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  • CBC | Under the Influence

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    Brand fails of 2024

    Apple launched its thinnest computer ever leading to a big fat PR problem, a seasonal candle that fired up accusations of white supremacy and we’ll try and a children’s doll package ended up listing the URL for an adult website.

    I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke. Again.

    Still from the famous Coca-Cola "Hilltop" commercial that has been cited as possibly the most famous commercial of all time. Three people stand – one holding a bottle of Coke – singing "I'd Like To Buy The World A Coke."

    Many famous advertising campaigns were laid to rest over the years. Then suddenly they were brought back to life. The Coca-Cola "Hilltop" ad has been revived over and over and over again. Here's why.

    Smashing Cars & Self-Care Sundays: How Today's Cinemas Attract Moviegoers

    Close-up of hands holding a movie theatre ticket.

    With the arrival of home theatre systems and streaming services, movie theatres today have to work extra hard to attract customers. To survive, cinemas now offer restaurants, bars, and even offer patrons “atmospheric” movie experiences.

    Supercuts offered its haters a real dumb coupon

    Supercuts coupon – made in response to its haters – that reads, "Add $50, Real Dumb Coupon."

    Supercuts took negative comments about cheap haircuts and created a real smart advertising campaign.

    Hellmann's launched a new mayonnaise...fragrance?

    Mayonnaise is one of the most popular condiments in the world. So popular, one NFL quarterback wanted to wear it in the huddle.

    Andre Agassi beat Boris Becker by studying his tongue

    Boris Becker's serve was unbeatable. Until one day, Agassi noticed a tongue tell.

    Cool Etymologies: How terms like "blockbuster" started on ice

    Ice touches countless areas of our lives – our food, our drinks, our sports. But what about movie theatres? The unexpected history of ice is denser than you may think.

    Tourists pay thousands for their last chance at a Canadian polar bear sighting

    A polar bear is seen on rocks in the distance.

    Tourism companies around the world have started to advertise specific destinations to travellers, because those locations have a very unique offering. Namely, they are vanishing.

    Carrie Bradshaw ordered a beer and Walter White became a pharmacist, sorta

    Sometimes TV and movie characters endorse products. Not the actors themselves, but the characters they portray. Sometimes it’s funny, and sometimes it bends the time/space continuum.

    Barenaked Ladies frontman Ed Robertson wrote the Big Bang Theory theme in the shower

    In just 15 minutes, Ed Robertson wrote the theme song to one of the most successful sitcoms of the 21st century – and how that collaboration came to be happened just as fast.

    Canadian couple rolls the dice on expensive yacht

    A person jotting down their Yahtzee score.

    It originated in Tibet. Then made its way onto a yacht. Then took over Canada. How the classic board game of Yahtzee came to be.

    Four little words doubled this company's sales

    Alka Seltzer ad from 1976 featuring the famous "Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz" jingle, prompting folks with indigestion to take two Alka Seltzer tablets.

    Every company dreams of doubling its profit. It’s almost impossible to do. Yet, some companies do it by tweaking one tiny thing.

    Houston, We Have Pizza: advertising in outer space

    Now that commercialized space travel has arrived, the world of marketing is setting its sights on the stars.

    Long before there was the Marlboro cowboy, there was the Marlboro baby

    Two print ads for Marlboro cigarettes from the 1950's aimed at mothers where a baby says, "Gee, Mommy, you sure enjoy your Marlboro."

    Marlboro, 7-Up, DDT. These companies, and more, once included images of infants in their print ads. We've come a long way, baby.

    Paul Michael Glazer wasn't a fan of Starsky & Hutch's famous Ford Torino

    Red and white 70's car on display behind gold rope.

    It wasn't originally meant to be the TV detective duo's car, but a twist of fate led them to red and white.

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