The Last Advertising Podcast

Hosted by Breaking and Entering Media

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Episodes

563

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

This is it. The last advertising podcast to ever be made. After interviewing 600 of advertising’s best, Geno Schellenberger is finally trying to quit. One final guest. One final episode. Until next week. For the ad sickos. A Breaking and Entering Media production.

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60 recent

September 9, 202631 min

If Advertising Wants Creators, It Needs to Understand Them with Maryah Greene

If this were the last advertising podcast ever made, Maryah Greene thinks the industry should learn how to actually work with creators. She would know. Before joining Droga5, Maryah was one. Her career started as a third-grade teacher before a plant-focused Instagram account turned into a full-time creator career, brand partnerships, a design business, and eventually an entirely new career inside advertising. Today, Maryah is Creator Partnerships Lead at Droga5, helping brands, agencies, and creators understand one another. On what we're pretending is the final advertising podcast, Maryah and Geno Schellenberger talk about what brands still misunderstand about creators, why niche communities are becoming more valuable, what five years on the creator side taught her about advertising, and why unconventional experience can become an advantage in this business. This is The Last Advertising Podcast. Until maybe next week.View all the last episodes at www.thelastadvertisingpodcast.com

September 2, 202629 min

Is a Liberal Arts Education the Future of Advertising? | Professor Scott R. Hamula

As AI gets better at executing ideas, what should the next generation of advertising talent actually study? Professor Scott R. Hamula joins The Last Advertising Podcast to discuss the future of advertising education, the value of a liberal arts education, and why specialization still matters. Scott is Professor and Program Director of Advertising, Public Relations, and Marketing Communications at Ithaca College, a recipient of the American Advertising Federation’s Distinguished Advertising Educator Award and its Barton A. Cummings Gold Medal Award, the AAF’s highest honor for volunteer service. Geno and Scott discuss how AI could change what advertising students need to learn, why curiosity and connecting ideas across disciplines are becoming increasingly valuable, the role of internships and extracurriculars, and why every student should start building a learning portfolio long before graduation. For more from B&E, including newsletters, social videos, advertising news and live shows, visit www.breaking-entering.com . Partner with Breaking and Entering Media breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co

August 26, 202626 min

Before We Quit, Let’s Build an American Icon | Shinola CMO Kevin Wertz

This is it. The last advertising podcast to ever be made. But before we quit, we need to talk about time. Switzerland has centuries of watchmaking history. Shinola is building an American version from a factory in downtown Detroit. Kevin Wertz, CMO of Shinola, joins Geno Schellenberger to explain how a 13-year-old brand can create a sense of heritage, craftsmanship, and permanence in a category dominated by names that have existed for generations. Shinola has expanded from watches into leather goods, jewelry, journals, bicycles, and hotels. That growth created a problem: people knew the name, but they did not always know what the brand stood for. The answer was to return to the Runwell, the watch that started everything. Kevin explains how Shinola turned that product into the anchor for the entire brand, why Detroit gives the company a story no Swiss watchmaker can copy, and how its latest campaign transformed a watch into a statement about reclaiming your time from your phone. The conversation also explores the difference between signaling wealth and signaling values, why people choose products that reflect who they are, and what agencies misunderstand about working with a CMO. Kevin closes the show with the final lesson advertising needed: people buy on emotion and justify it with rational thought. Time’s up. The advertising podcast is officially over. Until next week. The Last Advertising Podcast is hosted by Geno Schellenberger and powered by Breaking & Entering Media. Visit www.thelastadvertisingpodcast.com for all the episodes.

August 19, 202625 min

HE CREATED THE LARGEST TOURING MUSIC FESTIVAL

Adam Lynn dropped out of college to take Steve Aoki on tour. Which is either a terrible life decision or the beginning of America’s largest touring music festival. Fortunately, it was the second one. Today, Breakaway operates in 13 festival markets, with roughly 5,000 local ambassadors wearing its shirts, promoting its festivals and presumably making their parents ask whether this is a real job. Adam joins us to explain how Breakaway finds cities overlooked by the major festival companies, wins over the local nightclub owner and builds a national brand without pretending every community is exactly the same. It’s a conversation about grassroots marketing, surviving COVID and the rarest achievement in branding: making merchandise people voluntarily pull out of their closets. This is the last advertising podcast to ever interview the man who brought Kendrick Lamar to a BYOB party in an Ohio cornfield. Until next week. Check out www.breaking-entering.com for all things on advertising content.

August 12, 202633 min

Before We Quit, Let’s Finally Break Into Advertising | Jonathan Ogle

This is it. The last advertising podcast to ever be made. But before we quit, we should probably figure out how to break into the industry. Jonathan Ogle founded Infinite Agency without ever working at another agency. Sixteen years later, his company works with brands including Six Flags, Southwest Airlines, Smoothie King, Supercuts, and Benihana. Jonathan still occasionally wonders whether he has officially broken into advertising. He joins Geno Schellenberger for one final conversation about creating your own opportunities, recovering from brutal creative feedback, and becoming known for solving one specific problem. Jonathan also explains why recent graduates should stop presenting themselves as beginners, how personal projects can become legitimate experience, and why two people can start an agency before they have a client. The conversation later explores building Infinite Agency, identifying the business problem that actually matters, and the courage required to create a campaign in which a restaurant sued itself over its own terrible wings. The advertising podcast is officially over. Until next week. The Last Advertising Podcast is hosted by Geno Schellenberger and powered by Breaking & Entering Media. For more from B&E, including newsletters, social videos, advertising news and live shows, visit www.breaking-entering.com . Partner with Breaking and Entering Media breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co

August 5, 202628 min

We Can’t Quit Before Talking About End Cards | Martins Zelcs

This is it. The last advertising podcast to ever be made. But before we quit, there is one final part of advertising we need to discuss: the end. Martins Zelcs is the founder of The Art of End Cards, an archive dedicated to the final three to five seconds of commercials. He has also worked as an art director at Droga5, BBDO, and INNOCEAN. Martins believes an entertaining advertisement can still fail when nobody remembers the brand behind it. The end card is the brand’s final opportunity to recover the viewer’s attention, reinforce the campaign idea, and leave a memorable last impression. He joins Geno Schellenberger for one final conversation about why most end cards are forgettable, how strict brand guidelines can limit creativity, and what Nike, Apple, and other great brands understand about ending an ad. We also discuss Martins’ simple advice for creating distinctive work: collect everything the competition is doing, identify the patterns, and find the thing nobody else is doing. The advertising podcast is officially over. Until maybe next week. The Last Advertising Podcast is hosted by Geno Schellenberger and powered by Breaking & Entering Media. For more from B&E, including newsletters, social videos, advertising news and live shows, visit www.breaking-entering.com . Partner with Breaking and Entering Media breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co

August 4, 20261 min

Introducing the Last Advertising Podcast

This is it. The last advertising podcast to ever be made. And thank goodness, too. There's too much ad talk out there. We talk to ourselves. We know it's only F*ing advertising. We know most people try to avoid advertising. Or never even think about where it comes from. And definitely don’t wonder what it was like to work at Droga5 in 2013.But still, there's a select few out there. Those who keep coming back and back for more. Those few people on earth who never skip YouTube prerolls. Those complete freaks who have a favorite cereal commercial from 1997. The ad sickos. If you're still reading this, you’re probably one of them. I am one of you too, having interviewed 600 of the best people in advertising. And starting today, I am trying to quit. So let's make a vow together. A pact. That this next episode, this final guest, will be the last advertising podcast. Until maybe next week.Introducing the refreshed look at the breaking and entering advertising podcast. The Last Advertising Podcast.

July 29, 202629 min

How to Advance Your Career When Hard Work Isn’t Enough, With Courtney Williams

Courtney Williams is Chief Growth Officer and Partner at The Variable, where she leads the independent agency’s growth strategy, positioning and business development efforts. In this episode, Courtney explains why hard work alone does not guarantee career advancement and what ambitious professionals need to do next. She shares how to develop a clear point of view, build meaningful relationships, increase your visibility and find people who will advocate for you in rooms you have not entered yet. Courtney also breaks down her five drivers of agency growth: reputation, relationships, retention, relevance and revenue. She explains what motivates CMOs, why intuition matters in new business and what separates winning agencies from the competition. Geno and Courtney also discuss the changing purpose of advertising internships and how becoming a first-time mother inspired Courtney to make the biggest move of her career. For more from B&E, including newsletters, social videos, advertising news and live shows, visit www.breaking-entering.com . Brands! Partner with Breaking and Entering Media by emailing: breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co

July 22, 202629 min

How Brands Find Their Voice, with Vikki Ross

Every brand wants a distinctive voice. Very few know how to build one. This week, Geno sits down with brand voice consultant Vikki Ross, who has helped companies including JLR and Sky define how they communicate across every customer touchpoint. They discuss what actually goes into creating a brand voice, why tone of voice guidelines usually fail, how to interview an organization to uncover its personality, and why copywriters should stop writing like themselves and start writing like the brand. Whether you're a copywriter, strategist, marketer, founder, or creative director, this conversation offers a practical look at one of branding's most valuable disciplines. More from Breaking and Entering Media: 💼 Follow on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-entering-media 📖 Read our Publications https://www.breaking-entering.com/blog 💬 Join our Unlocked GroupMe https://groupme.com/join_group/102437585/xg5Z5tei ✉️ Subscribe to The Vault https://breakingandenteringadv.substack.com/ 📹 Subscribe to our :60 Advertising News Videos https://breakingandentering.beehiiv.com/ 🏆 Check out the Crowbar Awards to break into advertising https://www.crowbarawards.com/ 🤝 Work With Us - Email: breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co

July 15, 202637 min

BBDO New York CCO Michael Aimette on Why Great Ideas Beat Perfect Craft Every Time

Michael Aimette didn't set out to become Chief Creative Officer of BBDO New York.He started in media planning, considered journalism, moved to Ireland to write a novel, directed a feature film, and eventually found his way back to advertising.In this episode, Michael shares the unconventional path that shaped his creative philosophy, why curiosity matters more than career planning, and why today's creatives often spend too much time polishing ideas instead of generating them.We also discuss:Why work-life balance actually gets harder as you become a CCOThe biggest mistake young creatives make with AIHow award-winning ideas are discoveredWhy collaboration beats individual geniusThe campaigns that changed how he thinks about creativityWhat separates great creative leaders from everyone elseWhether you're a student, junior creative, strategist, or agency leader, this conversation is packed with practical advice for building a long creative career.More from Breaking and Entering Media:💼 Follow on LinkedIn⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-entering-podcast/⁠📖 Read our Publications⁠ https://www.breaking-entering.com/blog⁠💬 Join our Unlocked GroupMe⁠ https://groupme.com/join_group/102437585/xg5Z5tei⁠✉️ Subscribe to The Vault⁠ https://breakingandenteringadv.substack.com/⁠📹 Subscribe to our :60 Advertising News Videos⁠ https://breakingandentering.beehiiv.com/⁠🏆 Check out the Crowbar Awards to break into advertising⁠ https://www.crowbarawards.com/⁠🤝 Work With Us - Email: ⁠breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co⁠