Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S2E12 - Selling Danger

Episode Date: March 23, 2013

In the history of the advertising industry, the full force of persuasion has been put behind many products turned out to be incredibly unsafe. Even when those products were used exactly as advertised – they created enormous hazards, physical risk, and in some cases, even death. We’ll explore how we invited Asbestos and DDT into our homes as miracle products, how certain games for children ended up posing incredible risks, and how a much-heralded drug ended up being one of the most devastating products in modern history.In most of those cases, no one could foresee they were selling danger. 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. new year new me season is here and honestly we're already over it enter felix the health care 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. From the Under the Influence digital box set, this episode is from Season 2, 2013. You're not you when you're hungry. You're in good hands with us. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. The headline said, Marketing Blamed in Trampling Death.

It happened on Black Friday in 2008, the sale day after the American Thanksgiving that is often regarded as the start of the Christmas shopping season. At a Walmart in Long Island, New York, a frenzied crowd surged the doors of the store as they were opened and trampled a 34-year-old employee named Dimitai Damour. Well, we're still waiting for the identification of the 34-year-old part-time sales clerk who was killed here at this Walmart. Police say what happened here this morning was utter chaos.

They call it a stampede. It was about 2,000 people lining up outside the store just before 5 o'clock this morning when the store was supposed to open. Some of the folks were chanting, open up, open up. But apparently the crew of the store didn't open the doors fast enough. And at one point, the crowd surged forward and literally pushed down the huge glass and aluminum doors. The doors knocked down this 34-year-old sales clerk. And while he lay on the ground, as you said, hundreds of people trampled over him.

Some of his colleagues on the staff of Walmart rushed to his aid, but even they were getting knocked around by the crowd. The crowds that rushed in to take advantage of the Black Friday sales didn't even stop when police tried to help the fallen Walmart employee. And the final insult of all of this, when police arrived on the scene and were trying to administer CPR to this man, they too were getting knocked around by the crowd that was surging in to try and get the sales that were happening at that early point in the day. According to a lawsuit filed by the victim's family, advertising was partially to blame. Besides failing to provide adequate security, the family believed that Walmart engaged in specific marketing and advertising techniques to, quote, specifically attract a large crowd and create an environment of frenzy and mayhem.

The president of the Northeast Division of Walmart U.S. said the company was deeply saddened by the death and were doing everything possible to help the family through the difficult time. He also said that Walmart had expected a large crowd that morning and had added barricades, additional internal security, additional third-party security, additional store associates, and had worked closely with the local police. But, despite all these precautions, Dimitri D'Amour was killed.

The 6'5", 270-pound D'Amour died of asphyxiation after being crushed by the stampeding crowd. As the local police commissioner said at the time, when you advertise products and you market it heavily, and it's great bargains with limited quantities of merchandise, and you have a crowd that can grow beyond the quantity available, it's a recipe for disaster. Advertising can be a powerful force.

I say can be, because so much advertising produces no results whatsoever. And while Walmart definitely wanted to generate unbridled excitement for their Black Friday sale, no one at the company wanted a fatality to occur. In the history of the advertising industry, the full force of persuasion has been put behind many products that, in hindsight, turned out to be incredibly unsafe. Yet the power of advertising persuaded thousands of people to use those products and, in a quirk of fate, those very products, when used exactly as advertised,

created enormous hazards, physical risk, and, in some cases, even death. But in most of those cases, no one could foresee they were selling danger. You're under the influence. There are many products in this world that, if used improperly, can be very dangerous. And, over the years, there have been many products that were just plain dangerous, especially when used exactly as advertised. Many of those products were found to be dangerous over time. Yet, before research or injury proved they were deadly,

the advertising industry put its full weight behind their marketing. And in some cases, the manufacturer continued marketing the product even after evidence of danger was discovered. It's an interesting list of very familiar products. And when you hear the upbeat advertising that was created for some of these brands, I have to say, it's nothing short of shocking. So, let's go back in time to the

post-war optimism of the 1950s. Let's start with our homes. The attractive roof, which protects us against fire and weather, will never rot or decay because the shingles are made of asbestos and cement and not only outside but inside as well asbestos helps beautify the home with colorful vinyl asbestos floor tile tough asbestos fiber protects them against wear in the cords of household appliances that demand heavy amounts of electricity, asbestos provides protective insulation. And no matter how long little Johnny plays with his electric train, asbestos insulation in the transformer

offers similar protection. And when drinking water comes out sparkling clear, an asbestos cement pipe may have helped guard it from reservoir to home. Yes, welcome to the wonders of asbestos. It was called the miracle mineral back then. As you could hear from that promotional film, asbestos was put in our houses and in our everyday household items. It's a product with a long history. The word asbestos comes from ancient Greece,

meaning unquenchable or inextinguishable. It can be traced back as far as 4,500 years ago, as the people of Finland used asbestos to strengthen earthenware pots and cooking utensils. One of the first written descriptions of asbestos to strengthen earthenware pots and cooking utensils. One of the first written descriptions of asbestos was documented in 300 BC, and some Roman rulers used asbestos tablecloths and napkins and would amaze guests by cleaning them

just by holding them over a fire. Marco Polo described being offered garments that would not burn on his travels. But it wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that asbestos became a boom industry. The first commercial asbestos mine was opened in late 1874 in Asbestos, Quebec. It was the biggest open-pit asbestos mine in the world.

By the mid-20th century, asbestos had over 4,000 uses and was found in everything from insulation, piping, drywall, roofing, lawn furniture, toys, and flooring, as you can hear in this 1965 commercial. This is the action. This is the room. This is the room. The active room. This is the floor for the active rooms. A beautiful floor for an active room like a family room.

It's the newest design in Armstrong embossed Exelon tile. Vinyl asbestos with the beauty and texture of a handcrafted swirl chip design. Asbestos-related diseases were first noticed in the early 1900s. Occupational risks for asbestos workers in Britain were documented as far back as 1924, and the first known U.S. workers' compensation claim for asbestos disease was in 1927. Cases continued to mount through the 30s and 40s, but were either not widely publicized or concealed. But asbestos production continued and hit a peak in the 50s and 60s as the post-war

consumer boom swept it along. This contemporary home shows how modern asbestos materials can be adapted to any style or design. Notice how the asbestos cement sidewalls help add dignity and charm. Oh, it is attractive. Yes, and it'll stay that way too. That's what I like about it. Then, in the 1980s, after research confirmed that asbestos caused a form of cancer called mesothelioma, asbestos was banned in over 50 countries. According to the World Health Organization, asbestos-related illnesses still claim over 107,000 lives each year.

The upbeat commercials for the miracle mineral of the 50s and 60s has now led to another kind of commercial. Hi, I'm Erin Brockovich. I've seen the harm big corporations can do. Workers who built this country and were exposed to asbestos, now suffering with mesothelioma and lung cancer. Whites in Luxembourg has been a leader in asbestos litigation for over 20 years. I've worked with them, and I trust them. They've won billions of dollars in settlements for their clients. If you're an asbestos victim, please give them a call. Whites in Luxembourg, 1-888-411-LAW.

The case against the asbestos industry is considered the longest, most expensive tort in U.S. history. One more note. Up until 2010, the Jeffrey mine in asbestos Quebec was still producing 150,000 tons of asbestos annually. While asbestos has no domestic market because of its toxicity, Canada continued to export it to developing countries. Canada's two biggest asbestos mines were finally shut down in 2011. In World War II, soldiers had to battle mosquitoes and the subsequent malaria the insects carried. But during the war, the insecticidal properties of DDT were discovered.

DDT was a white, tasteless, and almost odorless chemical compound that proved remarkable at killing pests. After the war, DDT was used as an agricultural insecticide. Its incredible success rate in controlling insects for crops made its use skyrocket.

Up until that time, DDT was mostly used in commercial applications. But soon enough, it was brought into the consumer world and into our homes. This new insect destroyer contains a lot of DDT. Its DDT content is even higher than government specifications. I'm almost afraid to tell you what the visuals were in that ad. When you watch it on our website, you'll see a woman painting her screen door with DDT. Then, a man painting the vegetable counter with it in a grocery store.

We see powdered DDT being rubbed into a dog's fur. And, in maybe the most horrific scene, a housewife paints her kitchen cupboards with a fresh can of DDT. The commercials position the product as yet another breakthrough in an era of technological miracles. This commercial from 1946 told the public that DDT was harmless to humans. Remember the name, Pestroy DDT. It spells certain death to all insects I've mentioned so far, and others too. There must be a catch to it. Maybe

pest droid hurts humans too. No sir, it harms only us, the citizens of Buckton. Used right, it is absolutely harmless to humans and animals, but to insects it is deadly. DDT was marketed heavily from the late 1940s through to the 1960s. It was so effective in killing insects that certain brands boasted about how much DDT was in their products. Well, this new insect destroyer contains a lot of DDT, not just a little. Its DDT content is even higher than government specifications. But the really sure-kill feature of this insect killer isn't simply that it contains DDT,

it's the way that it makes sure that bugs get the DDT that's in it. One print ad we found encouraged parents to protect their children against disease-carrying insects by installing DDT children's room wallpaper. The ad said the wallpaper was certified safe and was tested and commended by Parents Magazine. The wallpaper was soaked in DDT and was hung in children's rooms

by just dipping the paper in water. The ad went on to cheerfully say the wallpaper came in Jack and Jill or Disney patterns. Then came Rachel Carson's famous book titled Silent Spring in 1962. As we've mentioned on the show before, Carson argued that DDT wasn't only killing insects, but harming wildlife, the environment, and humans too, which raised the ire of the scientific community. Ms. Carson maintains that the balance of nature is a major force in the survival of man,

whereas the modern chemist, the modern biologist, the modern scientist believes that man is steadily controlling nature. But Rachel Carson stood her ground. Now, to these people, apparently the balance of nature was something that was repealed as soon as man came on the scene. Well, you might just as well assume that you could repeal the law of gravity. The balance of nature is built of a series of interrelationships between living things and between living things and their environment. The public's response to Carson's book was so overwhelming that it's credited with launching the environmental movement in the U.S.

David Suzuki once told me that her book was one of the main influences in his life. But it wasn't until the early 70s that DDT was finally banned in North America. The miracle chemical that had once propelled progress had left too much devastation

in its path. All people have to do is to press the patented top like this. It's a handful of concentrated depth. And we'll be right back. If you're looking for flexible workouts, Peloton's got you covered. Summer runs or playoff season meditations, whatever your vibe, Peloton has thousands of classes built to push you. We know how 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.

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. If you grew up in the 70s and 80s like me, you probably spent some time on your lawn playing this game. Lawn Darts, a wonderful game for the entire family. For those too young to remember, lawn darts was a game that was based on horseshoes. You took a foot-long dart that was weighted at the tip

and lobbed it in the air, trying to get it into a circle about 35 feet away. Lawn darts were originally marketed in the late 50s and early 60s, but didn't really take off because so few people had a backyard in those days. But as suburbia unfolded and people moved out of the cities to find more affordable housing, backyard lawns were a major attraction. And with that, lawn darts found its audience. The game was made by several manufacturers, including Hasbro, Regent, and even Sears had their own version. They were also sold under different brand names,

like Jarts, Yard Darts, and Sod Rockets. Lawn Darts was marketed as a game for the entire family. Photos on the boxes showed mom and dad and their young children all out on the lawn playing the game. But soon, those games turned deadly. Many children started to amass serious injuries from wayward darts. Many of those were severe head injuries, as the force from a lawn dart was estimated at about 23,000 pounds of pressure per square inch, easily capable of penetrating a skull. The government tried to ban the game, but the lawn dart industry won a compromise,

which allowed them to continue selling the darts as long as they were clearly marketed as a game for adults, not children, and a similar warning label had to be put on the package. But the public pressure to ban the game mounted. The Consumer Product Safety Commission looked into the number of injuries and discovered that over a period of eight years in the 1980s, 6,100 people had been injured by lawn darts. 81% of those cases involved children under 15, and half of those were 10 or younger.

Many of the injuries led to permanent disability, and some were fatal. When the Product Safety Commission collected lawn dart sets from 14 different manufacturers, they found most of them weren't complying with the warning requirements, and they were still being sold in the toy departments of retail stores. With that, the U.S. banned lawn darts one year later, in 1988. Canada followed in 1989.

Today, if you try to sell lawn darts on eBay, they will pull your auction. And if you try to sell them on other auction sites, you risk a stiff legal penalty. But, as with most of our laws, there is a caveat. It is not illegal to sell or buy spare parts for lawn darts purchased before the ban. Lawn darts! A wonderful game for the entire family! Lawn not included. And then, there's Kinder Eggs. I'll bring back something small. Hi. What would you like? I'd like something exciting, something to play with, and some chocolate.

Darling, that three wishes go together. You know that's not possible. But yes, and some chocolate. Darling, that's three wishes all together. You know that's not possible. But yes, it is possible. Kinder Surprise is excitement every time, a toy, and deliciously milky chocolate. Mmm, what a good idea. Kinder Surprise, three wishes at once, from Ferrero. Kinder eggs are a very popular Easter gift here in Canada.

But it may surprise you to know that kinder eggs are banned outright in the United States. As a matter of fact, kinder eggs have never been allowed there. The U.S. government views them as a potential choking hazard to children because they contain a small toy inside. How serious is this at the border? Last year, U.S. customs officials seized over 60,000 Kinder Eggs from travelers, twice the amount as the year before. As the American Customs webpage states, Kinder Eggs are, quote, cute and seasonal, but they

are too dangerous for children to be imported into the U.S. A Winnipeg woman was stopped at the border when a kinder egg was found in her luggage. She was threatened with a fine and had to sign a seven-page letter from the U.S. government asking her to formally authorize the destruction of the seized egg. A Seattle couple returning home from Vancouver were detained for two hours when customs officials found six Kinder Surprise eggs

in their luggage. They were threatened with a $2,500 fine per egg for a total of $15,000. That's what I call a kinder surprise. In 1957, a new wonder drug was introduced. While it was marketed under 37 different brand names, the drug was officially called thalidomide. Developed by a German pharmaceutical company called Gruenthal, it was marketed as a safe sedative, as a tranquilizer,

and, most importantly, as a remedy for morning sickness in pregnant women. Thalidomide ads told the public they were much safer than barbiturates, which accounted for over 80% of accidental deaths by poisoning. Another ad told a reassuring story of how a 70-year-old man took 21 thalidomide pills by mistake, and while he slept soundly for 12 hours, his only side effect was drowsiness for the next two days. Nothing more. Still another ad showed a toddler with an open bottle of thalidomide, and suggested

that had the bottle been barbiturates, it may have fatally poisoned the child, noting there is no case on record where even gross overdoses of thalidomide has had harmful results. But it was the use of thalidomide by pregnant women that would lead to its banning. As it turned out,

the drug passed through the placental barrier and harmed the fetus. Over 10,000 babies in 46 countries were born with severe birth defects. When that research surfaced, thalidomide was pulled from the shelves and banned worldwide in 1961. Canada, for some reason, was the last country to ban the drug, finally doing so in 1962. The United States never allowed thalidomide. Francis Oldham Kelsey, a doctor with the FDA,

withstood the pressure of the pharmaceutical industry and refused to approve the drug. In 1962, President Kennedy awarded her the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service for blocking the sale in America. While this greatly diminished the effects of thalidomide in the U.S., millions of the tablets were distributed to doctors in a clinical test. So, it's impossible to know how many American women were affected. Just last year,

Gruenthal, the German company that had developed thalidomide, broke its 50-year silence on the subject and issued an apology. We have been silent and we are very sorry for that. We ask that you regard our long silence as a sign of the silent shock that your fate has caused us. Many of the estimated 5,000 surviving victims felt it was too little, too late.

Once marketed as a wonder drug, thalidomide has gone down in history as one of the worst medical disasters of all time. If you're looking for flexible workouts, Peloton's got you covered. Summer runs or playoff season meditations, whatever your vibe, Peloton has thousands of classes built to push you. We know how 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. More than 100 years ago, retailer Sam Wanamaker famously said, I am convinced that about one-half the money I spend for advertising is wasted,

but I have never been able to decide which half. That is the mystery of advertising. Some ads produce no results at all, even with big productions, big budgets, and the best advertising minds behind them. Other times, the humblest advertising idea breaks all sales records. But just as you can never really foresee if a campaign will be a roaring success. Sometimes, as history shows us, it's also impossible to know if an advertised product will turn out to be horrifically dangerous. And the heartbreaking part is when the persuasive power of advertising is put behind those products, attracting millions of people to use them. Lawn darts is the perfect example. I remember loving that game,

but thousands of injuries necessitated its ban. Danger is also subjective, as Kinder Eggs show us. It's a welcome gift in Canada and a forbidden one in the U.S. Asbestos and DDT certainly emitted early warning signs years before they were banned. But because both fueled on parallel progress, those alarms were ignored. Then there's the devastating effects of thalidomide, the wonder drug that delivered one of the worst medical disasters in modern history. While hindsight is 20-20, foresight is almost always shrouded in fog.

And if there's a lesson to be learned, it's that danger often arrives in disguise, be it games, chemicals, or even the lure of a sale on Black Friday when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. Hello, Mr. O'Reilly. This is airport security calling.

We have finally located your luggage from the recent trip to New York. Somehow it ended up in Buffalo. Again, we apologize. By the way, the luggage actually spotted what appears to be a kinder egg in your suitcase, Mr. O'Reilly. You can clean your bag at Buffalo Airport Security. Just bring your luggage tag, two pieces of identification, and your lawyer. Have a nice day. Under the Influence was produced at Pirate Toronto. Sound engineer, Keith Ullman. Have a nice day. under the influence to see all the visual elements from this episode.

See you next week. 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.