal, and that left a lot of soot in homes as a result. In 1933, Kroger Gro stores asked McVicker if his company had a product that could clean soot off wallpaper. Cleo said, yes they did. So Kroger signed an agreement with them to deliver the cleaning compound by a certain date.

That was terrific news for Cut-All, because they were on the brink of going under. Terrific, except for one tiny thing. They didn't have a wallpaper cleaning product. So Cleo brought the new account and the new problem back to the office and his younger brother Noah McVicker quickly went to work to develop a solution. At only 23 years of age and under enormous pressure,

Noah McVicker managed to invent a pliable, putty-like substance that easily removed the soot from dirty wallpaper. It saved the Cut-All Products Company, and it sold well until the 1950s. But after the Second World War, people started heating their homes with oil and gas, which was much cleaner than coal. On top of that,

wallpaper started to be made from vinyl. Vinyl had one feature that old wallpaper didn't. It could be easily cleaned with soap and water. That was bad news for Cut-All. It made their wallpaper product obsolete, sales began to decline,

and the company was again headed for bankruptcy. By that time, Noah McVicker's nephew Joseph had joined the family business and was charged with trying to save the company. As fate would have it, Joseph's sister-in-law, Kay Zuffel, a nursery school teacher, happened to read in a magazine

that some people were using Cutall's wallpaper putty for arts and crafts projects. She mentioned this to Joseph, so he took some of the compound, removed the cleansing agent, and sent it over to Kay's school. When she reported back that it was a big hit with the kids, McVicker took the raw compound, put it into cans, and renamed it Cuddles Rainbow Modeling Compound. Kay said, that's a wonderfully horrible name, and rechristened it Play-Doh.

With that, Joseph McVicker took Play-Doh to a convention for manufacturers of school supplies where it generated a lot of interest. Soon, he convinced a department store in Washington, D.C. to begin selling Play-Doh in a single color in 1.5-pound cans. In 1956, the McVickers sensed they might have a winning product on their hands and formed the Rainbow Crafts Company to make and sell Play-Doh. One year later, they rolled out red, blue, and yellow colors, and after in-store demonstrations, Macy's of New York and Marshall Fields of Chicago opened accounts with them.

The McVickers wanted to roll Play-Doh out nationally, but they didn't have enough money to advertise it. So Joseph managed to get a meeting with Bob Keeshan, better known as Captain Kangaroo. He showed Keeshan the Play-Doh,

explained they had no money to advertise it, but if Keishon was willing to use Play-Doh once a week on Captain Kangaroo, the McVickers were willing to give Keishon 2% of the sales generated. The Captain agreed and Play-Doh became a national

hit. Soon, the McVickers did have enough money to advertise, and spent it on influential children's programs like Romper Room, and, of course, Captain Kangaroo. Captain will be back after these messages. The Play-Doh people, makers of the forked hand set, present Fun Factory. Busy, busy, busy as a bee. Busy with the Fun Factory.

Making pieces one by one. In goes the Play-Doh, out comes the fun. Busy, busy, busy as a bee. Busy with the Fun Factory. You can make it with Play-Doh. Fun Factory. By 1958, sales of Play-Doh surpassed $3 million. Young Joseph McVickers was a millionaire by the age of 27. A Play-Doh Pete character was added to the logo in 1960.

And a few years later, Pete would become a TV mascot. Play-Doh. They love it. That's because they can do so much with it. You're the Play-Doh boy. Right. Kids love to squish it, and squash it, and roll it. But most of all, kids like Play-Doh because they can make anything they imagine.

I remember you. I remember you, too. Play-Doh. Touch me, Goldfish, Mommy. Oh, I have a little help. In 1964, Play-Doh was exported to Europe, and the brand never looked back. It is now owned by Hasbro and is available in over 75 countries worldwide more than 2 billion

cans of play-doh have been sold since 1955 and 95 million cans are still sold every year play-doh has been inducted into the national toy hall of fame and is number 24 on the list of the 100 most memorable toys of the 20th century. And, by the way, mark September 18th in your calendar. That's National Play-Doh Day. It is one of the most famous toy brands in the world and it all began accidentally when kids started playing with a wallpaper cleaning putty. And we'll be right back. If you're enjoying this episode, why not dip into our archives,

available wherever you download your pods. Go to terryoreilly.ca for a master episode list. Oh, my sweet baby. You mean everything to me. I love you. Way back in 1991, three scientists who worked at Pfizer in England discovered that certain chemical compounds

were useful in treating heart problems such as angina. They patented their new drug and called it sildenafil. It was to be a real breakthrough in heart disease treatment as it increased blood flow to the heart muscle and lowered blood pressure.

But in clinical trials, while sildenafil was helping the heart, something else came up. It greatly increased the amount of blood flow to the genitals in all the male patients who had participated in the trials. This startled the doctors. It was supposed to be a heart medication. So a larger clinical trial was arranged on men aged 19 to 87. The tests again proved conclusive.

Sildenafil was an okay heart drug, but it was a blockbuster penile drug. So Pfizer completely changed course and over the next five years proved it could treat men's impotence with a high level of safety. Then, in 1998, the U.S. Department of Food and Drug Administration gave its approval of syndenafil citrate, and it was introduced to the pharmaceutical market under the trade name Viagra, which was inspired by the word vigor, meaning energy or power. It was at this point that Pfizer made an interesting branding decision. They chose to reframe the problem they were solving.

Instead of using the word impotence in their marketing, which was an extremely negative word with men, they instead called the condition erectile dysfunction. That small change in verbiage meant a big change in the marketing. First, it got rid of the humiliation of impotence and suggested that erectile dysfunction was a temporary condition that could be corrected, from dysfunction to fully functioning. As I've mentioned in the past, marketing a prescription drug is tricky business.

In Canada, you can't say what the medication does in the advertising. You can only imply its benefit and mention the brand name. But that restriction led to some fantastic advertising. Almost everyone in Canada remembers the very first Viagra TV commercial they saw. It showed a very average guy leaving his house in the morning on his way to work. But he's got a huge smile on his face, and he is literally dancing his way to the office. All done to this tune.

Good morning. Good morning. We've talked the whole night through. Good morning. Good morning to you. The ad didn't say a thing about erectile dysfunction. It just did what every good ad does. It featured the benefit,

showing a man enjoying the morning-after effects of a very satisfying evening. During the first week on the market, 247,000 patients were prescribed Viagra. That number jumped by 50,000 more the second week. Since then, over 35 million men worldwide have used Viagra, including Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican candidate for president. Courage. Something shared by countless Americans. Those who risked their lives.

Those who battled serious illness. When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, I was primarily concerned with ridding myself of the cancer. But secondly, I was concerned about possible post-operative side effects, like erectile dysfunction, ED, often called impotence. You know, it's a little embarrassing to talk about ED, but it's so important to millions of other partners that I decided to talk about it publicly.

Viagra enjoyed a 10-year patent period with no competitors. By the year 2000, it accounted for 92% of the global erectile pill market, and sales peaked in 2008 at $1.9 billion. The little blue pill has a big anniversary this week. It's been 10 years since Pfizer introduced Viagra. That's their remedy for, cover your ears, erectile dysfunction. I feel okay saying that on the air because odds are you'll hear it once or twice in the commercials.

Then, around 2007, competitors like Cialis and Levitra entered the market to give Viagra some stiff competition. But Viagra still commands a 60% share of the $3.2 billion worldwide market today. It is one of the biggest accidental brands of our time. Speaking of lust in your loins, back in 1894, a strict Seventh Day Adventist and superintendent

of the Battle Creek Sanatorium believed that feeding his patients bland food would prevent horrible lust from building up in their loins. He also didn't allow alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine. On August 8th of that year, the superintendent and his younger brother accidentally left some cooked wheat uncovered in the kitchen when they had to attend to more pressing matters. When they returned, they discovered it had gone stale.

Not wanting to waste anything, they put it through the roller anyway, hoping to salvage long sheets of dough, but instead they were left with flakes. So they roasted those flakes and served them to the patients. The flakes turned out to be very popular. So the younger brother, Will Keith Kellogg, told his older brother, John Harvey Kellogg, that he wanted to apply for a patent for flaked cereal and a process for preparing same, and was granted one on April 14, 1896. Will Keith, who served as the business manager of the sanatorium, decided to try and

mass market their accidental discovery to the public. So he experimented with other grains and started the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company in 1906. By 1922, the business was renamed the Kellogg Company.

The brothers eventually had a falling out when Will Keith wanted to add sugar to the cereals. John Harvey was completely against the idea, believing the sugar would create sexual stirrings in their patients. So Will Keith Kellogg went it alone and was a smart entrepreneur in those early days of modern marketing. In the 20s, he created a mail-in promotion where millions of kids mailed in Kellogg's box tops for prizes.

That made Kellogg's a household name. In the 30s, during the Great Depression, WK made another remarkable decision. Just as everyone was cutting back on their advertising in those tough times, he doubled his, and Kellogg's sales increased. He also sponsored The Singing Lady, Irene Wicker, the first radio show for children. During the Second World War, Kellogg manufactured packaged K-rations for the troops. In 1951, W.K. Kellogg died at the age of 91.

In an ironic footnote, one of his biggest competitors was Post Cereals, started by C.W. Post, a former patient of Kellogg's at the Battle Creek Sanatorium. But the Kellogg's company continued to grow. In 1957, the Corn Flakes brand got its mascot. I wish I could discover America with Cornelius. Boss, that was Columbus.

All right, Corny, let's go see Columbus. He was a big green rooster named Cornelius, or Corny for short. Tall up and up and up and up and up with the tall corn taste from Cal! Cornflakes even went to the moon with the Apollo 11 astronauts on their historic mission in 1969. And it's been on breakfast tables ever since. From that one accident in the Battle Creek Sanatorium back in 1894, Kellogg's Corn Flakes is now marketed

in 180 countries around the world. Every box of Kellogg's Corn My very best to you Each one So tell us, come, my very best to you, each one. One evening, back in 1905, Frank Epperson was sitting on his porch in San Francisco. He was mixing a powdered flavoring for soda with water in a cup, using a stick to stir the concoction.

He left it there on the porch and went in for the evening. But as fate would have it, the temperatures dropped to a record low that night. The next morning, Epperson discovered the drink had frozen to the stick. It was a frozen pop,

and Epperson named it an Epsicle. It was a big hit with his school friends. Oh, by the way, did I mention that Frank Epperson was 11 years old at the time? Eighteen years later, Epperson was serving Epsicles to his own kids, and seeing again how much they loved the product, he decided to try selling it. He sold the pop on a stick at Neptune Beach, an amusement park

in Almeida, California, and it was a hit there too. His kids had called it Popsicle, so Epperson renamed the product The Popsicle and applied for a patent for his, quote,

handled frozen confection in 1924. The very next year, Epperson got into financial trouble and sold the rights to the popsicle to the Joe Lowe Company of New York. It was originally available in seven flavors and was marketed as a frozen drink on a stick.

During the Great Depression, the twin popsicle was invented so two children could share an ice pop for just a nickel. In April of 1939, a mascot was invented called Popsicle Pete. It debuted on the radio program Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Here is that very first Popsicle Pete broadcast. Buck Rogers in the 25th century. This program is brought to you by the makers of Popsicle, Fudgicle, and Creamsicle, those

delicious frozen confections on a stick. Now I have a swell surprise for you. The famous winner of the typical American boy contest has now become Popsicle Pete. Here's a message from him. Hello, everybody. I sure am glad to meet you. And boy, am I glad I was picked to be the typical American boy, because now I'm Popsicle Pete.

The shape of popsicles is unique, and the flat wooden stick handles with their round ends are as popular as the treat itself. Made from birch wood, they are still sold by the box to children and adults for arts and crafts projects. Bet MGM, authorized gaming partner of the NBA, has your back all season long. From tip-off to the final buzzer, you're always taken care of with the sportsbook born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with Bet MGM. We'll be right back. game to the next level this year with BetMGM, a sportsbook worth a slam dunk and authorized gaming partner of the NBA. BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about your

gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BitMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. The Popsicle is a part of almost everyone's childhood, and good old Popsicle Pete made appearances in Popsicle marketing until 1995. Hot! Scorching, baby! Gotta cool you down. And fast! Gotta chill you out. Hot! 95 the most popular flavor is cherry and to this day over 2 billion popsicles are sold annually Frank Epperson died in 1983 at the age of 89 he had left a cup of soda on the porch overnight

and accidentally invented one of the most beloved treats in the world at the age of 11. You gotta pop, pop, pop, cigar The original, the original cool Mark Twain was once asked to name the greatest inventor of all time. He answered, accident. In an era where so much is planned and calculated and computed,

it's refreshing to know that chance can still play an enormous role in our lives. The greatest thing about accidents is that they help us make connections that are beyond our grasp. So many of the greatest inventions of our time were created completely by serendipity, where the inventors were either searching for something else, were trying to accomplish another goal, or were on the brink of disaster. Who would have ever thought that children would play with a wallpaper putty cleanser and that incidental use of the putty would not only save a company from bankruptcy but would go on to accidentally create one of the most famous toy brands in the world?

Or that a medication developed for heart disease would accidentally become a super drug when it hit below the belt? Or that cornflakes would be accidentally created as a result of trying to suppress sexual urges in a sanatorium. Or that an 11-year-old would accidentally invent one of the most beloved frozen confections of the 20th century.

What's even more fascinating is that these super brands now generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually, are heavily researched and advertised, intricately planned, and are presided over by thousands of people worldwide. Yet, each started life as a mistake, or as an accident, or the flash of an afterthought, which only goes to prove that not all progress is deliberate when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. Hey, it's Chris Straw calling.

I just wanted you to know I thought that was one of the best episodes I've heard all year. The writing was superb, the production was stellar, just fantastic radio. Anyway, as Senior Director of Network Talk here at CBC, I just wanted to say, well done, Brent. That was the best Day 6 episode yet. Oh, damn. I think I dialed the wrong number. Sorry, Terry. I called you by accident. Under the Influence was produced by Pirate Toronto and New York. New year, new me.

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