Ad Infinitum S4E04: Femfinitum with Team Oxford Road on Women, Work & Ads That Actually Work

Ad Infinitum S4E04: Femfinitum with Team Oxford Road on Women, Work & Ads That Actually Work

In this episode, Stew Redwine is joined by Miranda Romano, Charisse Miller, Jillian Garner, and Angela Hunter for a conversation that starts with making audio ads work—and ends up somewhere much bigger. Together, they unpack what it actually takes to manage campaigns, steward client dollars, develop creative, navigate personalities, and earn trust in an industry where business is always personal. The conversation then shifts into a candid discussion about women in advertising, confidence, emotional intelligence, leadership, the boys' club, and the realities of navigating modern business. Then the team puts theory into practice by reviewing and scoring ads from America Cures, Lowe's, State Farm, and Pepsi Prebiotic Cola, exploring what separates effective audio advertising from forgettable messaging, why host-read ads continue to outperform, and what brands can do to make their media dollars work harder. In this episode: • What media, account management, and creative teams actually do to make ads work • Why business is always personal • Women in advertising, leadership, and confidence • Emotional intelligence as a competitive advantage • Why host-read ads continue to outperform • Why many podcast ads still sound like radio spots • Reviews of America Cures, Lowe's, State Farm, and Pepsi Prebiotic Cola • Why advertisers need to trust their hosts more • How brand guidelines can get in the way of effective messaging • Why audio requires a different creative approach than TV, CTV, or display • What Audiolytics® reveals about structure, authenticity, and performance The takeaway: Trust the medium. Trust the host. Care more about the listener experience. The brands winning in audio are the ones creating ads for humans, not just checking boxes on a creative brief.

Ad Infinitum S4E03 : Buttery Claude

What happens when you invite AI onto a podcast about podcast advertising? In this episode Claude “Buttery” joins Stew Redwine to break down ads from McDonald’s, Chumba Casino, ISSA, and Meta, exploring why so many podcast ads are starting to sound like radio. Together they unpack host reads, authenticity, Audiolytics™ scores, and the difference between brand advertising and direct response. In this episode: • Why some podcast ads still sound like radio • Why host-read ads still work • Brand ads vs direct response ads • What Audiolytics® scores actually measure • Why authenticity matters in podcast advertising

Ad Infinitum S4E02: Guaranteed Human with Rahul Sabnis on AI, Trust & the Future of Audio

Audio is different. Not better. Not worse. Different.In this episode, Rahul Sabnis (President & Chief Creative Officer at iHeartMedia) breaks down the idea of “Guaranteed Human”, and why, in a world of AI-generated everything, audio might be the last place where trust still lives.We get into what makes podcasts fundamentally different from video, why attention in audio works the way it does, and how the industry is thinking about AI, voice cloning, and the future of creative.This isn’t theory. It’s how one of the largest audio companies in the world is choosing to move forward.In this episode: * Why podcasts ≠ video (and why that matters) * The “Guaranteed Human” stance and what’s behind it * AI, voice cloning, and where to draw the line * Why audio builds trust differently than any other medium * What most brands still get wrong about podcast advertising

Ad Infinitum S4E01: Two Circles | Dallas Taylor on Podcasting, YouTube, and Creative Identity

Ad Infinitum returns for Season 4, and for the first time, we’re on video. To kick things off, I brought back the very first guest ever on the show: Dallas Taylor, host of Twenty Thousand Hertz, founder of Defacto Sound, and now creator of the fast-growing video channel DallasTaylor.mp3. In this episode, Dallas shares the moment he almost quit podcasting entirely, and the simple insight that changed everything. Two circles. * One for podcast audiences. * One for YouTube. That realization led to a completely new way of thinking about media: podcasts, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram working together as a discovery engine rather than competing formats. Along the way we discuss: • Why creators shouldn’t think of themselves as “podcasters” or “YouTubers” • The psychology of creativity in the age of algorithms • Why the audience sometimes comes last in the creative process • How Dallas built a solo production workflow that unlocks impossible access • Why vertical video and audio storytelling can coexist • The difference between client work and self-expression If you care about podcasting, creative work, or the future of media, this conversation is a masterclass in how the landscape is changing, and how creators can adapt without losing the craft. Ad Infinitum is the podcast devoted to audio ads, the creatives who make them, the thinking behind them, and how to make them work better. Hosted by Stew Redwine. Ad Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Angela Hunter, Caitlyn Spring, & Ezra Fox, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn. Remember: have fun making the ads work.

The Ruler & The Regent | The Audio Monarchy | The history of radio predicts the future of podcasting and audio advertising.

In the Season 3 Finale of Ad Infinitum, host Stew Redwine hands the mic to producer Jeanna Isham for a special editorial episode - no ad roundup, no scoring, no guest interview - just a wide-angle story about the history of audio advertising and why sound has always been the hidden power in advertising, regardless of how it shows up. Jeanna frames audio history as a monarchy: King Radio establishes the original six “sonic laws” that still govern the medium today - Attention, Trust, Memory, Proximity, Monetization, and the Covenant (the promise not to abuse a listener’s time). Through a “Royal Council” of historians, strategists, and creators - including Kraig Kitchin, Cynthia Meyers, Tom Webster, Paul Riismandel, Arielle Nissenblatt, Shaun Michael Colón, and Dallas Taylor - the episode traces how radio evolved from scarce, centralized broadcast into today’s fragmented, platform-shaped attention economy. Along the way, the story tracks the transfer of power: from advertisers who once owned the show, to broadcasters who later owned the minutes, to the reality that now rules everything audio and audio advertising - the audience owns the time. Podcasting rises as the rebellious prince built on abundance, intimacy, and active attention. But the same old risks return in new clothes: ad load inflation, disinvestment in voices, and platforms that reward behavior over craft. The takeaway is both a warning and a blueprint for all audio advertising: the future belongs to the creators, brands, and networks that earn attention fast, protect trust, create memory, stay close to context, monetize without breaking the covenant - and keep building the lane instead of copying the last winner. Ad Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road [https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxford-road/] and Produced by Caitlyn Spring [https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlyn-spring-9614a974/] & Ezra Fox, MFA [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezrafox/], written & hosted by Stew Redwine [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewredwine/], and sound designed by John Mattaliano [https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mattaliano-17a3ab19a/], with audio production by Zach Hahn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-hahn-63a15827/]. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy [https://ausha.co/privacy-policy] for more information.