Under the Influence from CBC Radio CBC

This week, we explore what happens when an established spokesperson switches brands. We’ll tell the story of how the Verizon “Can you hear me now?” guy ended up pitching Sprint, how “The Most Interesting Man in the World” went from Dos Equis to tequila and how a spokesperson for a hamburger chain got fired when she pitched spaghetti sauce.

Welcome to Season 10. It's good to be back. This week, we explore how this new era of racial reckoning is affecting the world of marketing. Several of the leading brands have their roots in racial stereotypes, like Aunt Jemima - which took its imagery from the slave era. Some brands, like Eskimo Pies, have announced they are now re-naming their products and acknowledging their old names were offensive to Indigenous people. We'll also look at sports teams and their long history of controversy with team names. Hope you'll join us.

We’ve got a fun 2021 season planned for you. Here’s a sneak peek at what's in store...

This week it’s our final episode of the 2020 season, where we answer listener questions sent to us through social media. Like - why the most popular Super Bowl commercial chose to replace their lead actor, why Gatorade’s famous "Be Like Mike" campaign called Michael Jordan “Mike” when no one ever called him that before and we’ll answer the age-old question - why are there so many bad ads?

Thanks for tuning in, folks. It's been a fun season. We'll see you next year.

This week we’re talking about the Mandela Effect. It is defined as “collective false memory.” That means many of us remember things incorrectly and we all remember them incorrectly the same way. From famous movie lines to song lyrics to details of traumatic events and even to famous commercials, we all think our memories are time-stamped videos of our lives. But they are not.

This week, we explore the branding of diseases. Over the course of history, diseases have been named after people and countries with devastating effects. Names have stigmatized entire regions, decimated industries and have even caused diplomatic crises. And countries have weaponized diseases for political purposes. As with all branding, words matter.