Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S4E05 - Selling The Moon, Part II

Episode Date: February 1, 2015

In Part Two of “Selling The Moon,” we pick up the story with the success of the Gemini program, which leads NASA to believe they might reach the moon faster than anticipated. But then tragedy strikes, and the Apollo project is put on hold for more than a year. But when the improved Apollo program returns, the race to the moon accelerates - as does the remarkable marketing that surrounds it. NASA continues to sell the moon landing as a technological marvel that will benefit Americans, advertisers jump on the bandwagon, television networks brace for the big landing, and Neil Armstrong finally delivers on JFK’s promise. 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. We'll be right back. And no matter your team, your favorite skater, or your style, there's something every NHL fan is going to love about BetMGM. Download the app today and discover why BetMGM is your hockey home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with BetMGM, a sportsbook worth a sellie, and an official sports betting partner of the National Hockey League.

BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. This is an apostrophe podcast production. pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Your teeth look whiter than noon, noon, noon! You're not you when you're hungry. You're a good ham with a heart. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. Back in 1971, a very interesting occurrence happened in my hometown of Sudbury, Ontario. NASA sent the Apollo 16 astronauts to train in Sudbury,

and the following year, the Apollo 17 astronauts arrived. It was a big deal, and I remember it vividly because the astronauts arrived on my birthday, July 7th. For years, a myth has surrounded those visits, that the reason NASA sent the astronauts to Sudbury was because its terrain, quote, most resembled the lunar landscape. It became a running joke, and not one Sudbarians appreciated. Sudbury and moonscape became forever unfairly linked.

Because the real reason NASA sent astronauts to Sudbury was geology. See, approximately 1.87 billion years ago, a cataclysmic event occurred in the Sudbury area. A gigantic meteorite traveling at around Mach 100 slammed into the Earth with the impact force equivalent to several billion tons of TNT. Geology expert Robert Zepp estimated

that had the impact happened in modern times, the concussive wave would have wiped out all people, places, and things within an 800-kilometer or 500-mile radius of Ground Zero. Football-sized rocks from the impact site hurled skyward, some of which were found as far away as Minnesota. The meteorite punched a hole in the Earth's crust, measuring 60 kilometers long and 15

kilometers deep, or 39 miles long and 9 miles deep. The impact caused molten concentrations of nickel and copper to ooze up and fill the crater. This formation would become known as the Sudbury Basin. It would sit undiscovered until 1883. At that time, the Canadian Pacific Railway was being built across Canada, and a blacksmith who was working on the excavation noticed a rich deposit of nickel ore. Mining started in 1886, and Inco set up operations in 1902. Thomas Edison visited

Sudbury the year before and is credited with finding the ore body that Falcon Bridge would eventually mine in 1928. As a result, Sudbury became the nickel capital of the world, a gift delivered from outer space. The Sudbury Basin has been mined continuously for over 100 years with no end in sight. The reason the astronauts were sent to Sudbury in 1971 was because of that crater. They were training to recognize the difference between basins created by meteors and those created by volcanoes. When Apollo 16 did finally make its trip to the moon, Commander John Young held up a moon rock at one point

and radioed back to Houston saying, It looks like a Sudbury Breccia, and that's the truth. I can't believe it. What is also significant about the astronauts a Sudbury Breccia, and that's the truth. I can't believe it. What is also significant about the astronauts visiting Sudbury is that Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan was present. He would be the 12th and last man to walk on the moon. But Apollo missions 16 and 17 are a long way off as we pick up part two of our story of selling the moon.

NASA moves from Mercury to its second space program called Gemini, which then paves the way for Project Apollo. The road from Apollo 1 to the Apollo 11 moon landing is a remarkable tale of courage, tragedy, breakthrough technology, and a massive amount of marketing and PR to keep the entire enterprise rolling. And NASA achieved it all by borrowing a page from Madison Avenue. It simply promised the moon. You're under the influence. On March 18, 1965, the Soviets stunned the world yet again when cosmonaut Alexei Leonov performed the first spacewalk outside his spacecraft. Five days later, NASA launched its first manned flight of the new Gemini space program.

Gemini was the intermediate step between Mercury and Apollo. It was given the Latin name for twins because the new space capsules, designed by Canadian Jim Chamberlain, had seats for two astronauts. There were 12 Gemini flights in total, each designed to break new ground, mission by mission, like a wagon train to the moon. As it turned out, Gemini made extraordinary progress. NASA celebrated those successes with an increased number of documentaries consistently persuading the public on the need for expensive space missions

In America's first long-duration mission, Gemini 4 would complete 62 revolutions The momentum of the Gemini achievements led many at the space agency to wonder if they just might get to the moon quicker than anticipated. With great pride, Project Apollo was announced and the Apollo 1 astronauts were named. The third and final space program that would take man to the moon

was now officially underway. The NASA marketing machine started to beat the drum louder, increasing their output of press releases and educational materials. Astronauts were sent out on speaking tours with more frequency, not just in major U.S. cities, but world capitals as well. Then, as the Apollo 1 crew engaged in a routine launch rehearsal test on January 27, 1967,

tragedy struck. It was all over in one stunned, horrifying second. Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, the prime crew of Apollo 1, our first manned Apollo flight, at T-minus 10 minutes in a simulated countdown for the flight at Cape Kennedy. As the count progressed, each crewman flicked switches. Then they got into a hold and suddenly the moment of death. An electrical spark apparently shot out and ignited the 100% oxygen in the cabin that they were breathing as in a real spaceflight. The accident had a dramatic effect on the Apollo mission, suspending all launches for an entire year. Many blamed the rush to meet Kennedy's deadline. NASA managers suddenly became increasingly cautious

at the exact moment they needed to take bigger risks. The Apollo marketing campaigns were also halted. The tragedy resulted in over 1,340 design changes. Apollo missions 2 through 6 were dedicated to extensive unmanned tests. Then, on October 11, 1968, Apollo 7 launched into space. 5, 4, 3, 2, we have ignition. Commit liftoff. We have liftoff. Apollo 7 was the first three-person flight in NASA history,

completing the mission Apollo 1 could not. It was the first flight to broadcast live transmissions from inside the capsule. They showed the astronauts moving in a weightless environment, relaxed and having fun. Those images would set the tone for all future Apollo transmissions and were among some of the most powerful images in NASA's ongoing marketing and public relations activities. Interesting to note that cameras almost didn't make the Apollo 7 flight.

All three astronauts were against them, saying they were an unnecessary abstraction that used up precious resources. Yet, those cameras would transform the Apollo missions. As authors David Scott and Richard Jurek say in their beautifully written and stunning book entitled Marketing the Moon, those images of Earth floating in the blackness of space provoked profound personal and spiritual emotions in people. Humans never thought of their home the same way again. The optimism of Apollo 7 kicked the NASA marketing machine into high gear.

By that time, the command center had moved from Cape Canaveral in Florida to the Manned Space Center in Houston. It became a national attraction by 1968, drawing over 800,000 visitors, compared to the 500,000 people who visited the Grand Canyon that year. The renewed energy of the space program encouraged marketers to jump on the Apollo bandwagon. If a product had any tie-in with the missions, no matter how tenuous, it happily advertised the fact.

Like a product I remember eating called Pillsbury Space Food Sticks. Today, the United States is engaged in a gigantic effort to send men to the moon. For this effort, Pillsbury has developed many special foods. Here is the first one to be made available to the public, Space Food Sticks. To meet the demands of a long space flight, Space Food Sticks had to be a compact, nutritious, high-energy food. Almost every new product with a link to the Apollo program advertised itself as a space-age innovation. As America steps out into space, we're discovering ways to pack delicious meals

into new forms. Such a discovery is new carnation instant breakfast. Gives your family vitamin C, the fresh orange juice vitamin. As much protein as two fresh eggs. As much mineral nourishment as two strips of crisp bacon. Plus more energy than two slices of buttered toast. And if a brand didn't have a connection to the space program, it just linked itself to the mission any way it could. Your Coca-Cola bottling company congratulates the lunar astronauts.

But perhaps the greatest amount of advertising done during the space race years was aimed at kids. Introducing the new G.I. Joe astronaut. Here's a new way to help keep you in shape for the space age. New post-count-off. The cereal you can count on. Is he ready to go into space with a new G.I. Joe astronaut capsule and space suit?

Ideal's Astro Base and Colonel Macaulay's space helmet are the greatest way to play outer space. Introducing the G.I. Joe Space-O-Matic. Space-O-Matic, the futuristic space vehicle you program yourself. There was even Astronaut Barbie. NASA encouraged the advertising, even supplying photographs to marketers to use in their ads. Which is interesting, considering those photos were paid for with taxpayer dollars. NASA's only stipulation, no direct endorsements.

One of the most remembered advertisers from that era was orange powdered drink Tang. It was part of the astronauts' dehydrated food supply, and Tang was quick to leverage that fact in its advertising. This is a typical meal served to astronauts aboard Apollo space flights. And Tang was quick to leverage that fact in its advertising. This is a typical meal served to astronauts aboard Apollo space flights. Oatmeal, sausage, toast, applesauce, and in a special zero-gravity pouch, Tang, the energy breakfast drink. Tang, with rich natural flavor and more vitamin C than orange juice. But Tang's biggest role isn't a NASA space program. It's right here on Earth. The commercials were so memorable that many believe, to this day, that Tang was developed for space exploration.

In fact, it was first marketed in 1959 and had poor sales until astronauts started consuming it. Del Monte, Stouffer's, and General Foods created commercials telling the public they had developed the frozen foods chosen by NASA to keep the astronauts healthy during missions. NASA had decided the astronauts would all wear Omega watches after all other timepieces had shattered under extreme decompression. It was a gift from heaven for Omega's marketing. RCA, the contractor for Apollo 7's camera, ran ads for its new color television sets, persuading consumers to choose the brand chosen by NASA.

All this brand marketing offered a symbiotic uptick for NASA. Where the space agency fell short in its marketing and public relations budgets, America's largest corporations were only too happy to pick up the slack, giving the space program millions of dollars of free media promotion. Meanwhile, NASA continued its own marketing strategies. It contracted Norman Rockwell to depict the moment of man's first step on the lunar surface. The dramatic painting ran as a double-page spread in Look magazine and was reproduced all over the nation. The choice was inspired

because no other 20th century painter defined American culture like Rockwell. By painting the impending moon landing, Rockwell portrayed the moment as American as baseball and apple pie. Don't go away. 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.

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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 Earth's orbit and travel the 250,000 miles to the moon. In a historic moment, on Christmas Eve in 1968, maybe the most tumultuous year for America in that decade, with rioting, the Vietnam War escalating, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy occurring within nine weeks of each other,

the crew of Apollo 8 transmitted an image of the moon and took turns reading the first ten verses from the book of Genesis. We are now approaching lunar sunrise and for all the people back on earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light. And there was light. It was a contentious moment for some, saying the religious reading during a secular mission funded by American taxpayers was highly inappropriate. But polls showed the American public overwhelmingly supported the readings, no doubt remembering Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's statement that, while up in space, he saw no evidence of God.

And God saw that it was good. And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good earth. Apollo 8 was a major turning point as America dramatically pulled away from the Soviets in the race to the moon. As authors Scott and Jurek state, it was a marketing and public relations triumph. The Apollo success also triggered an onslaught of business-to-business advertising. Marketers like Union Carbide and Rockwell advertised their NASA connections to other companies, hoping to attract more contracting work. Meanwhile, companies like Raytheon and Boeing

advertised their NASA contracts in publications read by Department of Defense officials, the subtext being, if NASA trusts us, you can trust us to build your next military system. The mission for Apollo 9 was to perform the first flight test of the lunar module. The crew also tested a special lunar camera

that could function in the extreme conditions of the moon's surface. Apollo 10 was a final dress rehearsal for the moon landing. All systems were used and checked, the lunar module was detached and flown separately from the command module, and docking was successfully completed. Short of actually landing on the moon, Apollo 10 showed that all systems were A-OK to go and it provided images from the first color camera on a space mission,

giving NASA powerful images to use in its marketing. So striking were those images that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the crews of Apollo 7, 8, 9, and 10 with a special Emmy Award. Then, just one month before its scheduled launch, it was announced that Apollo 11 would be the mission that would attempt to land on the moon. The marketing of the space mission was about to reach its apex. NASA was finally ready to deliver on John F. Kennedy's promise.

All three Apollo 11 astronauts were Gemini veterans. Commander Neil Armstrong was a test pilot who had flown over 200 different kinds of aircraft. Buzz Aldrin, whose mother's maiden name was Moon, got his nickname from his little sister, who pronounced brother as buzzer. His parents shortened it

and it stuck. Michael Collins had made a spacewalk on Gemini 10 and would pilot the Apollo 11 command module when Armstrong and Aldrin were on the moon. Collins would call his Apollo cabin mates amiable strangers. They didn't gel or hang out like other Apollo crews,

yet they were still able to do their jobs with crisp efficiency. But to the world, they were presented as the heroic Apollo 11 team that would change history. Good morning. It's T minus one hour, 29 minutes and 53 seconds and counting in just an hour and a half. If all goes well, Apollo 11 astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins are to lift off from pad 39A out there on the voyage man always has dreamed about. Next stop for them, the moon. For the three television networks, the Apollo missions provided the most spectacular shows anyone had ever seen. This was important to the networks on several levels.

First, space coverage attracted big audiences. Second, the biggest audiences attracted the most advertising dollars. With 94% of North America watching, each of the networks covered the Apollo moon landing in their own unique way. ABC had the lowest ratings, and its broadcast was the most overtly commercial. When you watched their reports, they actually had a Tang logo right there on their news desk. For the bulk of the 60s, NBC News was the ratings leader with the Huntley-Brinkley report. But Huntley and Brinkley were not space fans

and apparently made little effort to immerse themselves in mission details. It would prove a costly mistake. Legendary CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite, on the other hand, was an unabashed space fan. He had covered every space mission and pushed CBS to offer the most extensive Apollo coverage possible. Cronkite's enthusiasm for the moon landing had a profound effect because CBS would eventually overtake NBC

to become the nation's number one news program. 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. When the normally composed Cronkite was briefly speechless as the Apollo 11 lunar module finally touched down on the moon, so was the viewing public. Man on the moon. We copy you down, Eagle. Listen, uh... Oh, jeez. Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.

Roger, Twink. Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. Oh, boy. Thank you. Wally, say something. I'm speechless. Then came the moment the world was waiting for. Armstrong is on the moon. Neil Armstrong, 38-year-old American,

standing on the surface of the moon on this July 20th, 1969. That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. From the early days of the Mercury missions, through the Gemini flights, all leading to Armstrong's lunar footprint, John F. Kennedy's goal was realized inside his stated time frame, five months short of 1970. It was through tremendous technical innovation and massive marketing and PR campaigns that NASA had achieved the near impossible.

It had delivered the moon. Astronaut Gene Cernan, who had walked the Sudbury Basin and left the last footprints on the moon, said, quote, We were marketing the United States of America. No truer words were spoken. Kennedy sold it to Congress back in 1961, saying space leadership was world leadership.

And by 1970, there was little doubt America was the world's superpower. It's interesting to note that throughout the tumultuous 60s, as costs kept mounting, NASA was able to keep fanning the flames of taxpayer

and congressional support with continuous marketing and public relations. The same way it encouraged brands to hitch their wagons to space ingenuity and achievement. But the moon landing was the finish line for the space race. With the exception of the drama of Apollo 13,

the crowds and press coverage dwindled. Even President Nixon reportedly slept through the launch of Apollo 15. Yet, to this day, the concept of a moonshot is still inspiring. Google even has a secret division called Google X

that is dedicated to making major technological advancements. They call the projects moonshots. On December 5, 2014, NASA launched Orion, the deep space program that will lead a wagon train to Mars. It could cost taxpayers as much as $500 billion. But with persuasive marketing,

that amount may not seem so out of this world when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. Under the Influence was recorded at Pirate Toronto. Series producer, Debbie O'Reilly. Sound engineer, Keith Ullman. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre. Follow me on Twitter at Terry O'Influence.

You can find this podcast in our archives wherever you listen to the show. See you next week. Hi, Terry. Interesting show on Selling the Moon today. I mean, you really did your research. You know, it was very detailed. There's lots of great audio clips, lots of NASA trivia. Just a really, really fascinating look at how man landed on the moon.

Too bad it was all a hoax though, eh? See ya, Terry.