Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S8E11 - Air Quality: Rule-Breaking Radio Advertising

Episode Date: March 14, 2019

This week, we listen to the innovative ways marketers are using sound around the world. We’ll explore how the words of an anthem in South Africa were altered to send a powerful message about abuse, why Romanian radio stations switched over to mono to save lives and why some journalists are using music as a censorship loophole. Join us as we assess the current air quality. 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 8, 2019. You're so king in it. Your teeth look whiter than noon, noon, noon. You're not you when you're hungry. You're a good hand with a heart. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly.

There are countless radio stations in the world. There are many, many formats, including classical music, jazz, metal, top 40, all Beatles, all Grateful Dead, all news, all sports, political talk, good old public radio, and even channels dedicated to military band music. But did you know there are dozens of espionage stations? They are broadcast on unlicensed, almost untraceable shortwave radio stations set to certain frequencies. They aim radio signals at an angle into the sky that can be reflected back to Earth. The advantage of shortwave is it can broadcast over extremely long distances, sometimes over entire continents and beyond.

While shortwave radio is poor quality, its spectacular range has made it a favorite medium of governments. It has been long believed that various countries have set up shortwave radio stations to transmit secret codes to spies or other operatives in the field. These shortwave signals are called numbers stations because they broadcast strange sounds from unknown locations punctuated by sets of seemingly random numbers. Codes, in other words. Anyone can tune into a numbers station as they broadcast their signals out to the universe.

But because of that, their messages have to be encrypted. They all have something in common. The sound they broadcast is almost unlistenable, as if made to repel a normal civilian. Like this numbers station that emanates out of Russia. Then intermittently, a weird voice in a strange language will rhyme off a set of numbers or nonsensical words along with inexplicable buzzes, beeps, or Morse code-like clicks. If someone tunes in, hears gibberish, then tunes out, the station has done its job. But to a spy instructed to tune in at a specific time, it all makes perfect sense. These numbers stations are so shrouded in mystery,

most governments will not even acknowledge they exist. One such station began transmitting a signal out of England that used a few bars from an old English folk song, followed by a voice reading off a series of numbers. 3-9-7-1-5 3-9-7-1-5 It is believed this number station was used by the British Intelligence Service for years. When a retired British agent was once asked about it, he said the signal was indeed meant for someone, just not for you. One of the strangest numbers stations originates out of Poland.

It was first detected in the 60s and plays a music box tune over and over. Then, a childlike voice repeats 100 five-figure paired numbers. Creepy. For a period of time, there was a number station broadcast out of Egypt. It transmitted a never-ending loop of music, then, intermittently, an Arabic voice would utter some words,

followed by two long series of numbers. Then, the music would return. Thank you for our peace. Thank you for our peace. Maybe my favorite numbers station originates out of the United States. First detected in 2003, it transmitted a series of buzzes and beeps. It's been dubbed the Yosemite Sam transmission because each encrypted broadcast begins with what sounds like a clip from a Bugs Bunny episode with Yosemite Sam yelling, Vermit, I'm going to blow you to smithereens.

The entire cycle of beeps in Yosemite lasted two minutes each time. This particular numbers station was based somewhere in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was immortalized by Bugs himself

when he said, I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque. Spies with a sense of humor. You have to agree, when it comes to the inventive and creative use of sound, you can't beat radio.

In the world of marketing, there continues to be much inventive and creative use of sound when it comes to radio. While it's the toughest medium to write for in the advertising business, it's also the most creatively freeing. And as with other mediums, radio is being reinvented with the wonders of digital technology. And advertising agencies are not even confining their audio ideas to radios anymore. The results are remarkable and inspiring. And they're blasting old cliché radio techniques to smithereens. You're under the influence. For many years, I was often asked to judge radio advertising award shows.

I've been on judging panels in Toronto, New York, Las Vegas, and even France. It's an arduous task listening to hundreds and hundreds of commercials back to back. At the Cannes Advertising Festival in France, it takes three long days to listen to all the commercials because almost every country in the world submits entries. While it can be numbing, you also realize what works in radio and what doesn't in a hurry. Radio commercials are the toughest right in the advertising business. There are no camera angles to rely on, no locations, no wardrobe, no props, no photographer, no facial expressions.

It's the reason so many ad writers fear the medium, because their writing ability is so completely exposed on radio. As I've mentioned before, a creative director friend of mine says writing radio ads is like trying to hide on a squash court. There's just nowhere to run. With that in mind, I want to play you some creative radio ideas from around the world, written by ad writers

who are willing to stand boldly in the middle of that squash court. One of my favorite campaigns from the last few years is for National Thoroughbred Racing in the U.S. The premise is simple. Why risk having a lousy evening when you can enjoy the horse races? What makes this radio campaign such a standout for me is not just the caliber of the writing, but the fact they tell you a story

using a horse race announcer. In other words, the very sound of the commercials is branding. Here's an ad called Dinner Date. And they're off. Out of the gate is Dinner Date. Dinner Date starts strong, but here comes no reservation, followed by

hours of waiting. Now idle chit-chat is making a move. But idle chit-chat is no match for awkward silence. It's idle chit-chat. It's awkward silence. And here comes table by the kitchen and snooty waiter followed by undercooked chicken. I don't believe it. Out of nowhere comes declined credit card and utter humiliation.

As they come down the stretch, First base is nowhere in sight. And finally, it's peck on the cheek and let's just be friends. For a better time, go to the track. National Thoroughbred Racing. We bet you love it. So funny, so smart. A sound only a horse race could own.

This next radio commercial is from Dubai. It's for the Berlitz Language School. The aim of the ad is to communicate that learning a language means more than just learning the words. At the Berlitz School,

you'll learn the wonderful tonality of a language, too. Debe hacer efecto en un periodo de dos a seis horas. Those were the step-by-step instructions on how to administer a laxative medicine. After a week of constipation, everything sounds romantic in Spanish. Start learning it today at the Burlitz Language School. Here's an unusual radio campaign. For starters, the ads are only 10 seconds long. In a recent episode of our show, we talked about how difficult it is to create amusing commercials in a compressed time frame. Writing a 30-second commercial is so much harder than writing a 60. Writing a 15-second ad is much more difficult than a 30.

And creating an idea that works in just 10 seconds seems almost impossible. Well, here's a campaign of 10-second radio commercials for a product called QuickReet Concrete. Concrete usually takes forever to dry, but QuickReet dries really fast. End of story. To dramatize that single, clear product benefit,

the campaign took traditionally long stories and made them happen quickly. Long story short. Trillions of atoms coagulated, forming our sun. Four billion years later, you have a dermatologist appointment at 10 a.m. Long story short. Quick-crete., fast setting, concrete.

Here's another one titled Caesar. Caesar was the most powerful man the world has ever known. And now, salad dressing. Long story short, quick crate, fast setting, concrete. And here's one more, a little bolder, but funny. I know things look bad, but I'd never eat a human being. Tastes like chicken. Long story short.

Quick, great. Fast setting. Concrete. Okay, not sure if I should play this next one or not. But what the heck. It's titled Revolution. In 1917, Russians overthrew their czar. A hundred years later, they elected our president.

Long story short. Quick, great., they elected our president. Long story short, quick-rete, fast-setting concrete. Hello! That's a fun radio campaign. Like all effective commercials, it is single-minded. It tells you one thing, that quick-rete concrete

is the quickest-setting concrete. It's bold, it has legs, it's award-winning. Long story short. Here's a commercial from Canada. There is an enormous reluctance on behalf of men to get prostate exams. They feel uncomfortable about it. They don't like the thought of an examination,

so they don't go. This commercial tells men you could always do your own prostate exam if you don't want to go to the doctor. As a doctor, I know getting your prostate check can help with early detection of prostate cancer, but a lot of men don't like the idea of a stranger putting a finger in their rectum. So here's an alternative. Do it yourself. Here's how. Pick a finger you want to work with. I like to use my index finger, but it's your rectum. Next, you'll need to prep your finger for rectal investigation.

My advice would be to remove any sharp edges from the fingernail. Now, point your finger skyward and apply a dollop of lubricant. Okay, go ahead and get into a three-point football stance, and let's reach your free arm around back to the rectal region. Take a deep breath, uncock your lubricated finger, and let's go ahead and put it in your bum. Now that you have your own finger in your own rectum, you'll wish you knew what the heck you were looking for. Go see your doctor. It may save your life.

A message from Prostate Cancer Canada. A bold commercial, yes, but that boldness gets attention for a very important matter. As a beer brand did when it delivered a bold message to over 40 million men. And we'll be right back after this message. According to the South African Medical Research Council in 2017, 40% of South African men Research Council in 2017, 40% of South African men assault their partners daily,

five times higher than the global average. Research also revealed this number spikes dramatically after soccer games. Alcohol was the number one excuse. Carling Black Label, the best-selling male beer brand in South Africa, recognized the need to acknowledge the link between men who abuse alcohol and men who abuse women. It wanted to use its status as a masculine brand to promote a no-excuse message

to the largest audience of men possible. To do that, Carling leveraged its sponsorship of the biggest soccer event of the season. Here's what they did. Carling recruited a diverse and accomplished choir of women. These women had also been victims of abuse. On game day, the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg was filled with 85,000 people, mostly men. Success in the derby has always been a matter of much importance in South African football. Millions more watched on television.

This all-female choir walked onto the field before the soccer match to sing Asambe Nono, the famous South African football song. As with every soccer game, the stadium of 85,000 sang along. But halfway through the song, something happened. The choir changed the words. The new words, flashed on the big screen for all to see, said, Never again. What excuse will he give if this ends in a fight? Over 80,000 men in the crowd slowly stopped singing,

looked around puzzled, then looked up at the screen. The song ended with the words, real men don't act this way. The jumbo screen said, no excuse for abuse. The song ended with the words, Real men don't act this way. The jumbo screen said, No excuse for abuse. Carling had hijacked the country's most famous soccer anthem to promote a no-excuse message to an audience of 45 million. The unexpected song Intervention generated over

30 million dollars in press mentions and ignited a critical conversation on a massive scale. It wasn't a radio commercial per se, but it was an innovative use of audio, created by Carling's advertising agency. It was a soccer song for change. In a growing number of countries, censorship is not only present, but increasing. People are not able to access independent blogs and news sites, denying them their right to free information. That prompted an advertising agency in Germany

to work with an organization called Reporters Without Borders. The goal was to help journalists get their articles out to the people. Here's what they did. The ad agency collaborated with five acclaimed independent journalists from five countries suffering from strict government censorship. They took the articles that had been banned or censored and turned them into songs. Working closely with the journalists,

the composers stayed true to the original text. They traveled to the oppressed stayed true to the original text. They traveled to the oppressed countries to absorb the local music and feel the oppression firsthand. They said it was intimidating. But the trips inspired harmonies and melodies.

They learned about traditional instruments and teamed up with local musicians. From that, 10 banned articles were turned into 20 music tracks

in multiple languages. But here was the true genius of this idea. The music tracks were compiled into a playlist and placed on the top music streaming services like Spotify, Deezer,

and Apple Music. While press freedom is not available in the world's most oppressed societies, global music streaming sites are. This digital loophole allowed the journalists' articles to quietly pass through the censorship disguised as music. Across that yellow sun A place I used to go The articles, transformed into songs,

reached many more people than the original articles ever could. Exiles forced to leave their lives It's just one price they have to pay could. Exiles forced to leave their lives. It's just one price they have to pay. Some need to keep them quiet. The songs allowed the stories to slip back into the countries where they had once been forbidden. Fortified castles, a fancy good life. Nothing is missing where the out to the people.

And you can listen to these remarkable songs via your favorite music streaming service or on YouTube by searching the Uncensored Playlist. censored playlist. 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. Over in Romania, there are no helmet laws for cyclists. As a result, accidents there have tripled over the last six years. 46% of those accidents involve cyclists wearing earphones. So, an advertising agency in the Romanian capital of Bucharest

teamed up with the top national radio station to create a radio campaign promoting safe cycling. The theme was Go Mono. The goal was to continue entertaining the radio station's listeners while keeping them safe at the same time by asking cyclists to listen with only one earphone so they could still hear the traffic. Here's how they did it. First, famous Romanian recording artist Claudia Pavel released a new song urging cyclists to listen using only one earphone. In other words, to go mono.

Hi, I'm Claudia Pavel. Listen to my new song only in one headphone and stay safe in traffic. Choose the right headphone for the slow version and the left one for the rock version. Ready, set, go Mono!

Pavel did two alternative mixes for her song. In the left earphone was a rock version. In the left earphone was a rock version. In the right earphone, an acoustic version. To kick off the campaign, Station Radio 21 used innovative radio

technology to air their number one national morning show out of one speaker. Go Mono jingles were created to remind listeners to keep one earphone out while in traffic. Then, a heavy rotation of 31 top Romanian recording artists joined the cause. Hi guys, I am Marcus Schultz. Stay aware of what's going on around you. Stay safe. Go mono.

Salud, Santina. De astes. Go mono. Go mono, baby. Go mono. These artists remix their songs in mono. The winner from the television show X Factor created the first song that could only be listened to

in one earphone. A campaign logo was created, showing a cyclist with one headphone hanging loose. Go Mono safety messages went viral on social media. Outdoor posters, billboards and print ads were put out urging cyclists to give Mono a chance. Even the Romanian police endorsed the campaign. In the end, using radio creativity,

over 3.5 million people were reached with the Go Mono safety campaign, proving you can even save a life with a sound idea. I never cease to marvel at the level of creativity in the world of radio. Back around 2010, I was judging the London International Awards and I mentioned to the founder of the show that she should add a new category. When she asked what category, I said to the founder of the show that she should add a new category. When she asked what category, I said innovative use of audio. Up until that moment, the category

was simply called radio. But several of the entries weren't typical radio commercials. They were these intriguing, unexpected, powerful audio ideas that we judges didn't know how to evaluate under the current definition. After all,

how do you judge a funny radio commercial for a racetrack against an idea where banned articles are transformed into songs in order to slip by the censorship

in oppressed countries? But this new wave of increasingly big unorthodox audio ideas could no longer be contained inside the confines of a traditional radio. And I'm happy to say

that new category of most innovative use of audio is now brimming with entries every year. It's the category I most look forward to. I still greatly admire a bold, well-crafted radio commercial, but I stand in awe of an idea where the words to a famous anthem are changed to affect change. Where a national radio station switches to mono to save lives. And how an uncensored playlist quietly finds a digital loophole to give people access to information

without having to resort to a secret code of beeps, buzzes and clicks when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the Terrestrial. Producer, Debbie O'Reilly. Sound Engineer, Keith Ullman. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre.

Digital content producer, Sydney O'Reilly. If you liked this episode, you might also enjoy an episode titled, Radio is Dead, Long Live Radio. Season 2, Episode 4. You'll find it in our archives. See you next week. Under the influence. It tastes awful, and it works.

By the way, I know you've been dreaming of wearing an Under the Influence t-shirt. Or maybe I was dreaming that. But anyway, we have them for sale on our shop page. And if you listen to the show while sipping a tea or a coffee, have we got the mug for you. Go to terryoreilly.ca slash shop.