Ad Infinitum S3E2 - Stay Safe in Sound

The world’s only podcast solely dedicated to audio ads is back! Brought to you by this week’s sponsor, Claritas, we give you Ad Infinitum Season 3, Episode 2 - "Stay Safe in Sound."

Host Stew Redwine (VP, Creative Services, Oxford Road) welcomes journalist Suzanne Rico to talk about her deeply personal, fascinating podcast The Man Who Calculated Death. Suzanne did the hard work of reconciling with her grandfather Robert Lusser’s dark legacy as a Nazi scientist, then had to find a way to sell her show to networks and advertisers. Suzanne and Stew dive into why difficult subject matter done well is well worth supporting.

And no episode of Ad Infinitum is complete with an ad break-down. This week, Stew and Suzanne check out winners and losers from BetterHelp, Amazon Pharmacy, Rocket Money, and Ritual. Let’s dig in.

“Clarity has a cleverness all of its own.”

🤔 Context over Keywords - Just looking at keywords can make worthy shows look incredibly brand unsafe. That’s why it pays to go deeper than the transcript. For CAOs if you’re interested in supporting a history show, listen to the episodes. Talk to the creators. Read the reviews. Try Seekr’s Civility Score. Is it less efficient? Absolutely. But you’ll have a much stronger understanding of the show and have forged a deeper connection with the host. That’s ultimately what powers the magic of audio.

🤐 Say Less - One issue Stew and Suzanne had with the Rocket Money ad? Too. Many. Words. CAOs, if you give hosts a packed page of copy points, they might just read all of them. Pick your most important points and leave some white space for hosts to bring their own experience to the read. 

🧘 Simplicity, Simplicity - On the other side of headphones, Ritual came in with an incredibly straightforward and effective ad. Why? Stripped-down audio elements. Strong, clear language. And an engaging but understated performance. As Stew said, “Clarity has a cleverness all of its own.”

By sharing her stories, Suzanne shows off audio’s power to bring us closer together. To feel that power first-hand, tune into the full episode below.

Bianca Gorodinsky