The heavy metal world has a rich history of iconic bands.  Axl, Slash and the boys. (biography.com)  As AC/DC sez, It's a long way to the top when you want to rock 'n roll. (turner.com)  Yes, the heavy metal world has a lot of stars.  And Pat Boone wasn’t one of them.  Pat Boone aka Mr. Clean. (townnews.com)  But in 1997, Pat Boone put out an album called, In A Metal Mood.  No more Mr. Nice Guy. (dio.net)  It was a strange choice for Boone, because he hadn’t had a record on the charts for over 30 years.  Back in the 1950s, Pat Boone was the second-biggest charting artist after Elvis Presley. He had a string of top ten hits, and still holds the Billboard record for having one or more songs on the charts for 220 consecutive weeks.  While Boone’s career stalled when the Beatles arrived, his image was squeaky-clean, devoutly Christian and advertiser-friendly.  He was so clean-cut and wholesome, that Dean Martin quipped that his “whole right side sobered up when he shook Boone’s hand.”  Boone sold over 45 million records and had 38 Top 40 hits.  Boone also starred in 12 movies. (moviemem.com)  Which brings us back to 1997. Boone released In A Metal Mood, covering such metal acts as Judas Priest, AC/DC, Metallica and Jimi Hendrix.  His new record had an interesting effect on his career. First, it made it to the Billboard Top 200.  Second, the album and his American Music Awards appearance sent shock waves through his Christian community. They couldn’t understand why Boone had gone to the dark side, recording music that was clearly promoting the devil’s lifestyle.  At the time, Boone was the host of a syndicated TV show called Gospel America, which the network pulled off the air immediately.  But Boone defended himself by saying the album was just an attempt at recording a genre of music he had never done before, and that he was still a devout Christian. The network let its viewers decide whether he should be allowed to return, and Boone was reinstated by an overwhelming vote.  A few years later, a new reality TV show began on MTV. It was called The Osbourne’s, and it featured the real life antics of heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his family.  Ozzy hits prime time. (tvmediainsights.com)  The theme song for the show was none other than Pat Boone’s cover of Osbourne’s metal hit, Crazy Train:  When brands like Pat Boone and heavy metal collide, it always makes for some strange sparks.  And in the world of marketing, we have our own strange brands.  Sometimes, those products are the result of odd partnerships, or because a company saw a quirky opportunity, or sometimes a strange brand is the result of one brand licensing its trademarks to another, and the resulting collision is… well… interesting.  As Ozzy and Pat might say, sometimes it all goes off the rails on the crazy train…  We grow up surrounded by brands.  Some so familiar, that we can’t imagine a time when those products weren’t in our lives.  But the world of brands has outliers, products that raise eyebrows, or that you didn’t know existed, or are possibly the result of odd partnerships or strange licensing deals.  Every year in Las Vegas, the Brand Licensing Expo takes place.  It’s a three-day convention that attracts over 15,000 people.  Over 5,000 brands are represented, from over 85 countries, most setting up elaborate booths and displays showcasing their products and trademarks.  The goal: To strike licensing deals.  A typical licensing deal, for example, might be between a movie studio and a toy manufacturer. Ironman is a huge box office hit, so the studio looks for opportunities to license its Ironman imagery out to toymakers who want to create, say, an Ironman lunchbox.  Movie studios license their properties to manufacturers and split the profits. (mightymega.com)  The movie studio hammers out a deal with the toy manufacturer, and makes a royalty percentage on each item sold.  The movie studio isn’t in the lunchbox business, and the toy manufacturer doesn’t make movies, but together, they can create a product that appeals to millions.  That’s commercial licensing in a nutshell.  But last year, there was a new exhibitor at the Licensing Expo.  This new organization was looking to license its brand to manufacturers.  Surveys showed it has 80% global brand awareness, and it wanted to capitalize on that success by allowing manufacturers to use its logo, imagery and slogans – in return for a percentage of sales.  Founded in 2006 by Australian journalist Julian Assange, it achieved notoriety in 2010 when WikiLeaks published thousands of secret U.S. government documents on the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars.  Yes, WikiLeaks is now licensing its brand to manufacturers. (google.ca)  That same year, Swedish authorities brought sexual assault charges against Assange, and he has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London ever since. British Authorities are stationed outside the embassy every day, ready to arrest and extradite him should he try to leave.  And with all that controversy swirling around WikiLeaks, there it was at the Las Vegas Licensing Expo.  In a press release, WikiLeaks stated it wants to start licensing the image of Julian Assange, its logo and word marks to commercial manufacturers.  According to WikiLeaks, the first phase of merchandise will include:  Mobile phone cases, belts, backpacks, sunglasses, clocks, housewares, pillows, water bottles, stationary, sticky notes, T-shirts, hoodies, jeans, sweaters and underwear.  I know. It's just wrong. (spreadshirt.com)  WikiLeaks has already signed licensing deals in six countries. The Washington Post reported that a chain of WikiLeaks stores will soon be opening in shopping malls in India.  A recent Ipsos.com global survey stated that three out of every four educated people support WikiLeaks, emphasizing that educated people have more spending power.  According to WikiLeaks’ licensing division, it is a brand of passion, and part of the revenues stemming from licensing activities will go back to keep WikiLeaks up and running.  Like every smart brand, WikiLeaks has a “style guide” that outlines how Julian Assange’s image can be used, how the imagery is to be handled, and specifies the exact wording of approved slogans like “Leaks Expose Injustice” and “Enemy of the State.”  It’s a fascinating marketing initiative, and has led many to ask whether a cause that considers itself devoted to social justice should be commercializing its name?  And Advertising Age magazine wondered out loud if a polarizing group can actually move merchandise.  Have you ever enjoyed a glass of House of Mandela wine?  The full Nelson of Mandela wines. (sahomeowner.com)  The House of Mandela is a winery owned by Nelson Mandela’s family. Run by one of his daughters, the South African winery offers several products, including a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay, a Shiraz and a champagne, with some of the proceeds going to charity.  The marketing value of Nelson Mandela’s name is worth untold millions - a fact news reports said is dividing his family.  On one hand, some family members strongly believe Nelson Mandela’s name should never be commercialized. While others say his strong brand is a gift he has bestowed on his children.  Either way, it is contentious.  The Nelson Mandela Foundation protects his image abroad, but even the Foundation says it cannot tell the Mandela family how to use their own name.  Besides the winery, there was a reality show called Being Mandela, which followed two of Mandela’s grandchildren as they live their lives as descendants of one of the world’s most revered figures.  A reality show starring Nelson Mandela's granddaughters Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway and Swati Dlamini. (theipinionsjournal.com)  Meanwhile, the Foundation continues Nelson Mandela’s work with equality issues, HIV Aids prevention and education, and as such, needs to raise funds to do that work.  Not long ago, a clothing line came out called 46664 Fashion. Four double-six six four was Mandela’s prison number, as he was prisoner #466 in 1964.  The fashion brand named after Nelson Mandela's prison number. (timeslive.co.za)  The line of clothes debuted in New York on Nelson Mandela International Day in 2012, raising some eyebrows. The press reported that 7 to 9% of Mandela’s fashion revenues would go to fund his foundation.  But a short while later, a representative from the Nelson Mandela Foundation said that the clothing line was in no way affiliated with Nelson Mandela, stating it prohibits Mandela’s image from being used for commercial purposes.  Yet, the CEO of the clothing company stated that the direct beneficiary of the revenue was another foundation founded by Mr. Mandela called 46664 South Africa – and that the foundation had licensed the 46664 brand ID to his company to establish a global fashion brand in order to create a sustainable income stream for the foundation.  Bottom line: The 46664 fashion line was launched, and a percentage of revenues go towards funding projects that fulfill Mr. Mandela’s humanitarian legacy.  Have you tried the Motörhead Shiraz?  Yes, heavy metal band Motörhead offer wines on their web site - one is a shiraz, and the other a delicate rosé.  May we suggest a lovely Motörhead Shiraz... (laughingsquid.com)  According to their website, the Shiraz has a fruity aroma, with flavours of vanilla, blackberries, plums, eucalyptus and licorice, and is full-bodied with soft rounded tannins.  Don’t laugh. Motörhead has sold 120,000 bottles in its first year.  The brand was banned in Iceland, because the State Alcohol and Tobacco Company there that controls the country’s liquor stores, said they dislike the name Motörhead. They said it is a nod to amphetamine abuse, and that the band writes songs about war, unsafe sex and drugs.  But the main reason was because the band’s branding “inevitably promotes an unhealthy lifestyle.”  Undaunted, Motörhead’s lead singer Lemmy, who has had amphetamine issues, and who claims to have slept with 1,200 women and to have consumed a bottle of Jack Daniels-a-day for the past 30 years, says the Motörhead Shiraz goes nicely with grilled lamb chops with a touch of garlic and rosemary.  That Lemmy is a wine connoisseur. (drankgigant.nl)  Fragrances are an interesting category for strange brands.  Recently, Vespa put out a Fragrance for Him and Her.  Just a dab of V.E.S.P.A. behind each ear. (google.ca)  The Vespa scooter, named for the fact it looked like a wasp – or “Vespa” in Italian - was first built in 1946, and the company has sold over 16 million since then.  It has starred in over 150 movies, including Roman Holiday, where we watched Audrey Hepburn zip through the Italian streets on the back of Gregory Peck’s Vespa.  Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn take a Roman holiday on a Vespa. (southfloridalandscapedesign.com)  No, the fragrance doesn’t smell of gas or diesel – but instead it is, “The smell of freedom.”  It’s an interesting strategy. Naming a fragrance after a motorized scooter seems like an odd stretch. But it demonstrates the power of a brand’s imagery. The Vespa is an icon of Italian style and creativity, and if you’ve ever been to Italy, you’ve seen the sense of freedom a Vespa has on those winding roads.  That’s why global fragrance giant Coty saw an opportunity. They wanted to leverage Vespa’s stylish heritage and association with Hollywood glamour.  Plus, the Vespa has an international appeal, and scoots through social, economical and geographical boundaries.  So linking a fragrance to a small motorcycle made sense for Coty, and it worked to deliver Vespa’s perception and awareness outside the world of scooters.  How about lighting a romantic fire with a fragrance from Zippo?  I kid you not, the Zippo lighter company now has a full line of fragrances for Him and Her on their zippofragrances.com website.  The perfume comes in a container that resembles a Zippo lighter, the top flips open, and one spray “catches the mood of a Zippo man.”  As for the Zippo Woman, the fragrance is the essence of peach, apple, plum and jasmine.  So much of fragrance marketing tries to link scent with memories. The memory of a vacation in Italy, or the memory of a romantic dinner in Paris.  Or even the nostalgia of being a kid.  Which would explain Play-Doh cologne.  A little pick-me-up Play Doh cologne. Wait. What? (edgecastcdn.net)  To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the modeling clay commissioned a cologne that smells like a freshly opened can of Play-Doh.  At $19 dollars an ounce, Play-Doh cologne promises to instantly transport you back to childhood.  But will it enhance your love life?  If it doesn’t, you can always try Pizza Hut cologne.  A fragrance that smells of fresh dough... with a hint of spice. From your favourite Pizza joint. (theinspirationroom.com)  Yes, Pizza Hut put out a limited-edition cologne not long ago. The idea was generated in Canada, and used in over a dozen different countries.  Just for fun, their Toronto advertising agency, Grip Limited, asked Pizza Hut’s Facebook fans the following question:  “If the smell of a box of Pizza Hut pizza was a perfume, what would it be called?  They got over 2,000 suggestions immediately.  With that overwhelming response, Pizza Hit decided to hire an aromachologist to develop a scent, and finally settled on, “fresh dough with a bit of spice.”  One hundred limited-edition bottles were manufactured in time for Valentine’s Day, and Pizza Hut announced that the first 100 people to respond on Facebook would receive one.  They got 1,000 responses in the first hour alone.  One of those bottles eventually made it to eBay, and sold for over $400.  But if a Pizza Hut fragrance isn’t to your taste, how does Burger King body spray sound?  Surprise! I got you Burger King Body Spray! (telegraph.co.uk)  Just in time for Christmas in 2008, Burger King released its Flame Body Spray.  Priced at $3.99 per bottle, it could be found for sale online and in select U.S. stores – and sold out in just one week.  Flame sprays were selling on eBay for over $70 each.  Burger King created a Fire Meets Desire.com website that featured Barry White-like soundtracks and a variety of seductive scenes that you could change by clicking on a Flame bottle.  …like beaches, roaring fires, a candlelit bathtub, and even the creepy Burger King mascot lying on a bear skin rug, draped only in a towel, with a can of whipped cream at the ready.  Didn't think it was possible for Burger King's King to get any creepier. I was wrong. (mediabistro.com)  Flame tapped into one of our most primal relationships: Man & Meat.  One scent expert said meat is at the top of the list in terms of male-rated smells. Men rate the smell of meat the way women rate chocolate.  Best of all, Burger King described their Flame body spray as, “The scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat.”  Maybe one of the most surprising brand licensing stories out there involves the U.S. Marines.  The 240-year history of the Marine Corps has built a powerful brand.  In 2004, the all-volunteer force was going through a recruiting crisis. So Congress passed a law that allowed the Department of Defence to sell trademark licenses to commercial manufacturers, as a way to generate awareness for the Armed Forces.  Last year alone, consumers spent over $70M on military-branded products.  The Army now licenses all its imagery, including the Eagle, and Globe & Anchor logos, and even its USMC initials, to commercial products - with all revenues going toward a morale, welfare and recreation fund for recruits and veterans.  The Marines are marketers now. (usmcstore.com)  The Army also licenses its trademarked phrases, like:  No Better Friend. No Worse Enemy.  And of course – Earned, Not Given.  Maybe it’s not so surprising that the Marines have such a strong brand to sell.  Advertising agency J. Walter Thompson has a relationship with the Marines going back to 1864, when J. Walter Thompson himself enlisted in the Marine Corps.  Then, in 1947, the Marines enlisted J. Walter Thompson, the ad agency, to design uniforms for female marines. JWT, as it is now known, would go on to develop a powerful brand for the Marines.  The Marines were also the first to launch a Facebook page in 2008.  The Marines are the first military operation to surpass one million likes on Facebook. (facebook.com)  It’s interesting to point out that JWT didn’t sell the tangible assets of a life in the Marines – like the paid employment and the job training – but instead featured the intangibles.  The exclusivity, the elite nature of the recruiting, and the fact that only the best and the toughest would earn the title of “marine.”  Proving once again that emotion is the gateway to influencing behaviour.  There are now hundreds of products branded with U.S. Army imagery, including:  Blankets, bottle openers, car accessories, cook books, dog collars, furniture, golf equipment, luggage baby bibs, bird feeders, bathroom tissue...  Bet you didn't know the Marines had their own cologne. (google.ca)  You may want to dab a little Marine Devil Dog cologne behind your ears.  At $45 a bottle, it is a “finely crafted fusion of sandalwood, cedar and citric spices.”  There is also a Patton scent, named after General George S. Patton. It defines masculinity with a “sensual, woodsy fragrance, with feelings of majestic woodlands and endless horizons.”  You, too, can smell like a General.  The Air Force has its own fragrance, too, called Stealth, with notes of creamy coconut, and warm cedar musk, with an invigorating blast of lemon and orange.  You can find U.S. Army branded products in over 80,000 stores now, including Walmart, Target and Toys ‘R Us.  But my favourite item has to be the Marine Corps Hot Sauce.  Go easy on that hot sauce, soldier. (google.ca)  It’s so hot, says their website, “It’ll make you stand at attention.”  No matter how long I’ve been in the marketing business, I never fail to be surprised.  If you had asked me if Zippo had a fragrance, I would have just laughed.  Why would a lighter company have a fragrance.  I’m always fascinated by the strange moves brands make. Sometimes, it’s pure opportunism. They see an odd attention-getting window open, so they cross their fingers and jump through it.  Like Play-Doh perfume, and the hilarious Pizza Hut and Burger King colognes.  Then there are the ones that still seem peculiar to me – like the WikiLeaks retail stores, and, to a lesser extent, the Mandela reality show and fashion lines.  But WikiLeaks and Mandela stir up strong emotions in people. And that’s the key to all these strange brands. It’s not the product itself that is so alluring, it’s the intangible feelings that do the tugging. Play-Doh conjures up warm childhood memories. Vespa whispers freedom. Motörhead screams party.  And as people buy $70 million dollars worth of Marines-branded products, they aren’t really buying a coffee mug or a dog collar.  They’re buying the feeling of pride.  And in the end, that’s the true secret of marketing.  It’s never the steak, it’s the sizzle…  …when you’re under the influence.
The 2015 season of Under The Influence marks Terry's 10th anniversary on CBC. To kick off the season, we look at some of the strangest brands that exist in the world. Some are the result of odd licensing deals, others are the result of unusual marketing opportunities - like a Burger King body spray.