‘Nobody wants a podcast about advertising’: Russel Howcroft and Freddie Young partner up for new no-spin ad podcast ‘AdMission’
Iconic Australian ad guru Russel Howcroft and industry up-and-comer Freddie Young from Good One Creative have launched their experimental, no spin advertising podcast AdMission in partnership with 9Podcasts.
AdMission tells the uncensored stories behind the world’s most talked about brands, ideas, campaigns, advertising news and industry screw ups, as well as offering sharp insight into some of the greatest creative ideas and businesses.
Bringing their own unique perspectives to the pod, Howcroft and Young offer listeners the ‘then’ and ‘now’ of advertising. Howcroft is Melbourne’s number one rating breakfast radio host (on 3AW with Ross Stevenson), with a lifetime of knowledge and experience shaped in the glory days of advertising, and Young; a millennial working in a fragmented media landscape dominated by strict standards, an ever changing sociocultural landscape, and not to mention TikTok.
Together, they bicker, agree to disagree, and reveal the tricks, history and philosophy behind some of the world’s most recognisable brands, all while attempting to answer some of the biggest marketing dilemmas facing the industry: How has Donald Trump become the favourite again to win the US Election? Why doesn’t traditional advertising make money anymore? How has Taylor Swift become the most marketable person on the planet? Why is wine the hardest product to advertise?
Says Howcroft: “I’m actually really excited to see the results of this experiment. I’ve challenged 26-year-old Freddie Young, from Good One, to prove that he knows way more about advertising than I do. Good luck, Freddie. Tune in to find out.”
Says Young: “I’m really looking forward to us having the time to sit down and flesh some of these ideas out. I like giving him a hard time but, truthfully, we’re yet to broach a subject about which he hasn’t got an honest-to-god opinion. Whenever something in the news catches my attention, he’s the first person I’ll ask about it; for context, for colour. He’s a walking library of Australian business, media, and culture. Except libraries could probably teach him a thing or two about how to shut up.”
AdMission is out now and episodes will drop weekly wherever you get your podcasts.