← Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly
Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly
Creativity is the Most Powerful Business Tool: Canadian Marketing Awards 2026
00:27:59
This week, we look at the level of advertising creativity north of the border.We’ll talk about a campaign that used real “sleep talking” to sell mattresses.We’ll explore a remarkable idea that transf…
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- [00:01]
Terry O'Reilly
Podcasting is a bit of a solitary pursuit, yet it takes a village to produce a podcast. But once an episode beams from the Terrastream to your earbuds, we don't get to see you, talk to you. So we're excited that through apostrophe all ears. We've opened up a direct line between us, a forum to chat about episodes about marketing. Just tap the link in the description.
- [00:28]
Verizon Advertiser
There's enough needless nonsense in the world already. Your phone plan shouldn't add to it. Verizon's new Simplicity plan cuts down on the nonsense in your life. Now there's just one plan, one price. $30 a line per month, even for a single line. And everyone gets our best 5G network. It's a phone plan designed to do exactly what a phone plan is supposed to do. Isn't that a lot simpler? Switch today@verizon.com or at your nearest store for new customers. $30 per line includes auto pay and switch discount. Additional taxes, fees and terms apply. Unlimited data is restricted to on device, smartphone usage, domestic data roaming at 2G speeds.
- [00:58]
Audi Advertiser
With the all new Audi Q3, the answer is always yes. Yes to adventure, yes to escape. Yes to right now. The all new Audi Q3 made for the yes life.
- [01:13]
Grow Therapy Advertiser
The pressure to have a summer worth posting about is real. So is financial stress, social exhaustion, and the anxiety that sneaks in right when things are supposed to feel good. Grow Therapy can help with that. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th, grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around. They connect you with thousands of independent licensed therapists across the US Offering both virtual and in person sessions, nights and weekends. Whatever challenges you're facing, Grow Therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans. Sessions average about $21 with insurance, and some pay as little as $0, depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com acast today to get started. That's growthherapy.com acast growtherapy.com acast availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.
- [02:16]
Terry O'Reilly
This is an Apostrophe podcast production. We're going to show you our big new Studebaker. Mama Me. That's a spicy meatball. What love doesn't conquer. Alka sells her will. What a relief. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. Director Ben Leonberg spent three years making his latest horror film titled Good Boy. What made this movie unusual was the fact the star of the movie was a canine. Actually, it was Leonberg's 8 year old dog named Indy Indy is a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever. These dogs are the smallest retrievers bred to lure ducks out into the open for hunters. Leonberg doesn't use Indy for hunting, but he did cast him as the protagonist in his movie. The film follows Indy as he protects his owner from evil that only the dog can see. Named after movie character Indiana Jones, Indy spent more than 400 days in front of the camera to make the movie. The film is shot from Indy's perspective, so Leonberg had to design a camera rig that could shoot 19 inches from the floor, which was Indy's eye level. That meant Leonberg spent most of the shoot on his knees or bent over. When he needed Indy to look in a specific direction, he would have a crew member quack like a duck. Or he would give Indy a weird command that he didn't understand, so he would tilt his head in confusion. And if he needed Indy to run to a specific spot, they would just leave a trail of salmon and beef flavored kibble. Good Boy premiered at a film and television festival in Austin, Texas, where Indy won the Howl of Fame award for best canine performance. But that was just puppy play. Last January, at the Astra Film Awards, Indy won the award for best performance in a horror or thriller. But here's the best part. Indy beat out actors like Ethan Hawke and Alison Brie. The annual contest is judged by journalists, critics, filmmakers and others in the entertainment industry who are members of the Hollywood Creative Alliance. The executive vice president of the Astra Awards said he was a bit surprised when he learned the majority of the 325 members of the Creative alliance voted for a dog. Leonberg and Indy were unable to accept the award in person, so they sent this video.
- [05:31]
Jake Stauch
Hi, I'm Ben Leonberg, the director of Good Boy here with my dog, the goodest boy himself. On behalf of Indy, we are so grateful and thrilled to be recognized for his work in a movie he does not totally understand he was in. Indy is honored to accept this award, especially knowing that he's standing alongside performers who didn't even need to be bribed with treats in order to hit their marks. Thank you again. We are so, so delighted.
- [05:56]
Terry O'Reilly
A movie trade publication called Indy quote, one of the most emotive performers of his generation, regardless of species. It was a memorable moment as Indy was the first animal to ever win the acting award. There are many advertising awards shows each year, including the Canadian Marketing Awards, which were held recently in Toronto. It celebrates creativity and effectiveness. The work was Smart, surprising. And in one case, a well known store made a booty call. You're under the influence. I attended the 104th annual Canadian Marketing Awards recently. I've been to all of them. Kidding? Sort of. It's an opportunity to take the temperature of the Canadian advertising industry and judge the level of creativity in any given year. There were dozens of terrific campaigns awarded that night and I want to tell you about a few of them that really caught my eye. For example, Volvo was awarded for an interesting campaign. The campaign goal was to say that no matter what car you drive, there's a little bit of Volvo inside it. As you may know, Volvo's long standing positioning in the marketplace is safety. While other carmakers chose style, speed or utility as their marketing platforms, Volvo has stuck with safety. Back in 1959, Volvo did something highly unusual in the car category. It came up with an important innovation. Most car improvements remained the proprietary property of that particular carmaker. But Volvo chose to share it openly with the world. That innovation was the three point seat belt. In 1959, Volvo engineer Nils Bohlen invented the three point seat belt. And to make everyone safer, Volvo released the patent to every automaker for free. It has been credited with saving over a million lives and I think that number is conservative. The germ of this advertising idea originated in France, but the way it was adapted in Canada was award winning. In a campaign that promoted the fact that there is a little bit of Volvo in every car, Volvo did something else most carmakers would never dream of. It featured competitors cars in their advertising. A video on YouTube showed various car brands from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond and showed what all these different cars had in common. Three point seat belts. While Volvo has long been associated with safety, that conviction was slowly disappearing in a market saturated with technical claims. So Volvo needed to reassert its place as a safety leader. Along with the video, Volvo ran the campaign on social media, in magazines and at Volvo dealerships. But to really drive it home in Canada, specifically, grey advertising created big billboards showing Volvo's three point seatbelt innovation saying there's a little bit of Volvo in every car. And placed those billboards across the street from Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, Honda and BMW dealerships. In a car market growing by just 0.5%, Volvo's campaign reached a 13% sales growth, a 46% jump in leads and had a three times return on investment. Before the campaign, only 7% of car buyers attributed this seatbelt innovation to Volvo. After the campaign, that number climbed to 45% in just a few weeks. And one more thing I never realized. The three point seatbelt forms a perfect V across your chest. The first initial in Volvo, Ikea won several trophies at the Canadian Marketing Awards. Like all good advertising, the campaign idea solved a marketing problem when it comes to mattresses. Online reviews of ikea mattresses are 95% positive, which is good, except no one trusts online reviews anymore. Online shopping sites are flooded with fake reviews. 40% of online reviews are fake. As a result, IKEA is way down the list of stores that people think of when it comes to buying mattresses. So in order to remind people they can get a good night's sleep on an IKEA mattress, IKEA decided to target people who couldn't sleep. But instead of just producing another typical mattress ad, Ikea and its advertising agency Rethink, decided to leverage insomnia in the middle of the night. On Valentine's Day, they slid into the Instagram DMs of 700 people with just two up. Now a middle of the night U up DM is the universal signal for a booty call. And when people can't sleep, many start scrolling through their phones. When people saw the U up message and answered in the middle of the night, IKEA responded to them saying, quote, sounds like you might need a better mattress and offered a voucher for a 15% discount. Some respondents even got a free mattress. The UUPDM message was definitely bold. Most brands wouldn't dare do it, but as one journalist said, IKEA knows how to be discerningly cheeky. Then IKEA took the idea one step further and placed digital U up billboards across from condo buildings. The billboard only lit up in the middle of the night. Then something funny started to happen. It ignited a mattress war. Sleep country, the number one mattress seller in Canada, put up billboards that asked you up and answered by saying sorry was asleep. It offered people 25% off a new mattress and suggested people block late night DMs with sleep. Then the brick, the number two mattress seller, got in on the act. It posted billboards that said, you up. Then under that was Sleep Country's reply, Sorry was asleep. Then under that, the brick wrote who dis? And promised to beat anyone's mattress price. Then a condom brand snuck into the conversation and posted ads saying you up together with their logo. It was the first time IKEA had ever attempted a time sensitive overnight media strategy. But it worked for three reasons. First, the timing was perfect as it targeted insomniacs who were scrolling between 11pm and 5am Second, the campaign began online, then moved to billboards that were strategically placed across from sleepless condo dwellers and and lastly, the cheekiness of the idea attracted press across the country and a lot of shares on social media. With just two words, you up Ikea turned a late night flirt into a successful sleep solution. When we come back, Penguins protest tariffs
- [14:36]
Grow Therapy Advertiser
if you're enjoying this episode, you might also like red carpet Marketing, the business of award shows from our 2021 season, where we tell the story of how Bonnie Raitt's record label had dropped her. Then she ended up winning the Grammy Award for Album of the year, selling 5 million copies. You'll find the episode on your favorite podcast app.
- [15:05]
Audi Advertiser
Picture this A curve in the road, A change in plans well, what do with the all new Audi Q3? The answer's always yes. Yes to adventure, yes to escape, yes to performance, yes to comfort. Yes to right now. Because saying yes without hesitation, that's real luxury. The all new Audi Q3, made for
- [15:32]
Progressive Insurance Advertiser
the yes Life insurance isn't one size fits all. That's why drivers have enjoyed Progressive's name your price tool for years now. With the name your price tool, you tell them what you want to pay and they'll show you options that fit your budget. So whether you're picking out your first policy or just looking for something that works better for you and your family, they make it easy to see your options. Visit progressive.com find a rate that works for you with the name your price tool Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates Price and Coverage Match limited By state
- [16:03]
Jake Stauch
law I'm Jake Stauch, co founder and CEO of Cervel. We built Cerval to automate the IT work that slows companies down. Onboarding password resets, access to applications My laptop stopped working. While employees wait for help, their real work is put on hold. It desperately wants to automate this work, and that's why they need Serval. You just tell Servil what you want to automate in plain English and it's built. No drag and drop workflows, no expensive consultants. Employees get unblocked and IT teams go from drowning in tickets to building what actually matters. With Cervel, it becomes the AI engine powering the entire company. This is a new way to run it. We guarantee you'll automate 50% of all tickets and we'll prove it to you in a free four week pilot. Go to cerval.comacast that's S E R V A L.comacast.
- [17:11]
Terry O'Reilly
Every year, penguins do an annual migration as you no doubt have seen in documentaries like March of the Penguins. The cute cuddly birds waddle up to 3000km in single file to find ice free environments for breeding and raising their chicks. In other words, they follow the sun. When President Trump recently announced he was placing large tariffs on Canada, it ruffled a lot of feathers on a long list of countries and territories. Trump put different tariff amounts on different places, including a 10% tariff on the Heard and McDonald Islands near Antarctica. No humans lived on those islands. The press had a field day with the news, saying Trump had started a trade war with the remote island of penguins. The Rethink advertising agency also does work for Penguins International, an organization that is dedicated to penguin conservation. As their numbers are dwindling due to ever increasing environmental threats, Penguins International struggles for public attention and funding. But when Trump's tariff announcement unexpectedly included the penguin inhabited islands, the Internet exploded with rage, creating a cultural moment that Penguins International could turn into action. So Rethink and Penguins International decided to transform the penguins annual single file migration into into a statement. March of the Penguins became a symbolic anti tariff protest by reframing their annual march as part of the wider political demonstrations happening around the globe. The campaign used humor and real time culture to make penguin conservation impossible to ignore. First they streamed the Penguins March live on YouTube. And there it was treated like a political protest march and was hosted by a former Bloomberg news anchor.
- [19:22]
Verizon Advertiser
Welcome to the protest march of the Penguins. Today the penguins are marching against the tariffs placed on them. Thank you for joining.
- [19:32]
Terry O'Reilly
If you can picture it, as the news anchor talked about the tariff protests and the climate concerns that endangered the islands, the penguins waddled in perfect single file. And for all the world, it truly looked like the penguins were marching in protest. Word spread fast about the livestream with over 3.4 million people tuning in. Between worldwide social media shares, international and local news stories, print media coverage and user generated content, the protest march of the penguins earned over $1 billion media impressions. And they did it all with no paid media. Not one advertising dollar was spent. Donations to Penguins International increased 453%.
- [20:24]
Verizon Advertiser
Well, that does it for the protest
- [20:26]
Terry O'Reilly
March of the Penguins.
- [20:28]
Verizon Advertiser
Remember to support the penguins and the conservation efforts of Penguins international@penguins international.org Donate thank you for tuning in.
- [20:37]
Terry O'Reilly
The campaign turned Trump's tariffs into an opportunity for penguin conservation by doing what penguins do marching. The perennial question in the advertising business is how do you get people to not only sit through your advertising, which is a huge task in itself and but more importantly, how do you get people to engage with your advertising, especially in an age where you can skip an ad with the click of a button or the swipe of a finger. Facing that challenge, Volkswagen Canada came up with a fun idea to promote its new ID Buzz. One look at the VW ID Buzz and you instantly know that its retro design comes from the iconic Volkswagen bus of years gone by. First, Volkswagen Canada became a sponsor of the Toronto International Film Festival, also known as tiff, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The iconic Volkswagen bus has an interesting connection to the film festival, the reason Volkswagen buses have appeared in classic movies for over 70 years. Think of Little Miss Sunshine or Back to the Future or Fast Times at Ridgemount High. So to reaffirm the VW bus as a cinematic icon and to launch the new VW ID buzz, Volkswagen turned 70 years of cinematic history into a live social first scavenger hunt. The promotion was called Volkswagen Buzz Codes. Here's how it when people spotted a Volkswagen bus in any movie or TV show from the last 70 years, they could take a screen cap of the VW's license plate, post it online with the name of the movie or TV show, TagWCanada, along with the hashtag buzzcode. Those license plate numbers then turned into promo codes that unlocked prizes. It was a smart idea because it got people to actively look for vws. It was also fun as people began flooding social media with buzz codes. For example, one movie fan posted the VW bus license plate from the classic movie Field of Dreams. VW responded saying, home run. You just won a VW prize. Check your DMs. While there were lots of prizes and VW swag, the grand prize was two VIP tickets to the TIFF opening gala. Buzzcoats was a big success, attracting 146 million earned media impressions. Always a good yardstick to see how popular an idea is. Engagement with Volkswagen's brand shot up 259%, the highest of the year. Followers of the VW brand on social media increased 868% and traffic to the VW website ticked up 414%. It's safe to say buzz codes generated a lot of buzz around the new VW ID Buzz. When we come back, the marathon of hope continues.
- [24:19]
Audi Advertiser
Picture this. A curve in the road. A change in plans. Well, what do you say with the all new Audi Q3? The answer is always yes. Yes to adventure, yes to escape, yes to performance, yes to comfort, yes to right now. Because saying yes without hesitation, that's real luxury. The all new Audi Q3 made for the yes Life
- [24:49]
Jake Stauch
I'm Jake Stauch, co founder and CEO of Cervel. We built Cerval to automate the IT work that slows companies down. Onboarding, password resets, accessed applications. My laptop stopped working. While employees wait for help, their real work is put on hold. It desperately wants to automate this work, and that's why they need Serval. You just tell Serval what you want to automate in plain English and it's built. No drag and drop workflows, no expensive consultants. Employees get unblocked and IT teams go from drowning in tickets to building what actually matters. With Cerval, it becomes the AI engine powering the entire company. This is a new way to run it. We guarantee you'll automate 50% of all tickets and we'll prove it to you in a free four week pilot. Go to serval.com acast that's S-E-R-V-A-L.com acast
- [25:43]
Grow Therapy Advertiser
the pressure to have a summer worth posting about is real. So is financial stress, social exhaustion, and the anxiety that sneaks in right when things are supposed to feel good. Grow Therapy can help with that. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th, grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around. They connect you with thousands of independent licensed therapists across the US offering both virtual and in person sessions, nights and weekends. Whatever challenges you're facing, Grow Therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans. Sessions average about $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com acast today to get started. That's growthherapy.com acast growtherapy.com acast availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.
- [26:56]
Terry O'Reilly
In 1980, Terry Fox United Canada with a cross country run to raise money for cancer research. Terry ran 5,373 km in 143 days starting in St. John's Newfoundland. He ran the equivalent of one full marathon every day. His hope to raise $1 from each of Canada's then 24 million people. Terry Fox wasn't able to finish that run. His marathon of hope ended outside Thunder Bay, but it was one of the most powerful acts of courage in Canadian history. While there is a near universal awareness of Terry Fox, the understanding of the Terry Fox Foundation's role in funding cancer research remained limited. The foundation is uniting Canada's brightest cancer researchers, institutions and icons through the Marathon of Hope Cancer Center's network. It signals a new era in cancer research, but it needs ongoing funding. So working with a creative advertising agency named Diamond, a new platform was developed, a new identity was created and it was all launched on World Cancer Day with a powerful two. The goal was to re engage people in the fight to cure cancer and to do the one thing Terry Fox couldn't do. Complete the marathon. The film was titled Finish It. As it begins, we hear Terry Fox running with his trademark gate. But we don't see him. It's a dark early morning road and the camera reveals Terry Fox alone, running. Then we hear the Tragically Hip. There's no simple.
- [28:55]
Jake Stauch
Explanation
- [28:59]
Terry O'Reilly
for anything important. Terry Fox gets to the top of a hill and stops. Under pressure. Then as the camera slowly pulls back, we see hundreds and hundreds of people running behind Terry. People as far as the eye can see. It didn't come. It doesn't matter. As Terry Fox stands there looking at the camera, people run past him to continue his marathon, even though Terry can't. I've said to people before that I'm going to do my very best to make it. I'm not going to give up. And that's true. But I might not make it. And if I don't make it, the marathon, I hope better continue. Words on the screen say finish it. Terry Fox started a marathon against cancer. Together we can end it. The two minute film is incredibly powerful. I urge you to watch it on YouTube. Search Terry Fox, Finish it and make sure you have a box of Kleenex beside you. When the short film was being shot, word went out for volunteers to run. Hundreds of people showed up. An amputee who resembled Terry Fox was cast and using special effects and archival footage, his face was transformed into Terry's face. And a never before heard, stripped down version of Courage by the Tragically Hip was chosen. There was a connection between Terry Fox and Gord Downey as both went across Canada with cancer. Rob Baker, lead guitarist for the Hip, said this about the track. I was immediately struck by this haunting, reimagined, stripped back version of Courage. We were really profoundly moved. People started asking for that version of courage. So a limited edition 45 was made which you could only get by donating 2000 copies. Sold out in 30 minutes. Then the real results of Finish it started to roll in. Donations jumped 230%. Website traffic to the Terry Fox foundation spiked 1,916%. There were over 392,000 online reactions to the campaign. 100% positive, 0% hate. Celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, Celine Dion and Hugh Jackman were photographed by the public walking around wearing Finish It T shirts, as were bands including the Barenaked Ladies and Arkels. The film was shown on broadcast networks in cinemas, during games at the Scotiabank arena and during the Canadian broadcast of the super bowl pre game show. Stills from the film were posted on billboards. As a result, the Terry Fox foundation enjoyed a record year of donations. When I sat in the audience at the Marketing Awards, I was so impressed by the creativity. The Finish it campaign for the Terry Fox foundation won a Best of show award that night. As it should. It wasn't just a moving film, it generated record breaking donations 45 years after Terry finished his run. I thought the cheeky EW up campaign for Ikea was fun and effective. The mattress category is a busy one and Ikea managed to wedge itself into the conversation using nothing but creativity. The Protest March of the Penguins took a familiar annual migration of penguins and and transformed it into a protest march against tariffs and climate change. Such an arresting visual. So simple, so smart. As was the VW buzzcoats idea. The 70 years of VW cameos in movies was the perfect way to do it and a perfect tie in with tiff. Movie lovers played along and it gave the new VW ID buzz a big buzzy launch. And may I remind you, all of these ideas were made in Canada, proving yet again that creativity is the most powerful business tool when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the Tear Stream Mobile Recording studio producer Debbie O'Reilly chief sound engineer Jeff Devine Theme music by Casey Pick, Jeremiah Pick and James Ayton. Tunes provided by APM Music. Follow me erryoinfluence this podcast is powered by Acast. Terry's top slogans of all time. Number 2 De Beers a diamond is forever. See you next week. With my Sapphire Preferred card we took
- [34:47]
Grow Therapy Advertiser
a trip to a desert Oasis, earning
- [34:50]
Terry O'Reilly
five times the points on Chase Travel, two times the points on all other travel, plus $100 hotel credit.
- [34:54]
Grow Therapy Advertiser
Chase Sapphire preferred a car that's preferred for a reason.
- [34:57]
Terry O'Reilly
Cards issued by JP Morgan J's Bank NA Member FDIC subject to credit approval terms apply.
- [35:01]
Paige from Giggly Squad
Hey, it's Paige from Giggly Squad and I want to let you know that if you want the newest and hottest beauty products, you have to go to Sephora. I'm obsessed with the one size Liquid Blotting Paper spray. It's the first of its kind. Blotting spray that mattifies for up to eight hours it's unreal. There's also the Summer Friday shade drops SPF 50, which basically lives in my bag at this point. Oh, and the Kayali Eden Plush Pear smells so good. It's sweet, warm and addictive. Like people literally stop me and ask what perfume I'm wearing, which, you know I love. So if you want the makeup, skincare, hair and fragrance products everyone's about to be obsessed with, shop only at Sephora.
- [35:40]
Verizon Advertiser
There's enough needless nonsense in the world already. Your foam plan shouldn't add to it. Verizon's new simplicity plan cuts down on the nonsense in your life. Now there's just one plan, one price. $30 a line per month, even for a single line. And everyone gets our best 5G network. It's a phone plan designed to do exactly what a phone plan is supposed to do. Isn't that a lot simpler? Switch today@verizon.com or at your nearest store for new customers. $30 per line includes auto pay and switch discount. Additional taxes, fees and terms apply. Unlimited data is restricted to on device, smartphone usage, domestic data roaming at 2G speeds.
- [36:10]
Progressive Insurance Advertiser
Insurance isn't one size fits all. That's why drivers have enjoyed Progressive's name your price tool for years now. With the Name your price tool, you tell them what you want to pay and they'll show you options that fit your budget. So whether you're picking out your first policy or just looking for something that works better for you and your family, they make it easy to see your options. Visit progressive.com find a rate that works for you with the name your price tool, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law.