Call To Action

This week, we scoured wardrobes far and wide to catch a man who has dressed rock icons, Sapeurs of the Congo, a blue monster for Ed Sheeran, and even ‘plug boy’ from the Sainsbury’s Christmas ad; Mr Gammon.   Costume designer, fashion stylist, and distinctive English gent, Mr Gammon is the go-to guy for creatively styled costumes. Whether it’s dressing The Rolling Stones, elegant men of the Congo, Usain Bolt, a school nativity like no other, or mum and dad in jeans and a t-shirt; no cast is too vast, nor celebrity too big. We wag chins on his first ever job with an alcoholic called Malcolm, his first proper job dressing Adam Ant, making and selling bermuda shorts at school, being a colourful punk, what he loves about being on set, how a joke about needlework changed the trajectory of his life, managing expectations, where ‘Mr Gammon’ came from, taking 25 suitcases to film Guinness ‘Sapeurs’, making jackets for Mick Jagger, drawing as ‘creative offsetting’, and a treasure trove more.  ///// Find Mr Gammon on Instagram Here’s his website  Loving You is Killing Me by My Life Story  And a choice cut of Mr Gammon’s best work:  Guinness Sapeurs  Sainsbury’s The Big Night  The brand new Carlsberg spot 'Curious Beginnings' And DJ Shadow - Rocket Fuel ft. De La Soul Timestamps (02:09) - Quick fire questions, Doctor Who, and the reality check The Rolling Stones gave him  (08:14) - First jobs, making bermuda shorts, and designing for Adam Ant  (16:05) - His time at the Royal College of Art  (20:30) - The ‘common good of the shoot’ when you’re on set  (27:55) - Dealing with the opinions and emotions of different people on set (39:39) - His new work for Carlsberg  (41:35) - Listener questions  (46:30) - 4 pertinent posers  Mr Gammon’s book recommendations are:  Small Trades by Irving Penn  Michel the Giant: An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie Learning to Love You More by Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher  The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux The Financial Times Weekend Edition /////

It’s been 5 years since Call to Action® captured our first of what’s now over 130 heroes and allies from the industry front line to have a chin-wag with. The show is still very much like Pokémon Go, with the single but vital exception that it’s not a short-term bandwagon of shite. And to celebrate, we’re rereleasing a choice cut of our favourite episodes as part of the ‘Best of’ series.  In September 2020, we pulled a network agency worm out of the Big Apple and used it as topic-bait to catch one of advertising’s biggest fish; the one and only George Tannenbaum.  One of the most highly awarded, revered and talented copywriters and creative directors on the planet, George was Executive Creative Director and Copy Chief at Ogilvy for over 10 years. He has worked with huge brands like IBM, Boeing, PayPal, and General Motors, writes a hugely influential marketing blog called Ad Aged, and has a charming if alarmingly deluded French alter ego called ‘Le Agency Holding Company CEO’ who holds up a satirical mirror to the holding company era. Initially released as a two-parter, this is the full, director’s cut. So strap in for an hour and 20 minutes of George’s blissful yet biting NY tones as he talks on subjects such as the agency scene in the 80s and 90s, ageism, the state of copywriting, rediscovering his love for advertising, his time at Ogilvy including his last assignment working on the Boeing account, how to write a good headline, and tons more.  And the whole thing kicks off with an unmissable cameo from Le Agency Holding Company CEO. So what are you waiting for? Go listen. Feel better about marketing with Episodes 46 and 47 of Call to Action® with George Tannenbaum.  Follow George on LinkedIn Here’s his Ad Aged Blog And his website George’s book recommendations: The Saddest Words by Michael Gorra The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson Caste by Isabel Wilkerson 

This year marks 5 years since our maiden episode launched in 2019. And to celebrate Call to Action® turning 5, we’ve asked the …Gasp! team to rummage through all 130 episodes to re release some of their favourites.  In June 2020, we cast a net off the coast of Adelaide and caught one of the globe’s greatest researchers, Jenni Romaniuk, for her first of two Call to Action® appearances.  Jenni is a Research Professor at the conveyor belt of marketing stars, the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, where she has advised many of the world’s biggest brands. She’s also authored what’s now a trilogy of true industry bibles; How Brands Grow 2, Building Distinctive Brand Assets, and Better Brand Health.  In one of our most listened to episodes of all time, you can hear all about Jenni’s first job as a talented mixologist, how to build mental availability, context, memory, metrics, and more. If you work for a company with a brand logo, font or colour scheme, this episode is as close to essential listening as you’re going to get to understand how to build, measure, manage and, crucially, protect distinctive brand assets.  Feel better about marketing with Episode 39 of Call to Action® with Professor Jenni Romaniuk.  ///// Follow Jenni on LinkedIn. If you haven’t already, you’d be a fool not to fill your ear canals up with Jenni’s second cameo on Call To Action®, here. And check out her books; Building Distinctive Brand Assets, How Brands Grow Part 2, and Better Brand Health. Timestamps (01:55) - Quick fire questions (04:30) - First job behind the bar at a football club  (07:00) - Getting a phone call from Byron Sharp and landing a job at EBI  (12:30) - How Brands Grow 2 and Building Distinctive Brand Assets  (17:05) - How to build mental availability  (24:10) - The link between context and memory   (31:25) - Best practices for managing and measuring distinctive assets (45:35) - Listener questions  (52:40) - 4 pertinent posers  Jenni’s book recommendation is:  A Scandalous Life by Mary S. Lovell  /////

This week, we posed as a wide receiver to catch ad land’s premier Super Bowl pundit, Andrew Tindall, to tell us which of this year’s cohort of cost-the-earth commercials were MVPs…and which fumbled the ball.    A man who hadn’t slept in days, we snared Andrew straight from System1’s Super Bowl “war room”. After spending the past week testing the ads our industry can’t help but get sweaty about year on year, he’s here to tell us what “won” the Super Bowl and why.  An award-winning marketer with a commercial background at some top notch FMCGs, Andrew leads System1's global partnership strategy and growth, seeking out the world’s best ads and why they work to unlock the potential of their world-leading effectiveness database. He talks to us on Young Apprentice being a way of "getting out of Huddersfield'', studying medicine for 3 years, wanting to work in alcohol, how System1 predicts creative potential and effectiveness, his mentor, colleague and friend Orlando Wood, why effectiveness is relative; outperform your category, the hierarchy of evidence, the brilliant Jenni Romaniuk, creativity as the UK’s greatest export, and lots more. Plus, of course, the Super Bowl winners and losers, including Michelob Ultra, Messi, using celebs, mayo cat, T-Mobile and Pfizer.  Touch down on the play button. You won’t be disappointed.  ///// Follow Andrew on LinkedIn  Find out more about System1 and their ad effectiveness predictors  The only four slides you need for Super Bowl 2024 ad insights from System1 Here’s Andrew’s Super Bowl piece in The Drum  And his personal favourite Super Bowl ad of 2024, Foot Washing Plus Mr P by Pringles  And if you haven’t seen them, watch 2024’s top scoring Super Bowl ads here:  Dunkin’ Donuts, Hellmann’s, Reese’s, Oreo, State Farm, Popeyes, T-Mobile, NFL, Michelob ULTRA, Booking.com, and Budweiser. Timestamps (01:50) - Quick fire questions (03:45) - First jobs, BBC’s Young Apprentice, and going from med school to marketing (07:40) - How he ended up testing marketing effectiveness at System1  (13:12) - How System1 predicts creative potential and effectiveness (17:50) - Which ads “won” the Super Bowl? (21:15) - What Michelob ULTRA did right  (27:14) - His favourite Super Bowl ad of 2024 (and it’s one no one is talking about) (30:45) - Efficiency and effectiveness  (36:35) - Listener questions  (42:00) - What US marketers can learn from the UK  (46:30) - 4 pertinent posers  Andrew’s book recommendation is:  Building Distinctive Brand Assets by Jenni Romaniuk  /////

Go, Shotton, it’s our birthday, we gon’ podcast like it’s our birthday. This week, we claimed that 50 Cent is better than 49 Cent to coax out and catch a man who knows his onions on the ‘left hand digit effect’; Richard Shotton.  In February 2019, Richard agreed to be our inaugural guest to launch the Call to Action® podcast. Almost exactly 5 years, 343309 listens (or 686618 ears), and 1 book better, we're snaring him for a second, celebratory episode to mark the occasion. Drawing on academic research, previous ad campaigns, and his own original field studies, Richard is the best in the business when it comes to improving marketing with findings from behavioural science. His brace of best-selling books, The Choice Factory and The Illusion of Choice, are practical guides on how any business can use behavioural biases to win customers and sell more stuff.  He chinwags to us on dressing up as Mr Blobby, second album syndrome, why ‘muscular gentleman’ is more memorable than ‘common fate’, rejecting dubious papers (not the whole field), the IKEA effect, Rory Sutherland and The World of Jam, tips to sell more champagne, releasing the handbrake vs pushing the accelerator, how to make your ad more believable, why Giles is scared of Jollibee, and loads more. You’d be a fool not to fill your ear canals up. *Feel free to ignore this*…but if you leave a review for Call to Action® on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, we’ll choose the best 5 to WIN a book pack prize of The Illusion of Choice, The Choice Factory, Delusions of Brandeur, and How Brands Blow. Mega.  ///// Follow Richard on Twitter and LinkedIn Listen to our maiden episode with him here  Here’s Astroten  Get your grubby mitts on his books:  The Choice Factory  The Illusion of Choice  And here’s that Gregory and Gregory stunt from Greggs  Timestamps (02:02) - Quick fire questions (04:45) - Second album syndrome and writing The Illusion of Choice  (07:26) - Why marketers should always use concrete words   (12:20) - Richard’s response to behavioural science critics  (17:05) - Choice paralysis and the importance of context  (19:08) - The IKEA effect   (23:08 ) - ‘Press for champagne’ and why marketers should weigh up appeal vs friction  (28:00) - Should ads use more rhyme and humour?  (33:00) - Quick wins for marketers looking to wield the powers of behavioural science  (42:00) - Listener questions  (50:10) - 4 pertinent posers  Richard’s book recommendations are:  Writing for Busy Readers by Todd Rogers Alchemy by Rory Sutherland  /////

Feel better about marketing™ The go-to podcast for anyone trying to make sense of the world of marketing, business and beyond. In an industry that is a minefield of utter bollocks, we aim to capture our heroes and allies from the front line to have a chin-wag with. It’s like Pokémon Go, with the single but vital exception that it’s not a short-term bandwagon of shite. UK TOP 2 | US TOP 50 | RELEASED FORTNIGHTLY

This year marks 5 years since our maiden episode with Richard Shotton in February 2019. To celebrate Call to Action® turning 5, we asked the …Gasp! team to rummage through all 130 episodes for us to re-release some of their favourites.  Back in January 2020, we kicked off the year with fizzy, fuzzy energy. The fizz and fuzz faded come March 2020, but before that, we packed our plasticine and carried out a search of The Avon to pick up Bristol’s finest maker of noise, Gavin Strange.  By day, Gavin is Director and Designer at the beloved Aardman Animations, the Academy Award winning studio behind Wallace & Gromit. It is probably easier to ask what Gavin does not do, a sucker for a night-time side project, under the pseudonym of Jam Factory, he’s also an author, toy inventor and speaker on the global circuit. In one of the …Gasp! team’s all time favourite episodes, Gavin talks to us candidly on having car parts thrown at his head, pixels, plasticine, what Morph is really like, the unlikely crossover of Maya Angelou and Dragon Ball Z and why we need more wonky things.  Feel better about marketing with Episode 28 of Call to Action® with Gavin Strange.  Follow Gavin on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn Check out his website And get his book: Do Fly Timestamps (01:59) - Quick fire questions (02:40) - First jobs, having car parts thrown at his head, getting a job in design (10:00) - Tinkering and creating his alter ego JamFactory  (13:15) - What it’s like working at Aardman Animations  (16:39) - Pixels vs plasticine and long standing characters like Morph  (23:30) - Being time buddies with Beyonce and how he gets so much done  (33:10) - Doing silly stuff and his directorial debut (41:50) - Writing his book Do Fly  (53:00) - Listener questions  (1:00:00) - 4 pertinent posers  Gavin’s book recommendations are:  Feck Perfuction by James Victore  Draplin Design Co: Pretty Much Everything by Aaron Draplin  Why? How? What? The First Big Book of Art by Brosmind  Cabinet of Curiosities by Guillermo del Toro  Anything by Shepard Fairey 

This week, Call to Action® laid bait in a box trap to lure and snare our maiden catch of 2024, Roger Wade. First founding Boxfresh, a pioneering British streetwear brand, he went on to transform a patch of wasteland to create the world’s first pop-up dining and shopping destination, BOXPARK, in the heart of London’s Shoreditch. Today, Roger is putting his passion for independent brands, the future of retail, and thinking outside the Box, into his role as Chairman of Boxfund VC. We shoot the breeze on stealing sweets, getting sacked from his first three jobs in advertising, having a positive attitude to problems, entrepreneurship, risk, how Boxfresh gave 90s kids a new uniform, being special to your customer, investing in people not spreadsheets, emotion in business, golf, why in-store is better than online for all three key pillars of retail, and loads more.  In fact, we had to stop and reload a few times to take aim at Bezos, bean counters, Boris and Brexit. And he certainly doesn’t sit on the fence. What an episode.  ///// Follow Roger on LinkedIn Here’s Boxfund VC Check out BoxSeat, a live pitch session for ESG consumer startups hosted every month  We’ve made our decision by Omid Djalili  Timestamps (02:00) - Quick fire questions (03:55) - Stealing sweets, running nightclubs, and getting sacked from his first 3 jobs in advertising  (06:40) - Realising he was unemployable and why it was the best thing that ever happened to him  (08:54) - Creating a new uniform for 90s kids with Boxfresh   (12:50) - “If you aren’t special to your customer, you won’t exist” (17:00) - Investing in people not spreadsheets and why we need to talk more about emotion in business  (23:43) - Giving both barrels to Bezos, Boris, and Brexit  (33:52) - Listener questions  (39:34) - 4 pertinent posers  Roger’s book recommendations are:  Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart  But What Can I Do? by Alistair Campbell  /////

This week, we used plenty of plaid to lure and poach the planning pro in patterned shirts, Julian Cole.  Strategy consultant to leading brands like Uber, Apple, Facebook and ex-Head of Comms Planning at BBDO and BBH, Julian noticed the void of proper education for the role and started the Strategy Finishing School. Putting an end to impostor syndrome, he’s now whipping up world class strategists by the bucket load.  We talk delivering prescriptions, loving maps, horse racing, gambling, why going straight into strategy was a curse, learning (and now teaching) the fundamentals of strategy, imposter syndrome, spotting an untrained vs strategist, how to actually use AI in a helpful way, Giles’s Thermomix, hallways not boardrooms, nemawashi, his definition of an insight, where he gets his shirts from, and loads more.  Sink your houndstooth in wherever you get your podcasts.  ///// You can find Julian on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Check out the Strategy Finishing School  This episode is proudly dedicated to Richard Huntington  And if you like Julian’s crazy shirts, have a gander at Lazy Oaf  Timestamps (02:00) - Quick fire questions (02:56) - His first job delivering prescriptions by bike, loving maps, and what led him down the path of strategy  (05:05) - The similarities between strategy and gambling (09:45) - Why going straight into strategy was a curse, being a lone ranger, impostor syndrome, and deck monkeys  (18:07) - The positive side to impostor syndrome and how to overcome it  (22:27) - Spotting a trained vs untrained strategist  (28:08) - Using AI for strategy like you’d use salt in cooking  (31:30) - How he actually uses AI as a strategist  (35:13) - Diplomacy, hallways not boardrooms, and nemawashi (40:38) - Listener questions  (51:42) - 4 pertinent posers  Julian’s book recommendations are:  Strategy is Your Words by Mark Pollard  Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath  Trust Me I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday  /////

This week, we gave ourselves 50 minutes and the task to catch master of mirth, Alex Horne.  Comedian, frontman of six-piece band The Horne Section, and sensationally silly sod, Alex is best known for creating and co-hosting cult TV show, Taskmaster. Alongside Greg Davies, the only man in comedy big enough to call him ‘Little’ Alex Horne, he tests the wiles, wit and wisdom of comedians through a series of tasks teeming with tomfoolery. We chat middle children, sorting potatoes from toads, Big Brother and berocca, reviewing an all-male strip show, The Cambridge Footlights, British humour overseas, car games, silly versus wacky, escapism, how he comes up with tasks, catching tears in an eggcup, and (of course) the glorious 'stupid waste of time' that is Taskmaster.  Tune in wherever you get your podcasts. You’ve got 49 minutes and 18 seconds. Your time starts now.  ///// Follow Alex on Twitter  Here’s his website And see The Horne Section on tour   Timestamps (02:00) - Quick fire questions (03:56) - His first jobs sorting potatoes from toads, reviewing an all-male strip show, and working on Big Brother  (08:08) - Giving comedy a crack and The Cambridge Footlights  (12:10) - How Taskmaster went from playing games in the back of the car, to Edinburgh Fringe, and then onto the tele  (14:27) - What’s behind the success of Taskmaster, the role of luck, and what he’d do differently if the show started today  (24:20) - Trying to entertain, silly vs wacky, and the importance of escapism  (30:03) - How he keeps coming up with tasks  (36:10) - Listener questions  (41:39) - 4 pertinent posers  Alex’s book recommendations are:  Game On by Marley Byng  Palindromes and Anagrams by H.W. Bergerson  The Pebble Spotter’s Guide by Clive Mitchell  /////