Ad Infinitum

In this special live edition of Ad Infinitum, Executive Creative Director Stew Redwine takes the stage at Podcast Movement 2025 to deliver the third installment of his talk: What Makes Audio Ads Work.This time, Stew makes it practical. With stories, data, and a few unexpected metaphors (including his dog, Maverick), he breaks down six essential lessons every marketer, podcaster, and advertiser can put into practice immediately:Host’s Voice – Keep the ad in the authentic sound of the person listeners trust.Host’s Words – Let them say it in their own language, not yours.Early & Often – Mention the brand within the first six seconds, then keep it present throughout.Sonic Branding – Build sound cues that make your brand recognizable with eyes closed.Distinct & Consistent – Repetition creates memory. Resist the urge to constantly refresh.Care – Tools can scale, but only human care makes the work matter.From the history of radio to the warp-speed evolution of podcasting, Stew shows where audio is headed and why keeping host authenticity at the center is the industry’s best chance to “keep podcasting, if we can.”It’s equal parts rallying cry and practical handbook for anyone who wants their audio ads to actually work.Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

What does it take to think on a higher creative plane—and still keep your feet on the ground?In this in-person episode, Stew Redwine sits down with longtime collaborator Shelby Hayden Craig—aka “Shelby from the Future”—to unpack the mindset, methods, and muscle memory behind great creative strategy. From Sydney to Los Angeles, Shelby has been both literally and figuratively “ahead” on countless Oxford Road projects, pulling teams toward sharper thinking with a mix of humility, firmness, and curiosity.Together they explore the art of balancing openness with confidence, why the best insights often sound like great stand-up jokes, and how AI is raising the bar for human creativity. You’ll hear the story behind Shopify’s cha-ching sonic branding breakthrough, the discipline of crafting ideas worth fighting for, and Shelby’s three guiding “C”s for lasting performance optimization: Create, Craft, and Care (a.k.a. C3PO).Plus: a full Audiolytics® breakdown of IBM’s recent podcast ads—produced spots, host reads, and sonic logos—to see whether there’s a unifying insight guiding the brand’s audio presence or just a list of proof points.You’ll learn:How to turn everyday observations into true insights (and why it takes work)The difference between an idea and an insight—and why you need bothHow sonic branding can drive measurable performance when it’s consistentWhy optimism is a creative’s best survival skill in a critical industryHow to recognize when your posture toward AI is helping or hurting your workIt’s part creative masterclass, part shop talk, and part reminder that in audio advertising—and in your career—caring is the real performance optimizer.Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

What do British military strategy and great audio ads have in common? More than you’d think.In this episode, Stew Redwine is joined by Oxford Road’s Steven Abraham and Giles Martin to explore the U.K.'s greatest export to the world of advertising: planning. Drawing a line from wartime intelligence to account planning to podcast briefs, the trio makes the case that disciplined strategy—not just clever copy—is what separates forgettable ads from unforgettable ones.Together, they unpack how British planning culture shaped the modern agency model, and why the best creative still starts with a sharp, clear objective.Plus: a full Audiolytics® breakdown of four top podcast ads from Unilever (Dove, Degree, Vaseline, and OLLY). Did they plan the spend... or just spend?You’ll learn:How Stephen King and Stanley Pollitt turned war rooms into strategy departmentsWhy briefs should be battle plans, not brainstorming warmupsHow to diagnose when an ad failed because the thinking never showed upWhat Unilever’s podcast ads get right—and where they miss the markWhy every Chief Audio Officer should be asking: “What are we trying to do here?”Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

In this special episode of Ad Infinitum, Stew shares the full video version of his talk at Podcast Movement Evolutions in Chicago, 2025. From sonic branding and memory science to host trust and the rise of video, this talk explores what truly makes audio ads work today—and what we may need to let go of to make them work better.You’ll hear about:The NBC chimes and the power of sound brandingWhy “I use this and you should too” outperforms everythingHow generative AI risks making dull ads fasterThe Audiolytics™ framework for better creativeWhat Odysseus, a cab ride, and Aristotle have to do with all of itIt’s a creative call to arms for anyone making or buying ads in 2025.Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

Ever heard a Broadway ballad about bathroom fixtures? Or a devilish ditty about selling tires?From the 1950s to the 1980s, America’s biggest brands—Ford, Xerox, American Standard—commissioned full-scale, professional musicals for their employees, not the public. These “industrial musicals” were staged at sales conventions, lavish one-night-only productions designed to inspire, educate, and entertain. And they worked.In this special crossover episode, written & produced by Amelia Tait and Casey Emmerling, we hand the mic to the team at Twenty Thousand Hertz to explore this fascinating corner of audio history, led by comedy writer and collector Steve Young. You’ll hear unforgettable songs about silicones, diesel engines, bathroom bliss, and more—plus the human stories behind the people who created this unlikely art form.It’s easy to laugh at singing salespeople, but it’s harder to dismiss how powerful these productions were. People remembered them. They were moved. They sold more because of them. The question isn’t, "Why they did it?" It's, "Why did we stopped?Maybe it’s time to bring a little of that musical magic back to modern audio ads.Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

In Season 3 Episode 7 of Ad Infinitum, Stew Redwine is joined by Antonio Coronado—aka Agent 004, aka Antoniolytics™—and together, they delve a critical point in the history of Audiolytics™ - the proprietary ad grading and devopment framework developed and used by OXFORd - the early days of human grading, and what happens when AI takes the wheel.As the ad industry hits an inflection point—with AI tools being mandated at major platforms like Spotify—Antonio and Stew unpack what machines can do well, what they still miss, and where the soul of a great message resides. They discuss the importance of Audiolytics™ Key Components like Setup, Positioning, Substantiation, and that elusive “unifying principle” behind emotional resonance. And, of course, Antoniolytics™ goes head-to-head with Audiolytics™, evaluating top ads from T-Mobile, BetterHelp, Toyota, and Mint Mobile to pit man against machine and find out if their grades are wildly different and who is the harsher critic, the one with or without a beating heart?This episode is a time capsule, a tribute, and a turning point in the evolution of creative optimization, marking the end of the hand-graded era and the beginning of something new.Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

Why does comedy work in audio ads—and why don’t more brands take the leap?In Season 3 Episode 6 of Ad Infinitum, Stew Redwine is joined by improv legends Wayne Brady and Jonathan Mangum, co-hosts of Wayne Brady's What If?! with Jonathan Mangum, to explore the strategic (and often hilarious) role of humor in audio advertising. They unpack the data, riff on Stew's obsession with the comedic potential for life insurance ads, improvise jingles, and roast real radio spots from recent top spenders Progressive, Home Depot, Discover, and ZipRecruiter. Along the way, they reveal how brands can break out of the safety zone, find their comedic voice, and stand out in an AI-driven sea of sameness.Special thanks to Headgum for hosting Ad Infinitum at their studio for this episode!Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

In this brief bonus episode of Ad Infinitum, Stew Redwine shares a short audio story created for the Twenty Thousand Hertz “Sound Off” competition.“The Sound of Falling” features original 1980s tape recordings of Stew’s grandfather, Herold Redwine, recounting his harrowing experience of being shot down in WWII, parachuting from a burning B-17, surviving as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft VI, and enduring the brutal 68-day “Black March.” With audio production by Zach Hahn and sound design by John Mattaliano, the piece blends archival family audio and cinematic sound to capture the silence, fear, and resilience of a man who lived through the unimaginable.Stew reflects on the power of preserving family stories and encourages listeners to do the same.Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

In this episode of Ad Infinitum, host Stew Redwine is joined by commercial director Jordan Brady and Amplifi Media CEO and NYU professor Steven Goldstein to confront a fast-growing threat in the world of advertising: AI Slop.Used by Steven in a blog post earlier this year, “AI Slop” refers to the dull, generic content flooding our feeds—fueled by AI tools used without intention or craft. This episode pulls back the curtain on how these tools are transforming creative work—for better and worse.With the rise of “invisible minivans” (not Lamborghinis), Stew and his guests dig into how AI is flattening creativity, the steep cost of sounding like everyone else, and what marketers need to do to protect emotional resonance and brand authenticity in audio.Stew, Jordan, and Steven put four of the top commercial radio ads through the Ad Infinitum wringer—grading each on persuasion, production, and sonic distinctiveness:Progressive: A 10-second “riddle” spot that lacked flair and fell flat—proof that brevity doesn’t guarantee brilliance.Verizon: A $50/month deal with an attempt at a clever hook (“cheaper than your dog’s glam squad”) and zero memorability.AT&T: A 60-second travel-themed ad that waited 46 seconds to mention the brand. Result? $155K in wasted media dollars.Cricket: The surprise winner. With early branding, relatable benefits, and lively sonic branding, it scored highest across the board—an example of simple, effective, human-sounding creative.The verdict? You don’t need AI to sound robotic—humans are making boring, formulaic ads just fine on their own. But when brands fail to grab attention and stand out, they risk spending more for less impact.This one’s for every Chief Audio Officer navigating the promise and peril of generative AI because making more ads faster doesn’t mean making better ads. Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

In this special live episode of Ad Infinitum - brought to you by Sounds Profitable - host Stew Redwine assembles the Audio Avengers—Arielle Nissenblatt (Earbuds Podcast Collective, Pinwheel), Adam McNeil (Adopter Media), Amelia Coomber (Podscribe), and Paul Riismandel (Signal Hill Insights)—for an unfiltered, in-person conversation recorded at the Sounds Profitable Lounge at Podcast Movement Evolutions 2025 in Chicago.Together, they tackle one of the industry’s most pressing (and polarizing) topics: the rise of video podcasting and what it means for creators, advertisers, and the future of audio. With YouTube’s RSS support and increasing pressure for creators to “be on video,” the group wrestles with where the medium is headed—and whether we’re entering a new era or still navigating the wild west.From reflections on the evolution of Podcast Movement to hot takes on panel fatigue, discoverability, monetization, and how to actually serve creators, brands, and audiences better—the Audio Avengers bring real talk and practical ideas from across the podcasting ecosystem.You’ll hear:🎥 Why video is not a threat—but a tool (if used intentionally)🎙️ How podcasting can grow without losing its audio soul🧠 What’s broken about industry conferences—and how to fix them🔁 Why the conversation around podcast advertising still feels stuck💡 And how we can better align stakeholders—brands, creators, and listeners—to build a more vibrant futureThis episode isn’t about buzzwords. It’s about what’s actually working, what’s not, and what the people shaping the future of podcasting want to change.Whether you're a Chief Audio Officer, podcaster, marketer, or just audio curious—you'll want to hear what the Audio Avengers say.Support the showAd Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.